Due to the popularity of Gerry Poe’s initial release across her collection, eight more prints were released for circulation through Realize Your Art gallery. There are 3 additions from the Wildlife Wandering series and 4 additions from the Emotional Waters series.
Take a stroll through Gerry’s showing at Realize Your Art gallery.
Turbulent Waters Ahead
When I told people that I was going to explore a new art medium in September, I received a ton of questions. The questions ranged from "gel printing, what is that, and why do you want to do that? Why don't you keep doing your alcohol inks? Have you ever done this before? How are you going to learn to do it?" They are all outstanding questions. Let me see if I can answer those questions and share the latest in my Explore to Do More journey with gel printing.
Explore to Do More: Alcohol Inks in August. Why do I want to try something new in September? Read on to find out why I will Explore to Do More to learn gel printing in September..
Gel printing or mono printing is a unique art form that uses a silicone pad as the base to build single or multiple layers of color and design.
Gel printing using acrylics and a stencil.
For just basic gel printing, you need a gel printing pad, acrylic paints, paper, a brayer, and your imagination.
LEARNER LESSON:
There is a list of items beyond the basic equipment you can use for gel printing including, but not limited to stencils, stamps, inks, water-soluble crayons, strings, cotton swabs, etc.
However, if you want to try to gel print, the base list is all you need to get started. For me, I purchased from DickBlicks and Amazon.
Basic equipment for gel printing includes acrylic paints, brayer, gel pad and paper.
Here is a simple description of the gel printing process from a newbie gel printer. With your gel pad in front of you on a firm surface, apply a thin coat of acrylic paint to the surface of the gel printing pad using a brayer. The gel pad is soft and squishy - it feels and looks like gelatin.
Gel printing pads are soft and squishy. They feel like gelatin.
For a simple print version, make a few squiggles in the paint using your finger or cotton swab. Once you are satisfied with the design, place a piece of paper over the top of the gel printing pad, and apply firm pressure to the back of the paper using your hands or brayer to make the ink transfer from the gel pad to the paper. After a good minute of firm pressure, take a quick peek under a corner of the paper to check if the colors transferred. If not, put down the edge of the paper, and apply additional pressure. When you are satisfied with the results of your peek, slowly lift the paper from the gel pad and your print is born. Yay!
If there is more color left on the gel pad, place a new sheet of paper on the pad, and repeat the process to get your second or ghost print.
LEARNER LESSON: A ghost print is a lighter version of the original print. You can use ghost prints for overlays of the original print, a new print or as a layer for a different print.
There are endless ways to use the gel printing pad. Frequently, Gelli Arts, the maker of the Gelli printing plates, and numerous brilliant artists share new ideas. The options to use the gel printing plates span from transferring a single acrylic paint color with a few squiggles and swirls to paper (as shared above), to elaborate layers of color, inks, stamps, and photos transferred to specialized papers. The achieved looks are breathtakingly unique.
I used my 4-Step Ramped Learning process: 1) See it; 2) Learn it; 3) Do it; 4) Perfect it. I will discuss my Ramped Learning process in future Realize Your Art blogs.
In a nutshell, I saw the gel print creations done by several artists; I followed these artists across their various channels; I decided I wanted to try this art medium; I learned about gel printing through reading and watching endless "how-to" videos.
LEARNER LESSON: Some of the "how-to videos were excellent, and others were interesting but not helpful for my learning purposes. At the end of my learning, I was overwhelmed. There are so many options, and I did not know where to start.
The answer, for me, is just to start. Luckily when I was at this point, a very talented Instagram artist @birgit_koopsen was hosting a gel printing challenge in September. For the month-long challenge, she suggests a gel print method for each day. Birgit creates her version of the challenge and shares her process. As a participant, you design according to the theme and post-it online.
The challenge was very timely and a perfect solution to my next step - Do It. The gel printing challenge gave me a path to follow and an introduction to a great community of people honing and sharing their gel printing talents.
LEARNER LESSON: If you are interested in learning or seeing the results of others, follow the challenge on Instagram #birgitkoopsengelprintingchallenge Thank you, Birgit and Gelli Arts
It is getting better every day. Practice does make perfect. During the first days of the challenge, I was frustrated. I disliked my end products. Instead of giving up, I continue to try new techniques and hone my gel printing skills.
LEARNER LESSON: The things I learned so far:
Some methods are more natural than others for me
There is a science to the gel print and applying others best practices improved my end product
It is essential to put my personality and creative style into my exploration
And, to have fun.
Featured Artist New’s Flash: Gerry Poe, an accomplished artist highlighted in August’s Featured Artist Blog, agreed to do a limited print release to Realize Your Art Gallery from her 5 Collections. The 5 Collections include:
Today, Realize Your Art Gallery is releasing a glimpse into 4 of the 5 collections. The Gallery plans on expanding the release collection by collection over the next few months. These prints are a great gift idea for any special occasion, holiday or for yourself.
Stay tuned and give us feedback on the collections in the comments below.
Turbulent Waters by artist, Gerry Poe Schuepfer, is part of her Emotional Waters Collection. Turbulent Waters is available in print through Realize Your Art Gallery.
Owl Be Seeing You by artist, Gerry Poe Schuepfer, is part of her Wildlife Wanderings Collection. Owl Be Seeing You is available in print through Realize Your Art Gallery.
Here is a quick look into a few of the projects completed during the Explore to Do More - Alcohol Inks in August. Each project is a bit different from the next. The three projects include Heart of an Angel, Beneath the Deep, and Glistening Garden.
Read MoreJoin Denise as she experiences all different kinds of mediums. The first step in learning is to have the experience. The experience can be reading about the activity, watching a video, or even trying it. Follow the teaser link to take your first step into the world of alcohol inks. Enjoy!
Read MoreNorthern Illinois-based artist, Gerry Poe, is our featured artist of the month. Gerry is not a new artist; she has been enhancing her artistic skills over the decades using a variety of mediums including oils, acrylics, pencil, pastels, watercolors, and even paper mache'.
Read MoreWe are all artists. How we define, express and experience art is different from one person to the next.
Read More“If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” is a children’s book written by Laura Numeroff where a boy gives a mouse a cookie and the mouse asks for a glass of milk. The mouse starts the slippery slope of requests. First it is a glass of milk, then a straw to drink the milk, a mirror to check for a milk mustache, etc. That is how I am about art.
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