Old, New & Digital Too – Challenge 2
Hi everyone.
Found Objects! Well the search was on to see what I could find. I dug down into the mess that I call my studio – and came up for air with a box of acetate sheets. I love the idea of using found objects in making art as it makes you think outside the box.
I really hope you’ll pick up your brushes, stamps and crafting tools to have a go yourself. I look forward to seeing your results and to read your comments.
Don’t forget to visit the ON&DT blog to see the other inspiring ideas and variety of techniques used by Deborah, Sarah and Mo.
Found Objects – Challenge 2
Sometimes it’s not about using the actual object as part of your picture, but it’s about what you can do with it that is central to making the picture. Now the challenge was on to think what I could do with a humble sheet of acetate.
Here’s how I did it.
Step 1
Digital
I scanned an image that I liked from a craft book I have at home into my computer and printed it onto one of the acetate sheets (this is the Digital in ON&DT). I had a plan!
Step 2
I had just finished teaching a still life drawing course in my studio so the arrangement was still there for me to use. Instead of doing a straight forward drawing I decided to do a negative drawing of an indoor plant. While carefully observing the plant, I used a paint scraper to scrape away the printed image on the acetate to end up with a ‘negative’ drawing of the pot plant. So far so good.
Step 3
New
I made a transfer print of the acetate using acrylic Gel medium (this is the New in ON&DT) and transferred the image from the acetate onto white cartridge paper. I let it dry overnight.
The next day I peeled the acetate off the paper to leave behind all the colour and presto! – I had the basis for my art work. I covered the whole image in a layer of transparent mat Gel medium to give it some tooth or texture in preparation for what I had planned next.
Step 4
Old
To me, mixed media is about taking chances and using materials that weren’t necessarily made to go together, work together in unexpected ways. If you remember I used some old masking fluid in the previous challenge. This time I went back to the same box and hauled out the watercolour paints (this is the Old in ON&DT) I had not used for over 10 years and decided to see how this would apply to the Gel medium covered acetate – thinking it wouldn’t work.
I painted in the white areas of the plant that I had scraped away and found that the watercolour paints reacted in a really interesting way leaving some fascinating textures. Because I was working at an easel it tended to drip down which I really liked. So I went with it and developed the dripping theme further.
Complete
And that’s it completed!
I really enjoyed using the watercolours over the acetate and gel medium. It gave some unexpected results that you wouldn’t achieve if you had simply ‘followed the rules’.
I hope this project has inspired you to have a go yourself. I look forward to seeing the results and I know everyone else over at ON&DT will do too.
More art project on my website
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More ON&DT mixed-media challenges
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More inspiration on Pinterest
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