Layered Landscapes: Painting with a Gel Plate
Let your curiosity guide you.
Discover the art of painting with your gel plate, layering color and texture to create abstract landscapes. You’ll explore composition, experiment with mark-making, and create finished pieces that feel bold and expressive. Along the way, you will learn to trust the beautiful surprises that happen in this unique printing process, and allow curiosity to guide your next mark.
What you will learn:
In this course, you’ll move from warm-up explorations to finished landscapes through approachable lessons that spark curiosity and creative confidence.
Getting Started
Welcome and recommended supplies
How to open, clean, and care for your gel plate
Warm up with graphite thumbnails and simple design exercises that strengthen your sense of composition and balance
Landscape Painting Lessons
Two full start-to-finish acrylic landscape demos with commentary
Three quick “speed sessions” that demonstrate new layering and texture ideas through three additional landscape paintings
Creative Extensions
Vacation Memory Concertina Book — transform memories into a fold-out art journal
Finish & Framing — learn how to seal, mount, and display your artwork
Bonus Lessons
Collage Landscapes — using your printed papers for new compositions
Watercolor Landscapes — a unique, loose approach to color and texture
By the end of Layered Landscapes, you’ll have a collection of expressive landscape pieces, a renewed sense of creative confidence, and a toolbox of techniques to keep you inspired long after the course ends.
No more stacks of forgotten prints—create landscape paintings you’ll actually display.
About the course:
Over 5 hours of video content
Self-paced lessons immediately available when you sign up
Free access to all future course updates and added lessons
Unlimited access to the course
Taught by Jennifer Tobin — mixed-media artist and art educator with a BFA in Art Education and 15+ years of teaching experience
Option to join the Jennifer Tobin Art Creative Community Facebook group & connect with fellow artists
In this self-paced class, you’ll go from experimenting with paint on your gel plate to creating finished, expressive landscapes. Each lesson is designed to add new techniques to your art practice, help you build confidence, explore your style, and leave you with artwork you’re proud to display or sell.
This is your invitation to make time for your art.
Hi, I’m Jennifer!
I am the artist and instructor behind Layered Landscapes & Artful Earrings!
From a very young age, I was drawn to teaching. I grew up watching my mother teach home economics and witnessing her students light up when learning how to cook and sew. That excitement is exactly what I hope to pass on through my courses. Teaching has become an essential part of my art practice—it keeps me learning, exploring, and inspired.
One of my favorite ways to explore creativity is with a gel plate. If you don’t have one yet, do yourself a favor and get one! It’s one of the most versatile, freeing tools I’ve ever used. I love how it helps me build unexpected layers of color and texture, whether I’m creating a finished painting or simply warming up in the studio.
My goal is to encourage exploration and help you release perfectionism as you create with curiosity and confidence. I can’t wait to create alongside you!
Frequently Asked Questions
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You’re in the right place! This course is step-by-step and approachable.
I have even used gel plates with elementary-aged students! Part of what I love about the gel plate is that it seems less intimidating than trying to paint with just a brush on paper or canvas. Oftentimes, the outcome of a print is surprising and adds texture or interest that you can’t always plan. This helps to loosen us up and enjoy the painting process even more!
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Yes. Each lesson in this course includes a gel plate. There are two companies I recommend for your gel plate… Gelli Arts or Gel Press. I recommend starting with a 6x6” or 8x10” gel plate. But, feel free to purchase any size that sounds fun for you in this course.
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This course is available “on demand.” This means that all lessons are pre-recorded videos, and you have immediate access to all of the content.
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Absolutely. No deadlines, just creativity on your schedule.
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You will have unlimited access to this course. I do not have an end date scheduled at this time.
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Short answer, yes! Creating landscapes with these techniques naturally results in one-of-a-kind pieces.
It is common practice in the art community that work you create in the exact image as another artist should not be sold as your own. However, that process of creating a “study” is incredibly valuable. On the other hand, if you’re using the techniques you learn in this course and creating from your own references or imagination, that’s your original artwork, and absolutely safe to sell.
I’d love to see what you create! If you share your work online, please feel free to tag me (@jennifertobinart)—it helps build our creative community and supports the course.
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The course is $47 USD, and you’ll get instant, lifetime access to all current and future lessons once you join.
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You will have the opportunity to join the Jennifer Tobin Art Creative Community Facebook group. You are free to post anytime to share work or ask questions.
You are also welcome to email Jennifer questions at anytime or comment on specific lessons within the course.
Your next favorite creative process is waiting.
Supply Basics.
The full supply list is inside the course, with links to the exact materials used.
Brayer.
I purchased a set of two brayers on Amazon that I love. I like having two different sizes for a few reasons. One will work just fine if that’s all you have! My favorite brayer is this Speedball brayer.
Gel Plate.
There are two gel plate companies I recommend: Gelli Arts or Gel Press. Feel free to start with any size plate. However, I find the 6x6” plate is a great place to start.
Paint.
I use a WIDE variety of acrylic paints in this course. You can use anything from student-grade paint to high-quality soft body acrylics. Again, use what you have on hand or take this as an opportunity to invest in higher quality paints. It’s up to you!
Release perfectionism as you create with curiosity.
You don’t need to be “ready.”
Just begin!
Note: Some of the supply links above are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you choose to make a purchase—at no extra cost to you. I only share products and resources I truly use and love, and your support helps me keep creating and sharing educational content.