Gelatin monoprint triptych

By the end of last year I noticed that my stack of gelatin prints and mono type backgrounds had shrunk to a minimum…  it had been over a year since I made myself a gelatin plate so a new mono printing session was badly needed, however… gelatin powder is difficult to find. Before, I bought little bags with gelatin powder in Germany (as we lived not far from the border and went to Germany on a regular base.) Now that I live in another region, going shopping in Germany is not an option so I had to start all over again looking for stores that would sell the stuff and – as expected – there were none.

Yes, there are wholesalers that I know sell packages of gelatin powder, but in order to shop there you have to have a subscription which I have not. So.. what now?

Luckily, my former neighbor came to the rescue! I visited her in January and she had some gelatin powder left of which she gave me some…

… and a few days later I printed up a storm in my atelier!

The stack of mono prints to choose from is huge. I can use some as a background for my art journal pages, there are some lovely ones with images on it that I can use as postcards and there are a few prints that I think will be awesome to machine sew on.

There were three prints that had more of less the same colors and images (you always get a few of these ‘series’ with mono printing.) I put them together on the pages of my Zeeuwse Ziel art journal and they formed a triptych. (This journal has some folded pages bound in it to make double spreads.)

{Click the photo to enlarge for a better view}

The prints were a bit smaller than the pages of my journal. I painted the pages in my journal dark grey so they would form a frame around the mono prints. I glued the prints to the pages and used a black marker for some doodling to create contrast. The handwritten journaling added a bit more contrast to the pages. I finished it of with stamping white acrylic paint (using a toilet roll and bubble wrap.)

The textures and colors in this mono type are amazing! Take a closer look.

I’m pretty happy with my new stack of mono prints!

Oh, and it turns out that a friend of a friend has a subscription to a wholesaler – she already bought a package of gelatin powder for me and I can come pick it up tomorrow, YAY!