Monoprint © Mari French 2017
Well, here are some of the results of my recent monoprinting on gel plate sessions (as written about in my previous post here). I’m fairly pleased with some of them, not so sure about others, but trying out a completely different process or medium is a great way of shaking you out of an artist’s block or the doldrums or that feeling of ‘what next’. I recommend it!
I soon learnt a few things too…
Printmaking paper may work better than watercolour paper (less size), so I’ve ordered some Somerset smooth white paper;
Open acrylics (Golden) definitely work better (as do Atelier Interactive) as they don’t dry quite so fast. Alternatively I found that adding gloss acrylic medium helped with consistency and slowed down drying time a bit;
Allow lots of time for cleaning up and do it often, acrylics seem to dry particularly quickly on brayers.
I’d still like to produce the soft look of the paint on the gelli plate itself; by the time the image has been transferred to the paper it’s lost that quality. Something worth working on.
After a few days of producing these prints I decided to have a break and go back to painting (acrylics) for a while, and it’s been interesting how the monoprinting has fed back into the new paintings. But more of that in the next post!
Mari French RI : contemporary artworks 
Certainly have to say you are diverse. Some nice combinations of shades and colours x
Thanks Jed. Like to try my hand at different mediums especially when I get in a rut. Surprising how it can spark off a new direction or enthusiasm for the one just taking a break from, the two can feed into and spark off each other.
A good friend from Art School, Jacqueline Bakowski, has worked extensively with Gel Plates, and gets amazing textures, speckling, gradations, etc. I think her ‘secret’ is not being too scrupulous with cleaning the gel, and laying up alternate diverse colours, where the first is beginning to dry out. This then causes a random breaking up of the paint as it comes off (or in places not) onto the paper. I could have said this more succinctly, but its hit and miss … and that is the value in it for her, that bits of old ‘dried’ paint get dragged in. I think she uses a spray mist bottle at times too. Then she uses the prints as collage, and works back over it again in places, with the gel plate, roller (or other less controlled methods!). Mari … i love that you are ever exploring.
Thanks for another interesting and considered response Phil. I like the sound of the way your friend works, sounds a bit like the way I paint. But with the gelli plate I think being a bit new with it I’m being a bit overcautious perhaps. I was trying not to allow the acrylic to dry on it as it would be a nightmare to clean – but I may now throw caution to the wind and get more messy. After all what’s the worse that can happen? I may need to buy a new plate but nothing ventured in art, nothing gained. I used a spray mist bottle on a few of the prints on this post as I love the effect of the runs in the paint. I’ll check out your friend’s work too (if she’s online). Really great to get your feedback!