This was a Gelli Arts print that I had done a few weeks ago, when I was experimenting with paint and water. This print didn’t end up with a lot of water interaction, but I loved the aged brown color. When I scanned it in and looked at it on the computer, my mind’s eye started filling in the shapes, and I saw birds in the image. So I decided to go for it, and help them along. Photoshop can sometimes be like a magic hat- you can pull things out of it that may start out hidden, but end up magical just the same ;-).
Here is what the original looked like…
I brought the print into Photoshop and used the Clone Stamp tool, in order to flesh out the shapes a little bit more. I chose the Clone tool from the left hand side. I clicked on the checkbox at the top that says “Sample All Layers”. Then I created a new layer above the print layer. Now I can clone on the new empty layer, and it will look the same as cloning on the original layer, but it doesn’t actually change the original print layer. If I turn off the new layer, the cloning will disappear and the original will look untouched.
In order to clone, hold down the Alt key (option on Mac), and click on the area where you would like to grab a piece of the image. I clicked on the blobs that looked like birds to me. I started to paint on the new layer in the shape of a bird. Sometimes, you may need to re-sample the image again, by holding down Alt and clicking on an area of the image that you would like to clone from.If you are using “Sample All Layers”, you can do all of this on the new empty layer and it will show up as if you were painting on the original layer. Most of the time I lower the opacity of the Clone Stamp tool, and I use a soft edge brush. Find the brush shapes, sizes and hardness up at the top. Also the opacity slide for the Clone Stamp tool itself is at the top near the brush selection pull down.
I used the Clone Stamp again to add a bit more to the “nest”. Then I added just a hint of a branch, and  I also framed the picture.  Here is the image after working on it in Photoshop…
So look a bit more closely at your Gelli Arts prints and see if you can pull something out of it!
