Gelli Plate Printing Basics including Lifting Dried Paint

This Gelli Plate Printing Basics video covers the following:
2 ways to cleaning the brayer
2 ways to clean the plate
Lifting dried paint (that you want to keep)
Conditioning your plate
Storing your plate
4 top tips for happy, successful, gelli plate printing!
___________________________________________________________________________
To see more artwork: vikkireed.com/
Follow me on Facebook: / paintbyheartart
Join my e-mail community - PaintByHeart.com
Follow my blog - chakramandalas...

[@lmarteen2778]

At 6:20 when you were lifting the packing tape there was an image of an angel watch and you will see it?

[@VikkiReed]

lmarteen, THANK YOU! I saw it, yes, that is one of my angel shapes made from Tyvek, but I never saw it before and you are the first person to notice it, way to go! May angels accompany you all the days of your life!

[@MaryGadsby]

You are such a joy to watch! Fellow gelli plate addict, I really appreciate your channel very much!

[@VikkiReed]

Thank you Mary! I'm currently working on more fun videos to share!

[@pattk100]

Wow, I never knew that you could peel the acrylic off. That is so awesome. I thought I was gonna have to throw them away.

[@VikkiReed]

It's such a great trick, glad it's in your "tool box" now!

[@candyclouston1412]

Living where winter is a real thing and central heating dries the air, I run a small vaporizer filled with distilled water at its lowest setting pretty much all season. I do this because it helps my sinuses. I haven't been gel printing this winter, but it I were, I'd move the vapoizer into the studio. It could be helpful in drier climates like AZ, too. (I might do this in summer when the A/C also takes more moisture out of the air than I'd like.)

[@VikkiReed]

That is a great tip, Candy, thank you!

[@madelineruehlicke2186]

Thanks for another helpful, inspiring video Vikki. You are a joy to watch and listen to!

[@VikkiReed]

Aw thank you Madeline! You've really brightened up my afternoon!

[@judilynn9569]

Omg…I learned about cleaning my brayers in another video a few years ago and love it! lol It works and yes, is very satisfying. :)

[@VikkiReed]

Judi, when it works, yes! When it doesn't work, it's a lot of "elbow grease" scrubbing off the paint after soaking in either alcohol or Murphy's Oil Soap...

[@carolbenavidez2228]

Just found you. New to gelli plate printing so looking forward to binge watching your videos. Yes to ideas on what to do with the prints! Started reading your blog. Beautiful inspiration. Thank you! 💖

[@VikkiReed]

Carol, thank you! Yes, working on a series of videos right now, projects for your gelli prints, starting with "Creating a Base"...stay tuned, thanks for watching and commenting!

[@lisastevens2607]

Thank you for the great tips! I really do need to know what to do with all these prints. lol I am looking forward to your videos on that 😊

[@VikkiReed]

Lisa, yes! I am working on those projects...until then, you can use them to make note cards (yes, there is a video for that) and also apply them directly to a panel, if it is an especially lovely print, shown in this video...kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4iwkIqKoZupi80 and thanks for watching and commenting!

[@brenemailusrau9813]

Love watching your videos and your style Brand new to gel printing - thx for this one about cleaning things up!

[@VikkiReed]

Yay! Thank you, I hope you love Gelli Plate Printing as much as I do!

[@charlottecanning9561]

Great tips! Thank you so much.

[@VikkiReed]

My pleasure Charlotte!

[@timeenuf4200]

Wow I never thought of using packing tape - that was amazing. Wonder if using a gel medium on a very dried plate would work too instead of paint? Never thought about putting the paper on to store the plate. Great idea! Thank you.

[@VikkiReed]

Time Enuf, true credit for the packing tape ides goes to Elizabeth St. Hilare! Gel medium DOES work on the plate, and then you have a clear coat instead of white, for me personally, the white paint works better than the gel medium. Yes, I like the white paper to store the plate, I do need to switch it out fairly often, especially if I have conditioned the plate prior to putting it away. Thanks very much for watching and commenting!

[@marie-lauredechauton6756]

un grand MERCI pour vos précieux conseils!! MERCI pour votre générosité de cœur et votre bienveillance!!! MERCI pour votre partage qui BOOSTE ma créativité!!!

[@VikkiReed]

Thanks so much Marie-Laure!

[@judyconstantino7035]

Great tutorial and tips! You’ve inspired me to use my gelli plates again. I know I gave up too soon in the past. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. By the way, I really enjoy listening to your voice (very soothing), rather than background music. Great job at editing, also!

[@VikkiReed]

Judy, yay, thank you, I'm delighted you feel inspired! Thanks for your compliments, I will pass the editing compliment along to my partner who is amazing at it!

[@laurienye7514]

TY I didn't know about the baby oil, very interesting. I loved the tips.T

[@VikkiReed]

Laurie, yes, sometimes the plate needs a little TLC, as we all do!

