October Challenge Monoprint Tutorial with Dana

Hi! Dana here today sharing a layout that I created for Marivic's "Autumn is in the Air" October Challenge. I recently visited a local apple orchard, one of my favorite things to do each fall. The colors of the leaves and apples at the orchard were amazing and were my inspiration for this page. This layout features a 6x6 monoprint that I created with a Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate and Speedball Block Printing Ink.

The Speedball Block Printing Ink is so vibrant and I had a blast adding layers of color to this print.

I added one of Marivic's gorgeous handmade tags to my page. If you'd like to purchase a Berry71Bleu Handmade Tag, contact Marivic!

I also added one of Marivic's beautiful handmade flowers that I received in my Zeus and Zoe Green with Envy Embellishment Kit. You can find similar kits HERE. In addition to my monoprint, I also used Speedball Block Printing Ink to add color to a piece of corrugated cardboard.

Fall Themed Monoprint Tutorial

I used my favorite stencils and masks, a 6x6 Gelli Arts Gelli Plate and several colors of Speedball Block Printing Ink to create my print. I experimented with several types of paper and found that plain white copy paper produced the best results for me. I also found that it helped to have several pieces of paper on hand for the printing process. Whenever I wasn't sure how a design would turn out, I would test the design on another piece of paper, rather than go straight to my print. I also want to add that I'm a Gelli Plate newbie. I made several prints that went straight to the trash before I produced designs that I was happy with. I've included the steps on how I made the print from above, mistakes and all. :)

I started by covering my plate with a thin layer of bright Yellow ink. I removed some of the paint, creating a pattern of random circles and dots, with the end of a paintbrush. I carefully laid a piece of copy paper over the plate and pressed gently over the plate to transfer the ink to my paper. I then carefully removed the paper from the plate by peeling up a corner and pulling the paper off.

The top print is the first impression from the plate. Most of my circle design is not visible, so I could have removed more paint in the previous step. The bottom print is the second impression from my plate. The second print picked up the rest of the paint from the plate, and because there was less paint on the plate, my circle design showed up much better but the color is less intense. Note: My plan at this point was to work with both prints. We'll see what I end up with!

I'm working with my lightest colors of paint first, so my next choice was this bold Magenta ink. Once my ink was spread evenly over the plate I laid a Glimmer Screen from the Vintage Seasons set onto the plate.

The top left print is the first impression and the second print is on the bottom left. (I accidentally created the pink smudge on both prints while removing the second print from the plate. I caught the edge of my first print and they stuck together! Just one consequence of working quickly and trying to take photos!) The print on the right is from a third pass over the plate. I flipped the stencil over before I made this print. Note: The thin layers of paint dry quickly on the plate, but do take longer to dry on the paper. I'm not waiting for my prints to dry before moving on to the next layer of color. Dry paint can be removed from the plate with a baby wipe. I'm working with a pan of water next to me that I can toss stencils, brushes and brayers into for later cleanup.

I spread a mix of Light Red and Gold ink for my next layer of color. I used more paint than the previous steps here due to the thickness of The Crafter's Workshop Stencil. While making previous prints, I found that I really needed a lot of ink in order for the triangle design to transfer to the paper.

Again, the top left print is the first impression and the second print is on the bottom left. The print on the right resulted from pressing the pink tree print from above over the plate after I removed the stencil. As you can see my pink tree was completely covered up! I learned that dark colors look great on prints, but are much better when applied to small areas through a mask!

For the next layer I've mixed Green and Turquoise ink. You don't have to add color to the entire plate each time! I thought it would be fun to add some flowers and leaves to the top of my print over the branches of my tree. I was a little hesitant to add this directly to my first print, which I was happy with, so I started with my second print, which ended up being a great idea! Note: I have to apologise for not taking a photo of the prints after this step! I'll explain the results of this pressing after the next step.

Next, I covered my plate with Gold ink and added another Glimmer Screen and a Studio Calico mask. The masks I chose are quite small in comparison to the plate and there is a lot of ink that will transfer directly to the print, covering most of the design, so I'm going to start again with my second print, to remove most of the ink from the plate.

The print on the left is the second print, which has become my test paper. The Green/Turquoise layer from two steps prior did cover half of my print, so it was a good idea for me to not go ahead and transfer that color directly to my first print. The first print is on the right. I went back over the Green/Turquoise layer a second time which resulted in the small areas of green. I think I would have better results using a larger, less detailed leaf and flower masks. Looking at the print on the right again, I flipped the leaf mask from the Green/Turquoise step over onto my print to try to transfer the leaf design that way and the ink was too dry, which is why the leaf impression is so faint.

Looking at the print on the left again, I correctly predicted the results from the Gold layer of color. Most of the print was covered, the circle pattern didn't transfer well and the tree looks more like a blob. Instead of placing my first print over the plate to pick up the color, I only pressed the top left corner of the first print over the circle mask, picking up a little of the Gold ink.

For the final layer of my print, I wanted to bring in a leaf pattern to dress up my tree and a bold pop of color, so I used a stencil and a paintbrush to add a Turquoise leaf pattern to my plate that I then transferred to my print.

Here is my finished print. Thanks for sticking with me!

We'd love to see how this mood board inspires you! Link up your projects by the end of the month for your chance to win one of two fantastic prize packages!

First Prize:

Random Prizes:

 6x6 Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate

2 Tubes of Green and Blue Speedball Block Printing Ink

Main Sponsors:

Speedball Art Products Company
facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SpeedballArt

 Product Catalog

A Tradition of Excellence: For more than 100 years, high quality art products from Speedball have created Unlimited Possibilities for Artists in both classrooms and professional studios around the world. Speedball is committed to artistic innovation and expression.

Printmaking Is A Time-Tested Craft That Is Ideal For Contemporary Art Expression: Today with the advent of new techniques and materials, Printmaking has gained renewed interest and unprecedented support. Printmaking begins with Speedball - America’s leading manufacturer of printmaking materials - unequaled for quality, safety and ease-of-use.

Economical and Time-Flexible: The Beauty of Printmaking is in its flexibility and economy. Projects can range from simple printmaking exercises lasting only for a short session to more complex projects that can be expanded to include advance detailed techniques. Printmaking is more popular than ever and Speedball Art Products is the artist’s choice!

Speedball Block Printing Inks: Give your creations all the brilliance they deserve with inks from Speedball. Speedball’s Water Soluble Block Printing Inks come in 18 brilliant colors available in 37cc, 75cc, 150cc tubes plus 8oz. and 16oz jars. These inks are easy to clean up with water, non-toxic, gluten free and super for printmaking with linoleum, wood, Flexible Printing Plate, Speedy-Carve™, Speedy-Cut™ and Polyprint. All Speedball inks are AP Non-Toxic and are excellent for use in the studio, school or home. Speedball also carries Oil-Based Block Printing Inks available in 10 brilliant colors in 37cc tubes or 7 colors available in 75cc tubes. Suitable for printing on papers and fabrics, they are non-darkening, waterproof and permanent.

We love gelatin printing and we've developed a better way to do it!

Our Gel Printing Plate looks and feels like gelatin, but is durable, reusable and stores at room temperature. It's easy to clean and always ready for printing. Monoprinting on a Gelli plate is simple and fun. The gratification is immediate, and the prints are too cool! 

  

A special thanks to Speedball Art Products and  Gelli Arts for supplying the Design Team with Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plates and Speedball Block Printing Ink.

Please note that International winner(s) of this challenge are responsible for shipping costs.
Please make sure you follow the CHALLENGE RULES.