I was so anxious to begin using the Open Acrylics and the gel printing plate. Turns out, there is a pretty rough learning curve and I'm not pleased with any of these. I put a bit of the acrylics in the middle of the plate and rolled it all over. Then "carved" out the whites, as well as I could see them. But the woman looks absolutely scary and the Indian Yellow acrylics used for the man just don't work. So here are some beginning things I've learned:
1. Choose your colors carefully to work WITH the subject
2. Slow down and see the whites and lightest parts of the photo you are using so you can wipe that up from the plate, creating your whites and lights on the print.
3. If you don't like the look of the print, go in immediately (before the acrylic dries) and fiddle with it, making it look more like what you want.
Oh, and
4. Accept what you get and realize it's all going to be opposite of the drawing or photo you are using.
The crow should have been done, not in Vandyke Brown but in Black!
I do, however, like the clean way the dry paper prints so I won't bother with pre-wetting the paper (140# Arches hotpress) from now on. And I will do more of these and think about the subject matter and the color and how to add in more printing (like the background of the crow) using stencils and other odds and ends.
Happy June - summer is on its way (if you haven't already experienced it in the way of high temps and high humidity in your part of the world). It's going to be a strange year of strange weather. Stay safe!
1. Choose your colors carefully to work WITH the subject
2. Slow down and see the whites and lightest parts of the photo you are using so you can wipe that up from the plate, creating your whites and lights on the print.
3. If you don't like the look of the print, go in immediately (before the acrylic dries) and fiddle with it, making it look more like what you want.
Oh, and
4. Accept what you get and realize it's all going to be opposite of the drawing or photo you are using.
The crow should have been done, not in Vandyke Brown but in Black!
I do, however, like the clean way the dry paper prints so I won't bother with pre-wetting the paper (140# Arches hotpress) from now on. And I will do more of these and think about the subject matter and the color and how to add in more printing (like the background of the crow) using stencils and other odds and ends.
Happy June - summer is on its way (if you haven't already experienced it in the way of high temps and high humidity in your part of the world). It's going to be a strange year of strange weather. Stay safe!
8 comments:
I attempted something similar and was not happy with the results. Maybe it was the thinking backward part I couldn't get my head around.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with something new! And congratulations for exploring it! It looks like an exciting venture! I'll look forward to seeing what comes next with this new technique. I haven't heard of it before!
I think that this process holds a lot of promise, of course it is always more difficult than we first think to work out all of the little glitches. I will enjoy watching to see how you progress with this new technique!
Hi Rhonda,
Of course, I would say to be patient with yourself on the portraits-that seems much harder than just random shapes. I really like the crow!
It's exciting seeing your progress with this new technique, and hey, the fact that's not easy makes it even more interesting to learn, right? I'm wondering after reading your comment of using prewet/dry paper if there would be an interesting outcome printing over a paper that has some areas wet and some dry, would paint react different? create a contrast in textures? or maybe not? Gosh Rhonda don't get me thinking, ok? :D
Love the negative images. I like the yellow, Rhonda.
Wow, look at all you've learned already!! This is going to be fun to follow and hopefully fun for you! Thinking backwards.... hmmm, how many cups of coffee will be needed? I think this new process calls for a day of be locked away and letting go.... Time will pass so quickly! Lucky you to be able to play :)
Tina, it does take some backward thinking! ha ha
Thanks so much, Vicki, Katherine, Jane and Teresa!
Pam, I think it will be fun - and it does take at least 2 cups of coffee first :)
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