Foxtrot in the Moonlight…

Foxtrot in the Moonlight…

Hello there!
Thanks for stopping by.
Advent Day number 17 and Blue Blog Thursday all in one…
Well, yesterday’s blog with the car and snow could have worked well for today, so you can always pop back to the snowdrift if you missed it.
I think I would like to show you 
a Gelli Plate step by step I prepped for the TV last time, 
but then decided it would take too long to attempt on Live Telly! 
I used a large Gelli Plate on a Mega Mount 
and the beautiful new foxes illustrated by our friend Mel

for this 4-layer trick.
Now even if the foxes aren’t your bag, read on, because the background is very interesting.

Not particularly blue, but interesting nonetheless!
More pictures and less words here….

LAYER 1
Spread a little Phthalo Turquoise System 3 Acrylic paint 
on your 8″ x10″ Gelli Plate, 
and keep rolling the brayer until the paint’s quite patchy.

Then take the grass which comes in the fox kit and stamp onto the paint on the Gelli plate; it will lift the images.
Clean the stamp asap.

Let this layer dry completely for 5 minutes.

LAYER 2
Mix some Phthalo Blue and some green paint 
and spread over the whole plate with the brayer.
I blend them directly on the Gelli Plate with the brayer.
Right. That’s it. 
I’ve use the word Phthalo twice in quick succession. Time to investigate its meaning….
Characteristics: Phthalo blue is a bright, intense blue that’s very dark when used thickly. Used as a thin glaze it’s very transparent. Mixed with white it’s an opaque, beautiful sky blue. Phthalo blue is available in green and red shades.
Common Names: Thalo blue, monestial blue, Winsor blue, monastral blue, phthalocyanine blue, heliogen blue, intense blue, Old Holland blue, Rembrandt blue.
Mmm… So in other words, suck it and see, Barbara.
Lay the large Ocean Swirl Stencil onto the wet paint,

Place a sheet of bubble wrap over the paint and press gently.
Lift the Bubble wrap away, but leave the stencil.

Lightly blot in between the stencil with a sheet of copy paper.
Let this layer dry completely, but 
LEAVE THE STENCIL WHERE IT IS!

In the meantime, stamp the two foxes in Archival Black 
on a sheet of 8.5″x11″ Gelli Card,

and cover with the fox masks.

Now lift off the stencil and blot the wet paint underneath.

Wowee!!!!
Let this layer dry completely though.
LAYER NO. 3

Gold next. Spread a layer of gold paint over the Gelli Plate 
with the brayer,

but keep rolling away in the centre, 
to lift some of the Swirly pattern.
You control this with the brayer.

While the gold layer No. 3 is drying,
add the moon to the foxes, in readiness…
You can see why I decided not to do this one on TV can’t you?!
Blimey! Dean would have lost the will to live by now!
LAYER 4
Right. This is the crucial layer, the one which pulls the whole print.
Add a little Daler Rowney Buff Titanium and a tiny amount of Paynes Grey to the Gelli Plate, spreading it evenly over the whole Gelli.


Yuck!
But this is when we have to get a wriggle on!
Flip the whole Gelli Plate and 

place it on the Foxy Picture with the masks.
See? You can see the print through the Mega Mount!
Flip it back, rub the back of the white card,

and pull your print.

See all the different layers?
Magic.
This one is very moody and midnighty, 
but you can apply different lighter colours of course.

Now there are just a few finishing touches.
Mask off the area around the foxes,

thoroughly.

Add some colour to the animals with Weathered Wood,

and Hazelnut.

Add a little Cloudy Blue to the moon,
and a little Squeezed Lemonade to the whole piece. 
The Yellow will soak in where there’s any card still exposed.
Add the moon mask again.
Add a little shadow with a Black Archival.

Tear a piece of copy paper and add a hill with the black Archival and make-up sponge too.

Remove all the masks and store for another day.

Add a little Titanium white acrylic paint through the Dotty Wave Stencil, using the round blending tool. It’s fab with white paint! Doesn’t go crusty!

And that my friends, will do.

A great 4-layer Gelli Plate trick, 
which I was never going to have time to do on the box, 
but that’s the magic of this ‘ere blog.

I can take all the time in the world….

So if you fancy getting the foxes, we will give you their masks as a gift. It is nearly Christmas after all.

CLICK HERE

much love,

41 thoughts on “Foxtrot in the Moonlight…

  1. Brilliant Barbara, I love my foxes at the best of times, so look forward to using these stamps. I think this a do when I have plenty of time. I wonder if it would work with one of your canvas', just a thought.
    Hope you getting all your cards done, but do not overwork
    Take care

  2. Very nice. Although this technique really intrigues me, I have yet to venture into the world of Gelli. All of the prints are very unique, might just dip my toe in the water next year.

  3. That is stunningly beautiful Barbara, and thankyou for the in depth tutorial, I'm stil not confident with my Gelli so lessons like this are so useful as I wouldn't know where to start 🙂 xx

  4. Hopefully I can now comment and say how much I enjoy your blog every day you inspire me to try
    for myself but need a lot more practice before anything is fit to be seen.Sheil Mur

  5. Wow Barbara thus is stunning. I'm amazed at how you bring different backgrounds to your artwork. Thanks for the indepth instructions – I haven't used my Gelli plates for a while and this is one technique I'll try. Great offer too! xx

  6. Hi Barb,
    What a fantastic project. Going to print this off so that I can read and digest the procedure a bit at a time. Good job you didn't try to do this at C&C, we'd all have had palpitations!!! xx

  7. I'm thinking this is a course at the Chicago art institute . But it's beautiful and one day I may graduate from newbie school. I'm definitely a newbie ( let's just say I have to think real hard to do a hill mask ) Thanks Barbara

  8. Hi Barb,
    This is a lovely project and the finished artwork is gorgeous. I wasn't going to get the fixes, but is think I've just changed my mind. I really must get my Gelli plates out and practise and this could be the project to kick start me.
    Thanks Barb, love Alison xx
    Ps thanks to your wonderful staff for sorting out my stencil brush problem so quickly.

  9. Hi Barbara wow oh wow this is amazing. Yes Dean would have had major palpitations if you had done this on air!!! I love the way you started stamping on the Geli plate, must try that. Hope your Christmas cards got written. Take care love Diane xxx

  10. This is quite complicated Barbara but the finished result is well worth the trouble because all the layers work so well. I love the way the foxes are dancing on the hill. I'm sure this would look great on a canvas too. x

  11. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Can you tell that I like it? Those foxes are so beautiful. Here's to lots more happy crafty moments in 2015. All the best to you and yours Barbara and keep on inspiring us.
    X Chris

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