[@soniamariaramosjanuzzi9311]

Que Maravilha...consegui ver o que queria...kkk com a tradução do que está fazendo.Você é muito Linda e uma Artista de mão cheia 👏👏💖💖🥰🥰

[@VikkiReed]

I'm so glad you could get what you needed from the video, Sonia, even through the language barrier, thank you!

[@carolnacarato4448]

I can't wait for the layered print videos!

[@VikkiReed]

Carol, thank you! Working on that and some other project videos to get all those fabulous gelli prints put to good use!

[@brendalenz414]

So happy to see another video and really appreciate the tips! I’d love to see how to do layered prints! Thank you so much! I really enjoy your videos and look forward to the next one. 😊

[@VikkiReed]

Brenda, thank you for watching and commenting, more videos in the works!

[@StudioGriffel]

Great vid and I love your upcoming plans. Can you please include the cleaning of the stecils, especially when they have dried paint on them? Thanks in advance.

[@VikkiReed]

Wanda, thank you for watching and commenting...cleaning of stencils is not glamorous or fun to do/watch, but it is important, definitely worthy of a quick video and a great suggestion. After a while, the built up paint adds thickness to the stencil which leads to less beautiful gelli prints. I place them in a shallow pan with a mixture of alcohol and "pink soap", let them soak and still have to scrub them sometimes. It is better to place them in a pan of water right after use, but I rarely do that as often I want to use it again, and can't if it is wet.

[@michelleelle4622]

Thank you for the info!

[@VikkiReed]

My pleasure, Michelle!

[@impish22]

very helpfu.. thanks Vikki.. keep posting..!!

[@VikkiReed]

J Marie, thank you, I'm working on videos right now!

[@impish22]

@@VikkiReed I will keep my eyes out for them..

[@headlessviolin]

Ooooh I love to clean my brayer I’m so sad I keep my skins in a box and use them for all sorts v sad lol. Your hair looks so good today you look v glamorous. So lovely to see you and hear your tips can’t wait to see some more videos thank you xxx

[@VikkiReed]

Oh my goodness, thank you! Thanks for watching and commenting, so happy I filmed on a "good hair day", lol

[@amherst88]

Always a pleasure to watch you do anything ❤️

[@VikkiReed]

Thank you for watching and for your lovely compliment!

[@dorapatrick8797]

Hi Vikki! I am new to Gel printing and enjoy watching your videos. What do beginners need to know in terms of what type paper to use over the plate to lift the paint? I see you lift the brayer when there is too much paint or in between paints and roll it on a piece of paper. What type paper is that? I also hear you use rice paper. When do you use it?

[@VikkiReed]

Dora, thank you for watching and your questions! I am using the rice paper for prints as it is what I like best for collage papers, it is JapanBargain Calligraphy Rice Paper from Amazon. I am also using it to clean the brayer in between prints and/or when there is too much paint on the brayer. You can use any type of paper with the gelli plate, from tissue paper, book pages, all the way to heavy stock, the thing to know is that smooth textured and flexible paper will pick up pigment the best, while rough textured (such as cold press watercolor paper) and stiff will give you a less complete print effect. I hope that helps, and I hope that you play and experiment, the possibilities are unlimited!

[@viviandibrell849]

I am gobbling up your videos like candy! 😍 when I use paper on my gel plate to store it, the paper gets oily looking. That kind of made me think it was sucking all the moisture out of the plate. Recently, I just put a light coat of paint on the top of my gel plate and it is sitting on plexiglass. I figure the paint protects it until the next time I’m ready to use it. What is your opinion of this?

[@VikkiReed]

I'm not sure, Vivian, but give it a try! I think the most important thing is that the plate has a smooth surface to rest on, without bumpy spots that might leave a lasting impression on the plate. I wouldn't worry about moisture going out of the plate, you can always apply a coat of mineral oil and then wipe it off with baby wipes to condition the plate. I'm so glad you're enjoying the videos!

[@viviandibrell849]

I have been wondering about all these things. Love all your videos and I haven’t done my first gelli print yet, but I’m getting prepped. I do wonder what you do about all the paint buildup on stencils and glass pieces that you use for decoration on these.

[@VikkiReed]

Another great question, Vivian! Again I will mention I have heard other artists use Murphy's Oil Soap to soak stencils, but that did not work for me. I use a combination of 90% alcohol and Dawn dish washing soap in a cookie sheet (so wide, long and shallow) to soak stencils and/or glass pieces when I want to clean them. You can be scrupulous about your stencils and rinse them after each use, but I usually get to printing and use the stencils MULTIPLE times in a session and finally when they have too much build up to pull a great print, I have to soak them, and with some time in the alcohol/soap mixture, the paint will rub off the stencils/glass. Sometimes a subsequent spray of alcohol is necessary to get the crevices in the glass clean, but tbh, I am not using my glass pieces for serving food, only printing.

