Studio culture Techniques and Processes
Black paint is an art piece I created experimenting with abstraction and the material wall filler. This piece was all about my experimentation with materials I have never used or consider using before. Wall filler paste is not a common media what many people use, however I have come to realisation this product is very good. The thick paste is easy to manipulate when its soft and it takes an hour to dry. Once it is dried it hardens giving a 3D thick textured look which I really like. The bright block colour of white is very astonishing. I will be using this product to further experiment in my future work.
To create this, I started off with a plain blanc canvas board which I painted black which will be the colour of the background. I used the wall filler paste straight as it came as I found the white colour breathe taking against the black background. Using a palette knife, I scrapped in the middle of the canvas across in a line which created two mixtures of textures. The smooth texture which the palette knife created and the thick sharp like texture which build up around the palette knife when getting the smooth thin layer. I used the white palette knife to incorporate into the piece. I stuck it on the end of the wall paste to create the illusion of someone holding the palette knife mid-way creating the piece. This idea was inspired by an artist called Jean Pauldonadini who I discovered with this page on Instagram.
Blank Painting – Further Development
After creating my first piece I wanted to know how it would look like with colour colours so I decided to further develop my work and I created another piece using the same process. However, this time I decided to use acrylic paint to add a colour on the wall paste. Doing this I found out that acrylic paint does work well painted on the paste. I used the colour blue as I have a special eye for the colour blue. I thought it would be a nice contrast between the black background.
However, this piece didn’t look as good as my first one. Yes, the colour did go on well but the pure white against the background worked so much better. From this experiment I have learned wall paste is a great media to work with as it is cheap and dries fast. Acrylic paint works well.
The mini scrapes are the base of all my experiments. This was the start of all my pieces I have created. To create these, they are all based on mixing PVA glue with other medias which is then scraped across on paper using a palette knife. The unique shapes that appear on the paper without any guidance on what the outcome will look like. The mystery of each scrape intrigues me wanted to create more and more.
With PVA glue and acrylic
First experiment started with mixing PVA glue and acrylic paint which created thick paint with I explored scrapping across the paper producing new shapes and different thicknesses with variety of layers.
Another technique I created is mixing PVA glue with sand and acrylic paint. The same created really trough texture when its dried and the acrylic paint is to add colours for a range of colours and shades. The PVA glue creates a thicker substance which helps me with more texture for an abstract piece.
Further developing the mini scrapes, I created the scrapers by dragging out the scrape and experimenting with painting the background with the same colours and different colours. With PVA bring one of the main materials in this mix, it dries like thin rubber which really intrigues me. I also explored ripping off the glue when its dried taking the first layer of the paint on the paper leaving behind an abstract shape creating bright contrast between the colours.
Pink gone wrong is technique I am created using cement. I choose cement purely because of the thickness I can manipulate and how cheap it is. Because I feature best with texture and the thickness, I use a large amount at once making cement the perfect media to use. It air dries hard but keeps the shape which is one of the reasons why I enjoy using this technique. To create this piece, I used board canvas to paint on as its strong and sturdy.
With all the experimenting with PVA I have come to find that I love the finish it has when it dries, the rubbery fell when you peel it off something. I found the easiest way to peel glue off was from peeling it off plastic. Plastic lids are the best way for me to explore which have turned out to be my best process of making work.
I first started using mixed acrylic paint with glue which poured onto a standard container lid. The glue dries up and you can see when you pull the glue off that the marks on the worn-down lid appear which makes the pieces that deeper and more unique. All the marks that have shown up with the variety of lids I used creates a story within the paint, which is what draws me in to use this technique more.
To further develop the glue lids, I explored more on the materials I can mix with the glue and acrylic paint for example, sand. I have manipulated sand in my work as it gives me the rough texture, I’m so fond of. My speciality is working in impasto and large scale so I tend to use a lot of amount of materials at once and over time I have found I love to use sand. It is a great medium to use as its affordable and when mixed with PVA glue and acrylic paint, it creates this sick substance I love. To include this more into my work I used sand in the lids.
Firstly, I mixed sand and PVA glue together which I poured on the lid and added paint in variety of colours to mix in with the glue. Using materials that are really different to each other it creates a mixture of textures once all has dried. The sand leaves a rough brittle texture but some parts where there is only glue has dried, it is really soft and smooth.
With the knowledge I had and the experiments I had made, I decided to produce loads of the glue lids to see all the marks and designs that show by manipulating the colours and textures.
Some glue lids I used a thicker layer of glue to make more them stainable. I started off with one layer of glue which I left to dry so I was able to play with pure acrylic paint on top and then added another layer of glue once it was dried. The contrast between the pure acrylic and the dry clear glue was very intriguing how I can manipulate the paint by trapping within layers of glue. Â
Jellyfish was created using only thread. I combined 4 different threads together to create this as I used slightly different shades of blue for allowing to make shadows and light instead of having one colour blue. I used the two main colours of blue for the base of the body and used the darker blue thread for the shadow underneath the head of the jellyfish to give it a more realised look which did really help. I used thin strands of white thread for the top of the head to indicate there is light reflecting which also makes it that much more realistic.
I did start working on the jellyfish on a primed board which I painted in advance of the colour white so I have a base to start messing with the threat to create the figure of my jellyfish. To keep the thread firm on the board I used PVA glue to mix with each thread piece and glued it on the board. This has worked really well however it was a lot more difficult then I exacted.
Ink bubbles was an experiment I did using straws and acrylic paint. This method is really quick and easy to create and it fitted perfectly with my water pollution theme.
This technique includes plastic straws, acrylic paint or ink, card and washing up liquid. To create the first thing, you do is mix your paint with a little water and some washing up liquid, this is what gives the paint the soapy texture that we want. When it had been stirred using a plastic straw you blow in the paint creating these overflowing bubbles. Then place the paper over the bubbles to take a print of them and allow them to dry.
