Art, Paper, Prints and Painting

Discover unique ways to create handmade Artistic gifts for Christmas It’s not too early to think about Christmas! I have already started. I usually try to give my friends and family something personal that I have made myself. I think it’s enjoyable to take the time and effort to make something unique especially for them.   It’s   not being mean or tight with money. I could buy them gifts but my are doing well.   Anyhow that’s not the point. The point is, if you want to make something to offer your friends and family for Christmas, then you should start now before it’s   too late.   Maybe not too late if you are just going to make cards. But if you want to make anything bigger or if you have a BIG family, then it’s probably better to start right away.   Let’s say for example you want to make 10 framed collages. Frames have become less expensive these last few years and most of them are quite light using perplex instead of glass. If you can’t buy them locally...

Support your local artists to fight poverty, nurture talent, and keep culture alive. Discover why small acts of support make a big difference.  Supporting local artists is more than just buying a painting, attending a small concert, or visiting a craft fair—it’s about recognising the role creativity plays in the life of a community. Too often, artists face poverty despite their extraordinary talent. Many juggle multiple jobs to make ends meet, while still creating work that enriches our culture and gives meaning to everyday life. When we support local artists, we’re not only helping individuals but also investing in culture itself. Every drawing, sculpture, poem, or performance adds depth to the stories we share as a society. Without support, many voices risk being silenced and culture becomes dominated by mass-produced trends instead of authentic, local expression. Practical support doesn’t always mean spending large sums of money. Buying small pieces, commissioning work, sharin...

Discover the magic of magazine transfers on a gel plate—easy, fun, and full of surprises. Magazines. A transfer using shiny magazine paper works really well. It’s best if there are   good contrasting shapes or spaces on the page. The magazine pages need to be high quality shiny paper. Matt pages won’t work. Your paint layer should be fairly thin but not too thin. Trial and error will teach you how much paint you need. Place the page immediately you’ve rolled out the paint. Don’t rub too hard, just enough to stick the image to the paint. Try magazines like Vogue, Elle, Interiors, Home & Garden. Ask your friends if they have any old magazines they don’t want. Don’t throw the rest of the magazine away, it’s   great for cleaning your brayer between colours.   The pages you don’t use are great for cleaning the brayer.   The first time I tried a magazine transfer on my gel plate, I honestly didn’t expect anything to happen. I pressed down a glossy page, peeled it back,...

  Which Paper for Gel Printing? How to chose the Right Paper for Printing? A4 copy paper is fine for starting off with or as cheap paper for tryouts and taking ghost prints. But if you want to pull several layers of paint in one go then, you’ll need a tough paper which won’t tear. You can sometimes get mixed pads of paper but go for 160 grams to 190 grams or more if you want to make cards. I have bought synthetic paper also called Yupo paper. It’s   made for alcohol inks watercolour, acrylic, oil, felt tips, etc. it’s   also UV lightfast and can be recycled. It’s tough and very resistant to tearing.  Paper is all around you. You can print on old books, old maps, sheet music. Newspaper too, but it has limited keeping qualities. And is prone to tearing when you pull the print. Magazine paper is stronger. If you want to invest in high quality paper, you can get beautiful hand made paper made with 100% rags or cotton or linen. Silk can also be used to make paper, althoug...

 Textures make great subjects for your Gel Printing  Texture. This is what give a print some “life” and helps it standout from all the other gel prints. Make your texture from stencils, leaves, f lowers, petals, clothes pegs, combs, old toothbrush, flattened soda cans, (no sharp edges please) old jeans, feathers, round plastic containers, scissors handle, old tools, carton, stamps, lettering, string, knitted fabric, credit card cut outs, tissue or bits of other prints. Balloons. Fabric. Brushes. Plastic packaging from biscuits and chocolates, Think outside the box. Try anything with texture or a raised design.  When you begin to print for the first time, I would suggest starting with some leaf print which can be fun and give a good result on the first or second try. After that packing carton gives nice textures as does crushed up paper. Dampen one side of the carton and after a few minutes the paper...

Which paint for Acrylic painting on Gel Plates? Liquitex? Pēbeo? Amsterdam? Inexpensive Brands?   Choose the Best you can afford.  Acrylic paint can be cheap or expensive depending on the quality available. If you think you are going to like gel printing then go for a medium range of paint. I have bought cheap paint but I find it can be made with chemicals that smell or it contains mediums which take a while to dry or don’t mix well with other paints. Eventually I decided cheap is more expensive in the long run. I personally find Liquitex paints are good quality, reasonably priced, dry quickly and mix well. They also make all sorts of mediums and all their products are guaranteed to mix together. This is important as I have had issues before with certain brands of paints not mixing with other brands and I had to throw out a whole batch of paint. Now I stick with Liquitex. But if you find other brands for example Pēbeo or Amsterdam paints, no worries. They are good quali...

Ideas for Using Gel Prints One of the most exciting ways to use gel prints is by turning them into unique collages. Gel printing produces layers of texture, colour, and pattern that are perfect for cutting, tearing, and reassembling into new works of art. Because each print is different, your collages will always have a one-of-a-kind look. When making collages with gel prints, start by experimenting with different papers. The list is endless, textured or plain paper, all sorts of prints, different fabrics, packaging carton, shells, old buttons, various wools, old magazines, old newspaper, coloured tissue paper, textured paper, wallpaper, old maps, old books or photographs, stamps, coins, old banknotes, in fact just about anything you can find. Remember to use a suitable base, card stock works well but for a small collage strong paper will suffice.   You can use bold, bright prints for a statement background, or tear softer pastel prints into strips to create depth and atmosphere. T...