After buying a Gelli plate a couple of years ago, I finally got around to finding some time to have a play with it. The warm weather meant that acrylic paints were drying too quickly, so I used my Caligo relief inks with extender instead. Results were mixed - knowing when to stop seems to be the key… one layer too many and the whole print is ruined. As with everything in life, the prints were improved with a dash of fluorescent pink ink on the final layer. Trimming down the prints, I was left with a pile of colourful strips. Turns out these are excellent collage material (and I prefer them to the actual prints). So I now have a stash of colourful papers - some will definitely benefit from some rubber stamped additions. As long as I know when to stop...
Folded monoprints
Paper barnacles
Cracker cars
Prototype illustrations for a collaborative book project in response to a fantastic collection of cracker toys. Rubber stamps on top of scans of back-drawn monoprints.
Printing by numbers
Week three of the stencil monoprint evening class was a little more out of my comfort zone. One of Sophie's drawings was used as a basis for everyone in the class to create a multi-layered stencil print - really surprising how different they all ended up looking. I found it quite a challenge working on a predetermined image, making decisions on colour and composition as each stencil was cut. However, it was really interesting to see how quickly you can build quite a complex print from a sketch, and also that there's room for a bit improvisation if things don't go quite to plan (see layers of foliage, and unwanted ink splotch that became a bird).
Second week of stencilling
Experimenting with oil-based ink - richer colours and better levels of transparency. It’s all getting a little bit ‘Very Hungry Caterpillar’… childhood influences obviously run deep!