Playing With Papers

Lynn, one of my favorite artist friends shared that she was inspired to start playing with gel plate printing after reading my blog....and I have Elizabeth St. Hilaire to thank for inspiring me.  Needless to say that just makes me just giddy.

These are Lynn's first printings....and I can't wait to see where it takes her.  She's so talented and creative and her art has always been an inspiration to me.

I love making these texture rich prints on the gel plate and I told Lynn I may actually like making them more than I like doing anything with them.  I just need to tap into my inner artist to figure out what I'm going to do with them all....so I've been experimenting.

One of the things I did was cover this little block with some coordinated papers.  I bought several of these for $1 at the Goodwill Store a while back knowing there would be a use for them. They had ridiculous images on them....but nothing a little gesso couldn't fix.

Now I'm auditioning some possible ways to use this background layer....maybe a quote or some sort of image or design.  The blocks are about 5 inches square....and very deep so good for just sitting.  There could even be something displayed on the top like stones.

I like the look of this black and white cut-out....just part of the brainstorming and auditioning.

I'm also working on a piece inspired by strip quilting.  I'm just winging it....and that doesn't always work in my favor....maybe I'll get lucky and I most certainly will learn some lessons.

I'm woking on a wooden paint panel and using cutouts from this graphic print I made with a stencil as a focal point here and there.  The panel is actually one of the ones I did an underpainting on for the class....and you can still see the lines of my sunflower coming through.  Clearly I painted over it but it was all primed and ready to go for another project.

It just occurred to me that I could use the strategy from the class and do an underpainting with basic shapes and colors.  Hmmmmm....that might have been smart. As I look at this picture I'm not wild about the lavender....nothing a little paint or another layer of paper can't fix.

Once I get the board covered I can add more details using paper, paints, and stencils.  It's so easy to cut skinny strips or other shapes....and unlike fabric paper doesn't fray.  Although I do try and get it smooth I don't even mind the little bit of wrinkling that happens....I think it adds more texture. So far all of the papers I've used are from sandwich wrap.

I added these little strips to gold piece on the left.                                                                                    

I'm back in Lexington now so it will sit for several days and I'll do some auditioning and planning before I continue.