I love making abstract prints on my Gelli Plate, so I have folders full of prints that I never use. Last week, I broke out the paper stash and got busy. This was inspired by the North American Spice Bush that I found in my garden earlier this season, and the first visit by a Spice Bush Swallowtail butterfly (that’s the dark one). This print is so layered – multiple layers of tissue paper prints from the Gelli Plate, followed by washes of acrylic paint over clear gesso, watercolor washes over Daniel Smith Transparent Watercolor Ground, and then, finally, my beloved Prismacolor pencils to sharpen the details. I use all of my supplies – gesso, matte medium, Posca pens, inks, watercolors…layers and layers of everything. The butterflies were created on tissue paper by laying down a layer of white paint with my Posca paint pens, then using iridescent medium on top of my alcohol markers to give the butterfly wings a bit of sparkle.