Hi and welcome back to the Chrissie Murphy Designs Blog. I have something I’m calling Gel Plate Tangling to share with you today. I recently purchased a gel plate and I’ve been busy making a stash of prints. It’s addictive! I thought these prints could be beautiful backgrounds for tangling, so I wanted to try and tangle on top of one.
The Expressive Bits
What inspired me to try this Gel Plate Tangling?
Each time you pull paper off a gel plate you can never be certain about how it’s going to look. This unpredictability is what lends itself well to tangling.
I love tangling over watercolour for this same reason. You can never be sure how the colours are going to blend together, so you never know what your string is going to look like.
Gel plate printing gives you a little more control compared to watercolour, because you blend colours before you apply paper. But it’s still unpredictable, and it’s this unpredictability I’m drawn to.
I love the free form.
What techniques did I use for the Gel Plate Tangling and why?
I used stencilling on the gel plate to get variations in the initial prints. And then I added more stencilling with inks and gel pens to add extra highlights and interest. I thought it needed the extra inks to help achieve balance and harmony in the piece.
When it was dry, I continued with normal Zentangle techniques. I found a string embedded in the print and I used it as a guide for where I tangled.
Finally I accented the piece with coloured pencils and shaded it in complimentary colours.
What does it mean in terms of my artistic work as a whole?
As I dig deeper into authenticity and freedom, I’m loving the idea of playing with mediums that are free flowing and unpredictable.
When you sign up to my Expressive’s List, I talk about there being no moulds or limits with the Lord, just possibilities.
“A mould limits and controls your ability to move. A mould prevents that which is filling it from moving freely.”
I don’t want to be limited or bound by anything with my art. This Gel Plate Tangling aligns with that.
How can you take this idea and be more Expressive?
What is the thing that is binding you? What is the thing that is limiting your ability to move freely as you create? Is a creative process defining your actions too firmly that you feel bound by it?
Spend the next week deliberately breaking limitations and take some time to record what happens. Do you prefer the thing you create by having limitations or the thing you create without them? What are the differences you see? What draws you?
I know I am drawn to the free form. I’m drawn to creating in a manner that’s not bound by rules and processes. And my expression is free flowing because if it. Where are you on this scale? Take this idea this week and find out.
The Factual Bits
The material’s used
- White Strathmore Artist Tile 6in x 6in.
- Jo Sonya acrylic paints in varying colours
- Distress Inks in varying colours
- Artline 200 Fine Tip Marker 0.4 in Sepia
- Grey Copic Markers in W3, W5 and W7
- Prismacolor Premier Coloured Pencils
- Uniball Signo White Gel Pen
How big is the Gel Plate Tangling?
It is 6 inches x 6 inches.
Have you joined the Expressive’s List yet?
Join the Expressive’s List to begin to learn ways you can start to express yourself creatively. With the Lord there are no moulds or limits, just possibilities, and the promise of unearthing who you were created to be.
Expressive Subscribers receive an email each month that contains creative inspiration and ideas, links to helpful resources and a month’s worth of journal prompts to stimulate creative expression. These prompts are a great way of learning to express yourself when you’ve never really tried it before. Fill in your details below to sign up.
Until next time, listen to your heart and sharpen your coloured pencils. A masterpiece awaits!
Bless you my friend
Chrissie xx
