Gel Plate Acrylic Monotype Print

This is a post from Belinda Del Pesco’s Art Blog Belinda Del Pesco.

Gel Plate Acrylic Monotype Print with Colored Pencils

It’s been a minute since I posted a gel plate monotype printed with slow dry acrylic paint. Half the fun is adding colored pencil to the print after it’s dry. Have you made one of these yet?

This one is different from previous botanical gel plate prints (see the botanical print here: it includes a list of archived Gelli Print demo posts).

Applying the pigment to the gel plate with a brush was a test, to see how that would work for folks who don’t have the option of rolling the pigment on with a printmaking brayer.

Circling Back Around

There’s a wood core and hammered tin horse in my studio (see above). He’s small and sturdy, and he’s been featured in several still life watercolors, but never in a printmaking project, till now.

For this gel plate monotype, I started with some slow drying acrylic and a still life reference photo taken in 2013. My tools to move pigment around were a paint brush, a pastel stomp, and a handful of cotton swabs. Keepin’ it simple.

My reference photo was printed in black and white (you can see it below), which was a perfect constraint to match the monochrome pigment. Highly recommended used on the gel plate.

Carving the Light

Dark field monotype prints start with a ‘dark field’ – in other words, the plate is completely coated with pigment, edge to edge. Moving tools through the pigment removes the dark, and clears your light areas.

We have decades of experience holding pencils and pens and pigments that leave a dark mark on a white field. This dark field monotype print method is a great exercise to reverse that.

Everywhere you clear the pigment, you’ll see the white of your paper after the monotype is printed. Rather than moving a tool to leave a dark mark, you’re carving the light. This forces you to look for and render shape rather than lines.

No Press Required

One of my favorite things about Gel Plate printmaking is the speed and ease of use. No press, and no sharp carving tools. You’re just moving pigments around and pressing paper to the gel plate with your very own hands. It’s a lickety split printing method.

When I pulled the print, what came off the gel plate onto my paper was painterly and impressionistic with an assortment of chunky brush marks and textures. I filmed the process up to this point, so I’ll post a video demo on my YouTube channel after I’ve edited and narrated the details.

Now for Color Fun

The beauty of pulling a whole afternoon of gel plate monotypes is that they will all dry and then wait patiently for you to circle back around later.

I made this tin horse and roses monotype Gelli print a long time ago, so it was a treat to pull it from my files, and spread the colored pencils out.

When Time is Short

When we get too squeezed by life to touch art supplies, it helps to grab the quick stuff. This form of printmaking is one of the fastest I know. If you have a gelli plate and some slow dry acrylics, I hope you reserve some time to make a pile of prints.

Pre-motor plan your session by tearing down or cutting paper to fit your gelli plate size, and print a pile of reference images you find inspiring. Or maybe collect leaves and flowers to just make botanical prints. You can use a plastic table cloth (I use this one – over and over – so it bears colorful evidence of my practice) on your kitchen table, and a roll of paper towels for easy clean up. Rubber gloves are nice too of you don’t like paint on your fingers.

I hope you find time to make some art soon. It’s such an effective remedy for gerbil wheel brain. Pinky promise. Speaking from experience.

Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you in the next post -

Belinda

P.S. This book on Gel Plate Printmaking by Susan McCreevy is a great place to start if you want to begin exploring this very accessible print process.

Art Quote

The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes. ~ Agatha Christie

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