"I begin with an idea ... and then it becomes something else"
~ Picasso

Tuesday 27 June 2017

Surface Treatment Workshop - weeks 14 and 16

I have persevered with the "skin" samples for week 14 of The Surface Treatment Workshop, spurred on by the purchase of some Liquitex gloss gel and a bit more time to play.  Liquitex gloss gel is such a fun product to play with and dries clear and jelly like.

I applied the gel quite thickly onto the top of a plate which I had previously been using as a palette.  My palette still had leftover dried on paint and some newspaper print too.  I spread the gel over the paint and newsprint and sprinkled mica powders on top with a little water.

As the gel dried, it became clear and the paint and print beneath could clearly be seen.  After a while, it set hard and I was able to peel it off.  A "skin" is basically a "peel off".  This is how it looks on the top of the skin ...

 
and this is the back of the skin with the paint and newsprint ...


The sample below is more Liquitex gloss gel with gilding flakes embedded in the gel.  It starts out white and dries clear.


I pushed the gilding flakes into the paste with a soft paint brush and added some watered down mica powder which collected around the flakes.


This is the finished skin ... it's translucent but against a white background this doesn't show up well.


This is my peeled off molding paste skin with image embedded, finished with phthalo turquoise and glazing gel.  The skins made with Liquitex gloss gel and molding paste are pliable and thin enough to stitch into, if desired.


Below, I used white acrylic paint, thickly applied, to make this skin.  I swirled a little gold acrylic into the white.  This one took ages to dry out, before I was able to peel it off.  I'm not really keen on it either, as it has a plastic feel and appearance, but it is thin enough to stitch into if desired.


I discovered that molding paste takes rust very well.  I spread the paste on the piece of rust and left for several days.  When it had dried out thoroughly, I was able to peel the molding paste skin from the rusted metal and with it came quite a lot of the rusty texture!  If rust is your thing, this might be a useful technique as the skin is pliable and could be stitched into for layering in art work.


The last skin (paynes grey thinly applied) resulted in lots of tiny peely bits which I decided to keep for adding texture in collage.



I decided to use some of these bits in one of my samples for week 16.  The acrylic "peels" adhered on this "pulled paper" sample quite easily with a common or garden glue stick.


So, week 16 is "pulled paper" which is a way of adding text and texture to collage and artwork to give it the grungy, layered appearance of old ripped posters.  It's a lot of fun building up layers ... with interesting and unexpected results.  You never quite know what's going to happen when you rip it off!

I used mod podge, but PVA glue or other mediums work just as well.  Brush the glue of your choice onto a painted surface and then apply some paper with text or an image, text side down. Leave the text on for about a minute or so and then pull the paper off.  Mod podge is quite a cheap product to use and I like it's matte appearance which is great for the layering part.

Here are some of my finished pieces and some details ...








These book samples tie in quite nicely with the next challenge, so here is a little glimpse ...




In case you're wondering, there was no week 15 as the material to try was Krylon "spray webbing" and I have found it's pretty hard to come by in the UK.  I especially wanted to try silver spray webbing but I couldn't get any.  I have given up with it for the time being.

Finally, if you follow my posts on your mobile phone you may have noticed a different format which I hope you may find easier to read.  If you prefer to read the website version with all my links and twiddly bits down the side bar, then there is a link at the bottom of each post for you to click on and read in the old way.  These days, there are so many techno things to consider.  Personally, I prefer to read and write on my laptop but we all seem to be "on the go" these days that I had a review of things.  Thank you, always, for reading and I would love to know what you think.

11 comments:

chrissie said...

Wonderful design ideas and inspiring techniques. The pages are stunning

Love Chrissie xx

Julie said...

Beautiful and intriguing work Carolyn. I'm looking forward to the next workshop. The roller looks interesting.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I think this is one of the most interesting techniques yet. Makes me want to dig out my gel and have a go, just for the fun of it. I've accidentally made skins with acrylic folk art paint and just thought they were dried up bits of paint and not the least bit useful. Methinks I've just changed my mindset over that!! I remember searching for the spray webbing for something awhile ago and couldn't find it either. Perhaps doing a 'google' might shake some loose? Try looking under 'Krylon' and see what happens.

Debbie said...

Very useful page for me, I am new to all these finishes and really into rust, now to find some time for experimenting. Thanks

Evelyn said...

Great samples - lots of lovely colours and textures!

Angie Willis said...

That Liquitex gloss gel looks fascinating. And the fact that you can stitch into it sounds even more fascinating. I hope you'll post some stitched samples once you get the change.
Loving your posts as always. xx

Anonymous said...

I love these transparent experiments - so wonderful with the embedded bits. xox

WendyK said...

Fantastic set of experiments, I must have a go. I have the book and like many others is sitting on the shelf not opened. Your ideas are brilliant. Did you get my eMail about September ??
Hugs Wendy

Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith said...

Wonderful skins! I've tried making some a while ago, but found waiting for the thick applications to dry excruciating! It's best to forget about them for a few days, so you're not tempted to poke your fingers in them all the time LOL!

Unknown said...

I particularly love the amazing pulled paper experiments and I can't wait to have a go!

Carol Rigby said...

A beautiful and interesting post Carolyn, as always. I love your book samples.