Gelli Arts® Gel Printing with Crayon Resist

Hi there! It’s
Marsha here today! I’m excited to share with you a way to add unique personal
elements to your Gelli Arts® gel prints using a crayon resist technique!

You can use any
greasy crayon you have at hand as long as it isn’t water-soluble. Wax crayons,
oil pastels and china markers all work.

The results may
vary depending on the type of crayon or even brand. There is no one-stop answer
for which one is best because, in the end, it all comes down to personal
preference.

So just give it a try with what you have in your stash first. You can always look into other materials later on!

Step 1

Grab some printer
paper and a couple of crayons. Go around the house and look for interesting
textured surfaces.

Stencils and stamps
create beautiful rubbings too, but it’s especially fun to look for objects that
you usually would not put in direct contact with paint and your Gelli Arts® Gel
Printing Plate!

Place the printer
paper on top the textured surface and rub over the paper with the long side of
the oil pastel or wax crayon.

Step 2

Place your Gelli
Arts® Gel Printing Plate precisely in the middle of a sheet of paper the same
size as the paper you want to print on. This will make it easier to line up all
of your printed layers!

I’m using the 5”x7”
Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate.

Roll a layer of
acrylic paint onto the Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate with a brayer. Medium to
heavy body acrylic paints works best for this technique.

Place one of your
crayon rubbings on the painted plate. Rub it to remove paint from the plate
around the crayon marks.

Remove the crayon
rubbing.

Roll a layer ofa differentpaint colour onto the printing plate. Place a
sheet of (drawing) paper on top. Make sure to line it up with the paper
underneath the plate.

Rub the paper or
use a brayer and pull the print.

Step 3

Take a sheet of
printer paper and the crayon of your preference. Doodle or make some marks.

Roll a layer of
acrylic paint onto the Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate.

Place the doodled
paper on the painted plate. Rub it to remove paint from the plate around the
crayon marks.

Remove the paper.
If you still see some paint where you do not want it, you can quickly wipe it
away with a damp cloth or a baby wipe.

Place your previous
print on the plate. Make sure to line it up with the paper underneath the
plate.

Rub the paper or
use a brayer. You can use the back of a spoon to apply extra pressure in
specific places.

Pull the print.

Step 4

Youmay havegathered by now that if you can use crayon doodles to print, you can also pull
prints with crayon drawings and writing!

Take a sturdier
paper or a sheet of greyboard (thin cardboard from packaging) the same size as
the paper you’re using to print on. Draw an image using your favourite crayon.

Make sure you
saturate parts of the drawing with crayon and also leave parts completely bare.
Remember that the crayon marks will show up in the print and the exposed
portions will show the background.

You can even
include your handwriting!

You do not have to
worry about reversing letters or words. When you use a paper with your normal
writing in crayon to remove paint from the Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate it
will transfer reversed. And then when you pull the print it will automatically
be reversed back again.

Long story short:
what you write is what you get!

Step 5

Roll a layer of
acrylic paint onto the Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate. Use a darker, opaque
colour if you want your drawing to pop from the background.

Place the greyboard
drawing on the painted plate. Rub it to remove paint from the plate around the
crayon marks.

Remove the board.

Place your previous
print on the plate. Make sure to line it up with the paper underneath the
plate.

Rub the paper or
use a brayer. You can use the back of a spoon to apply extra pressure in
specific places.

Pull the print.

Don’t worry if your
print doesn’t come out exactly as you wished.

Because the crayon
marks on the greyboard do not absorb the paint, you can wipe the paint off with
a damp cloth or a baby wipe.

Leave your
greyboard to dry for a bit and then give it another go!

You can print at
least two or three times with just one greyboard crayon drawing.

Happy printing with
this crayon resist technique!

Materials:

Gelli Arts®:

5″ x 7″
Gelli Arts® Gel Printing Plate

4″ Pop-In Soft
Rubber Brayer

Ladder Stencil – 5”
x 7”

Other:

Printer paper

Drawing paper

Thin greyboard or
cardboard (from packaging)

Wax crayons, oil
pastels and china markers

Medium to heavy
body acrylic paint (Royal Talens Amsterdam Oxide Black, Persian Rose, Primary
Yellow, Quinacridone Rose, Sky Blue Light, Titanium White, Turquoise Blue)

Optional: spoon

© 2018 by Gelli Arts®, LLC Philadelphia, PA

All rights reserved.