Alice - The Mad Hatter

For the Blog Hop Club our July theme is Faces.

  Guada describes it just how I feel too - "For me painting faces it´s just the perfect mix between paradise and challenge ♥ it took me some time to achieve portraits I like and I´m still far away from being where I want to be but I enjoy the process so so much!" 

I found a picture on Pinterest to inspire my hat for my girl - it's a Mad Hatter hat so that is why I've named her Alice - the Mad Hatter. 

Here is the link to my Steller eBook with evolution pics.

Materials I used:

Watercolour paper

Graphite Pencils

Tracing paper

Scissors

Caran D'Ache Neocolor II

Gelli prints - phalo blue, turquiose green, alizarin crimson, purple, white.

Gel medium

Acrylic paints - gold, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, white and black.

Here are my evolution and how to photos:

1. I drew my face with hat and clothes.

2. Traced around my face, hat and clothes.

3. Traced around my face.

4. Coloured in my face with the Caran D'Ache Neocolor II watercolour crayons.

5. I cut out the face and neck area from the tracing paper and covered the face with it using Blu-Tac to hold it down. Use the paper as a mask from the paint.

6. I applied paint to my gelli plate, phalo blue, and then put some scrunched up paper on for texture.

7. Then I placed my girl onto the gelli plate - scary moment.

8. Then I tore my paper taking it off the plate!!!  Aargh!!! So do this step carefully and straight away - no taking photos of a piece of paper on your gelli plate.

9/10. Our secondary theme for this month was the following colours - blue green and red violet - so I created some gelli prints using these colours for the hat and clothes.

11/12. Cut out the hat and clothes from the tracing paper to use as a template and place in the best postion on the print. Trace around with a pencil then cut them out.

13. Use the gel medium to glue the gelli prints onto the girl.

14. I used gold paint to outline the hat and give it a ribbon edge.  I also found the background colour too dark, especially on the left of the painting and this helped to differentiate between the background and the hat.  I should have used a light blue for the background to make the hat stand out.  I did add a wash of yellow to fill in the white and give the background a green tinge.

15. I painted in the hair - always a scary moment for me too.

There you go, that's how I do my girls....She is for sale along with 3 of my other girls as part of an Art Sale for Nicole's Cause - $50 will go to the cause and $10 will cover postage. Bargain!!

Now for the heart pendant giveaway - please leave a comment below and I will choose a winner next Thursday. 

There are more chances to win amazing prizes - to enter you need to visit and comment on the following artists' blogs on the scheduled days:

• Tuesday 8: Guada from http://guadasartplace.blogspot.com.ar/ 
• Wednesday 9: Sigga Dis http://siggadisart.blogspot.com.ar/
• Thursday 10: Michelle Reynolds http://shellsinthebush.blogspot.com.au/ <<< you are here
• Friday 11: Lisa Scott http://floppinflower.com/blog/
• Saturday 12: Cary Cutler Scholes  http://www.mamaneeds2create.blogspot.com.ar/
• Sunday 13: Prerna Poojara http://artoholicslair.blogspot.in/
• Monday 14: Gracielu Howes http://www.redbarn-studios.com/myblog/
• Tuesday 15: Jeanette McDonald http://jeanettemacdonaldart.com/jeanettes-blog.html

 I look forward to the Blog Hop Club next month - I wonder what the theme will be?

PS  Do you love creating gelli prints?  Want a place to discuss gelli printing?  To show off your work?  Share your ideas? Discuss the pros and cons of different paints/paper/plates/tools etc?  Get some great ideas on what to do with the thousands of prints you have created?
Inspire and be inspired as a part of the Gelatin Printing Enthusiasts Facebook Group. I would love for you to join me there.