Leaves and layering: Botanical gelli printmaking

Explore drawing, printmaking and natural textures as you create multi-layered gelli prints inspired by plants, fruit and foliage in the National Gallery Collection. The session begins in the Gallery, where you’ll make drawings inspired by Dutch flower paintings. These sketches will form the starting point for your printmaking. Returning to the Clore Art Studio, you’ll use gelli plates to experiment with layering colour, shape and texture, transforming your drawn motifs into vibrant, multi-layered botanical prints. Working with stencils, drawn shapes and flat colour, you'll develop your compositions before introducing natural materials – leaves, stems and botanical forms – using their textures to create depth, variation and surprise. Throughout the session, uncover how repetition, layering and experimentation can transform an image. With play being an integral part of the process, you'll discover how to pull and rework prints creating a small series of richly worked gelli prints that echo the Gallery’s enduring fascination with nature, surface and abundance.