Gel Plate Printing
A few weeks ago I went along to a Gel Plate printing class with Denise Harrison at Atelier Beside The Sea on Brighton Sea front. It was one of the rare warm days we’ve had so far this summer, and the beach was full of people enjoying the evening sun.
There’d been a few cancellations for the class, so I ended up being the only student - not quite what I’d planned when I’d originally booked it as a social event, but I had great time learning from Denise.
We went through all of the possibilities with gel printing and I tried out lots of techniques - my favourite was using leaves to create silhouettes and overlapping them in different colours. The results reminded me of something I’ve always been inspired by - the light coming through leaves in a tree.
I was back again the following week (it was originally scheduled to be a different printing class but they had to rearrange so it was Gel Plate printing again) so I took a huge selection of leaves from my own garden and decided to keep experimenting with the techniques I’d enjoyed previously. I used soft, muted greens with the intention of using the results as backgrounds for paintings later on.
At home the following week, I painted some florals on to a couple of my favourite backgrounds - and I’m so pleased with the result.
I’ve been struggling with backgrounds for a while, and most often paint my florals straight on to a white background. I love how these have turned out and the inspiration of the light coming through leaves.
I treated myself to some Gel Plate printing supplies and yesterday I spent some time creating more backgrounds, which I’ll be painting on to in the next few weeks.
I’d seen Gel Plate printing online and it looked fun, but I couldn’t see a way that it would fit in to my practice or the style I’ve been working on. I’m so pleased to have found a way that works for me, and I love that it incorporates leaves and plants I’ve grown in my own garden too.
I’m excited to keep experimenting here and see what comes next. Have you tried Gel Plate printing? I’d love to hear what you think!
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