[@ArtisticFoxStudio]

New subscriber here -- enjoying the videos and looking forward to what's to come.

[@VikkiReed]

Doreen, thank you for subscribing and commenting, more good stuff (I hope) coming your way soon!

[@debbralehrman5957]

Thanks👏🏻

[@VikkiReed]

My pleasure!

[@angelasherman100]

I'm really enjoying your videos, Vikki. Thank you! :) Is it always better to use soft body paint, rather that (say) heavy body straight out of a tube?

[@VikkiReed]

Angela, different "bodied" paints will give you different results. I have the best results with good quality soft body, or fluid acrylics (Golden or Liquitex). I have seen other artists use the heavy body, especially black Amsterdam pigment, to pull photo transfers which I just can't seem to get the hang of yet. Yeates Makes is an AWESOME channel for that...thank you for watching and commenting!

[@angelasherman100]

@@VikkiReed That's so kind of you, Vikki - thank you! :)

[@laurak5196]

Vikki I love your work and videos. Thank you. Question: Have you ever tried adding acrylic glazing liquid to keep the paint workable longer or would that throw off your mojo at this point? I live in MD and it’s almost always humid here but I nearly always still use AGL. sometimes it dries too slow depending on what I’m doing but usually it helps me so I thought I’d share 😊

[@laurak5196]

Ooh and I wanted to add - that angel you lifted was so beautiful, I’d have stuck her in my art journal. Your color choices are so great, I’d probably stick every piece of packing tape I ever lifted from your plate in my journal too haha 😂. It’s almost like built in washi 😅

[@VikkiReed]

Laura, thank you! I sometimes save the tape around acrylic paintings on paper that I tape off, not sure what to do with it though! I DO love color!

[@VikkiReed]

Thank you for that great tip, Laura! I think I'm so used to the dry times of the Southwest Desert that I would be completely thrown! I do sometimes use GAC 100 when I'm painting to get a more transparent look, but haven't tried it on the gelli plate

[@KathyBrooksArt]

Just found your channel and really enjoying it. I had questions about cleaning brayer and plate, which this answered. Do you use soft brayers or hard? or both? I am an oil painter primarily, bought a soft and hard brayer for oil paintings. Can you (or have you ever) use oil paint for gel printing? Thanks Vikki, I'm subscribing! Great content!

[@VikkiReed]

Thank you for watching and for your questions. I prefer soft brayers for the gelli plate. I haven't used oil paint on the gelli plate, but I googled it and the consensus seems to be that you can use it but don't let it sit on the plate for too long. My concern would be more how the solvent, whatever you use to clean the plate after the oil paint was there, would affect the plate. I would use acrylic for the plate, get your collage papers made, and then use oil paints to integrate all into a fabulous mixed media art piece!

[@pattk100]

You may answer my question in this video, but I just got a new deli plate and the paints not sticking. It leaves a little bit shriveled up and leaves dry spots. It is really humid here so I don’t know if that’s the problem or if it’s the new plate

[@VikkiReed]

Patt, I have learned, at least for me, that below 15% humidity, and above 55%, gelli plate printing is a lot more challenging. Humidity is a HUGE factor as is the quality and consistency of your paints. If you keep experimenting, I feel you will find the way!

[@paulareeveslmt]

Vicki, which side of the rice paper goes down on the plate?

[@VikkiReed]

Paulalina, thank you for your question, smooth side down!

[@agnesturpin4604]

Do these cleaning tips apply to a homemade gelli plate?

[@VikkiReed]

Agnes, I have no experience with a homemade gelli plate, I would definitely Google that information, but thank you for your question!

[@mariapezzanoartist]

Where did you get a large gelli plate?

[@VikkiReed]

Large Gelli Plates are available through a variety of sources including Amazon and Dick Blick, thanks for your question!

[@puresunrays80]

To clean my plate I just do a full paint lift. Baby wipes are so bad for the environment.

[@VikkiReed]

Pure Sun Rays, thank you for your excellent suggestion, it is so important to look for more ways to protect the environment!

[@judilynn9569]

I’m sorry…my OCD is going off like a fire alarm. You keep rubbing over the left side of your plate with the sanitizer and ignoring the right edge. Then you did that again the second time. Why did you not apply the sanitizer to the right edge o the plate? My mind was screaming! LOL

[@VikkiReed]

Judi, oh no! I didn't mean to trigger you, I didn't even notice, my bad...! Clearing cleaning the plate, or really anything for that matter, is not my happy place, I just love to make magic on the gelli plate, the rest is a necessary nuisance...

[@rita80707]

I hate being an artist that dumps so much plastic into the environment. Everything is plastic: the acylic paint, acrylic medium, packing tape, baby wipes, etc. Not environment friendly at all, unfortunately.

[@VikkiReed]

Yes, Rita, you are correct. If you find more environmentally friendly options, please share them, I know it is a concern to all of us.