I got a little side tracked putting out fires today, so I was very late getting into my studio. Since the background was on this piece, I went ahead and finished it up. After this first picture, I edged the main focal images with water soluble crayons, and blended them in. I use this finishing touch on all my pieces, followed by a final coat of gel medium. However, this time I decided to play with acrylic encaustic instead. I mixed a small batch using heavy gel medium, clear tar gel and a tiny drop of gold acrylic paint to mimic the color of beeswax. I had tried this on a couple of small pieces with positive results. Not this time...
As you can see, the encaustic had an adverse effect on the water-soluble crayon. I am guessing because it takes a lot longer to dry, it gave the unfixed crayon a chance to reactivate and start to smear. Yuck...Unfortunately, I did not catch this in time to scrape it off before it dried. If I had simply added a coat of gel medium, let it dry, as usual, THEN added the acrylic encaustic, I would not have ruined the canvas. Ah well, live and learn. So go ahead and try it out, it really does normally add a beautiful effect, but be cautious, seal your work, and keep an eye on it as it dries! Enjoy...
I'm sorry your piece was ruined, but thank you for the helpful insight into working with new media!! xo
ReplyDeleteHi Sally
ReplyDeleteI'm no mixed media expert but can you rework the painting or paint over the problem area? Its a reuse, recycle world now after all???It so lovely such a shame to go to waste!
awwww...sorry. im sure you can turn this into something new and even better that it already is. you are a clever girl after all :)
ReplyDeleteYour welcome for the insight, honeyanddollie, if it saves someone a disaster, then it was worth it! Ruth-Mary and Kelley, I am thinking I might be able to redo the bird and flower. They are copies, so I still have the originals. But the encaustic is so thick, I am not sure how it will go, I will keep you posted. Thanks for the encouragement!
ReplyDeleteSOOOO frustrating when I do all that work and I LOVE my piece and then one little think messes it all up. Everything about this piece is beautiful so I hope you can recreate!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips! The old "haste makes waste." I'm learning so much from the blogs. What are water soluble crayons?
ReplyDeleteHi Connie! They are a product by Caran D'Ache, called Neocolor 11, and are a wax pastel. They go on like a creamy crayon, but you can smudge them with a wet brush. It gives a nice irregular kinda grungy look. I really do love working with them, it just got messed up a bit this time around. <3
ReplyDelete