How to Create Botanical Prints Using Gel Plate Printing

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A friend of mine invited me to a gel plate printing workshop the other day and, despite my initial skepticism, I had a marvelous time! Not only that, but I got myself all the necessary tools and materials, and I’ve been printing at home ever since, like a woman possessed! 

A low-stakes art class can be a great way to get out of a creative funk and explore new forms of artistic expression, and you never know what hidden resources and pleasures you will tap into. So, in the spirit of being a good sport and spreading the news of such a satisfying and productive discovery, I’m here to recommend you give gel plate printing a try, if you haven’t already!

What is gel plate printing? Well, as its name suggests, it is the process of creating prints on paper (or fabric) using a gel plate, an assortment of acrylic paints, and a brayer – a small roller that helps spread the paint onto a gel plate. 

I’ll try my best to describe the basic method of gel plate printing, as far as I understand it, but where my words will fail, numerous Youtube videos will easily clear up any misunderstandings you may have. I’ll link my favorite tutorials at the end of this post. 

MATERIALS

A gel plate: My teacher swears by GELLI plates for their durability and affordability, and they come in different shapes and sizes. I have two, a 5×7 and an 8×10, and I’ve been using both, heavily. 

A brayer roller: I got my brayer at Hobby Lobby, but GELLI makes their own brayers and they come highly recommended. 

Acrylic paints: These Arteza paints are my favorite for richness of texture and variety of colors, but really any acrylic paints, any color or brand, will do. 

Add-ons for prints: depending on what kind of prints you’d like to make, you can use dried botanicals (flowers, stems and leaves), feathers, anything textured. My daughter and I have been collecting leaves on our walks and creating prints of all of our beautiful New England foliage.

Here’s what we’ve been making so far…

… and here’s how we did it: 

Step 1: Make sure your gel plate is clean. Add a few dabs of paint and use the brayer to gently spread the paint around, into a uniform layer. The best strokes are gentle but firm, first vertically then horizontally. The brayer spreads the paint evenly but after a few strokes, it starts to remove paint, so working at a quick pace helps. A legal pad or scraps of paper will help to clean the brayer between paint applications. 

Step 2: Lay some botanicals (leaves, flowers or grasses) onto the wet paint, then place a piece of paper onto the plate and gently press. When you lift the paper, starting at a corner, you’ll get the negative image of the object you’ve placed onto your gel plate. 

Step 3: Gently remove the botanicals and fan the plate until the paint impression on you plate is dry.

Step 4: Add a few dabs of a contrasting paint color onto the plate, spread into a thin layer using the brayer, then cover with paper and gently press. 

Step 5: Lift the paper slowly, starting at a corner, to reveal a pretty print in the colors of your choice. 

The plate can be cleaned with baby wipes, or warm water and some gentle dish soap.

As you will notice, with every paint application you typically get two different prints: the main image and the negative. As for paper, I started with simple copier paper and upgraded to watercolor and textured sheets.

Once you get comfortable with the materials, you can then try out different color combinations, different papers and subject mater, until you find what works best for you. The possibilities of what you can make are endless, as is the amount of enjoyment you’ll get out of displaying some of your prints around the house. And the ability to boast about it to anyone who’ll listen, a bonus 🙂

TUTORIALS

Gel plate printing 101

Techniques for Gelli Plate Printing

Mastering Botanical Gelli Printing