I Gelli, Do You?

Hi everyone. Today I am writing about my Gelli printing techniques. A kind of tutorial from me.

This might be how you print, or maybe you have your own technique. Or maybe you've never printed. Anyhow, here's the BioArtGal  (Erika) method.

Since last weekend was pretty quiet and I had a bunch of time Saturday to play. I used some of that play time to make a bunch of Gelli prints. Besides my Gelli plate, I used my brayer, various stencils and and some soft bodied and "wet' acrylic paint. 

I love this Liquitex type of paint. Its just juicy enough without being too runny. I find for my style of printing I don't want paint too thick or too thin. Its got to move easily with the brayer, and not dry out too quickly. I like to pull at least 2 if not 3 prints per layer of paint I put down on the Gelli plate. You also don't want the paint too thick so it blurs and smears, but actually I'm not too fussy. I figure if I don't like a layer I just add another layer on top of it. 

I also always wait for a sale on the Liquitex paint because it isn't the cheapest, and when I need other colors that I don't have in the Liquitex,  I used some Martha Stewart and some other crafty paints I have. I do have some of those tubes of heavier Liquitex you can buy for around  $5.00 at some US big box craft stores, and those work fine too.

I don't always use stencils but last weekend I did. I love layering colors. Sometimes I blop down just one paint color, print with that, and then go back and add a second paint color and print that over the first. And often I add a third, or a 4th print layer too. I keep pulling print after print on a single piece of paper until I get to what I like. My other thought as I print is to be sure that I use contrasting  colors on each print layer that  as I  pull new layers so the different colored patterns and images stand out.

Sometimes I use multiple colors at once-as long as they are all hot or all cold so I don't make mud. I've got to remember and use the color wheel info at that point.

Sometimes I print on water color paper and sometimes on deli wrap paper. As long as the paper is able to handle the layers of paint, I might use it. Last weekend I used up some scrapbook paper I wasn't crazy about. I figured better to paint over it and make it pretty than to let it sit and take up space or just throw it out. I also use  old scrapbooking paper to work on like scratch paper or sometimes I stamp and cut out images from the white  backside of the paper. You can tell my parents were Depression era people because they taught me the rule was not to waste anything.

Anyhow, you can see the Christmas print on the right of this piece paper.

The lines and little checks on this print is from a roller I have. I believe it is a polymer  clay roller that you would roll through your clay to give it texture. Actually I have 2 of these rollers. One has rows of straight lines all along the roller and the other one looks like it is covered with rubber bands. Once I brayer the paint and lift the stencil I roll the roller over the wet paint if I want to add that texture.  I rolled this above piece in 2 directions to give it the check effect. Does that make sense?

 I've got to say this straight lined roller is one of my favorite tools.

One of my other favorite tools is this circle stencil from Ranger/ Dylusions.

I'm not very good at cleaning my stencils and this one has so many layers of paint I bet it is a lot thicker than it was when it was new.

I also really like to use white or black paint as a contrasting layer.

Lines and dots are very good in my world.

I recently bought the new Dylusions cherry stencil because I also have a thing for cherries. Nothing like dots and lines though.

I only wipe down my Gelli plate at the very end of my printing session. Even then its not very cleaned off. But it using the not so clean Gelli plate allows me to pick up bits of colors which only adds to the print in my mind.

This circle piece has picked up lots of layers and patterns. I don't even know what the under printed paper looked like any more. Which, by the way, is a good thing.

Here's most of my printed sheets spread out on some brown contractor paper. I don't know what this paper is called or even used for, but the hubby gave me a big roll he bought at the hardware store one Christmas. I like to unroll a big length on the floor and put my prints down on it to dry. 

So that's all the babbling you'll get from me today.
Hope you enjoyed the insight or at least enjoyed the post.

If anyone has any great Gelli printing suggestions or advice, I'd love to add it to my repertoire. :)

Hope its a great day in your neck of the world and thanks for stopping by.