I love using my gelliplates. Having been a printmaker at one time, with large equipment and such, now most of my work is done digitally. However, the desire for the tangible still exists and I can often be found painting on canvas in the boathouse studio or even getting out the little gelliplates to make simple prints from my daily Beachcombing.
Early mornings often find me hunting for 'treasures' here and Seaweed and Algae are a fun thing to play with. Though usually my treasures are shells, stones, and beach glass, finding ways to 'treasure' the seaweed is important: thus the gelliplate.
I'll not find the tools I need out to sea, but one has to stop and slip into the water up to one's wellies and have a good look at what's going on out to sea. It fills you with the spirit to get in the studio and play with your wet green treasures.
After rolling out various shades of acrylic on my gelliplate I take the seaweed or kelp or algae and paint it up a bit with watercolour. I find if I dip or paint on watercolour it reacts nicely with the Stock or Paper and repels the gelliplate in a very 'watery' sort of way. And besides, I just love to play with seaweed.
After pressing the paper down on the plate with my fingers, I often use other tools just to give it more 'press' and I finish off with a stack of HEAVY hardback books and then I sit upon that. I figure my weight and the books are as close to the old big presses I used to have. And it's fun to drink tea sitting on old birding books with seaweed underneath. It's like the Princess and the Pea but in Mermaid fashion.
The watercolour, tho still wet here so a bit opaque, will dry more translucent and thus get some of the seaweed detail as well as giving the print a 'watery' feel. I love making prints like these both for the originals as well as scanning them and using them in my digital art as well. I'lll be making a vlog in the future about that and sharing it here as well, of course.
And here are just a few of the day's prints hanging up to dry in my studio. If you look close you can see the tea table set up outside, as my reward for a hard day's work of beachcombing, printmaking, and filming is seaside tea party for one.
If you'd like to watch it all unfold, from beachcomb to printmaking to tea party, then why not watch it now, here is the vlog. And if you are so inclined hop over to my Youtube Channel and Subscribe. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT5h0k7OV7GGVJIjZc-e35A?sub_confirmation=1
Enjoy the video and remember Stay Creative!
