Gel plate printing has quickly become one of my favorite techniques to explore—there’s something compelling about its unpredictability, especially when experimenting with different materials.

For this series of prints, I worked with a range of paints: acrylic, acrylic gouache, and acrylic ink. Each one behaved differently on the gel plate, offering variations in opacity, texture, and drying time. That contrast made the process feel more exploratory, with each pull revealing something slightly unexpected.

I also experimented with image transfers. I printed images using a laser printer—this is essential, as the toner ink enables the transfer process. The printed images were placed face-down onto wet paint on the gel plate before pulling the print.

The transferred images came out very faint, but that subtlety became one of my favorite aspects. The barely-there impressions created soft textures and almost “ghost-like” imagery that added quiet depth to the surface. Rather than aiming for crisp, bold transfers, I leaned into this effect.

These delicate textures became the starting point for a composition idea. Building on the printed layers, I used colored pencils to draw a shophouse, allowing the underlying marks to inform the structure and details. The combination of printmaking and drawing created a layered, atmospheric result.

Overall, I’m really happy with how this turned out. It’s a simple and flexible approach that invites experimentation, and the results can be surprisingly rich and nuanced.