Surface Treatment Workshop - week 5

it's been a busy week and I'm few days late posting this week's samples

but I've had a lot of fun with the crackle medium and crackle paste

and it was a real learning curve with mixed results and pleasant surprises

after clearing up in my studio last week ...

I came across a bottle of DecoArt Weathered Wood Crackling Medium

so, with no idea how many years I've had it or if it has a shelf life
I began sampling with that ...

I followed instructions to paint first then apply the crackle medium

a few minor bubbly textures appeared but on the whole nothing much

still, I discovered that the medium is great for creating a shiny glaze

which reflects the light and therefore adds a watery effect to my "beach streams" painting

next up ... another abstract painting with the crackle medium applied on top

for this one I waited till it was dry then zapped it with my heat gun to create some texture

areas of my painting bubbled up with the heat ... so I applied silver foil to the raised areas

overall I'm pleased with the finished effect even if it was not intended

still with the DecoArt crackle medium ...

for the next sample I applied the crackle medium first and painted into it while still wet

using a brush I mixed the colours directly on my base

then heated the sample with a heat gun and ironed on more silver foil

I was pleased with the effect of the paint in the medium

which runs together in a similar manner to when you paint into pva glue

and does vaguely resemble a "weathered wood" texture with a bit of imagination

the original sample is much more interesting than my photos do justice

the sample below is more DecoArt Crackle Medium

heated with a heat gun before painting which created this texture below

(showing it coloured after I had painted it)

and this is the sample after I had applied silver foil

(I do like a bit of bling on an otherwise matt surface)

it was useful to try DecoArt Crackle Medium applied very thinly on a pastel seascape

the effects were quite faint which is great if a more subtle result is sought

below is the last of my samples with the DecoArt Weathered Wood Crackling Medium

I painted this seascape with sunrise with acrylics on mount board

then applied the crackle medium really thickly on top and left for 24 hours

this does appear to have a more weathered wood look

so I guess this is how the medium should be applied

the instructions on the bottle were not that clear

as to how much to apply ... hence the experiments

it worked well on the waves which look choppy with small  "white horses"

and on the white/blue sky too (below)

the following samples below are with Golden Gel Mediums Crackle Paste

experimenting with different thicknesses of paste and applying with a brush and palette knife

the first thing I discovered was how patient you have to be waiting for the stuff to crack up

these samples were left drying out several days

the second thing I discovered was that the size and depth of the cracks

depend very much on how thickly the paste is applied

I felt I got much better results when the paste was applied with a palette knife versus a brush

perhaps because I favour a knife over a brush for acrylics anyway

and because I don't really like seeing brush strokes in the paste

the third thing I discovered is that paint just sinks into the cracks to the base layer

and therefore any depth of colour needs to be built up in several layers / applications

below ... adding another layer of watery acrylics

this is how it looks when dry (below) ...

you can see the depth of colour pales as it dries

overall I'm pleased with the crackle textures

but didn't really like the chalky feel of the surface

so I also experimented with different clear glazes on my sketchbook samples

trying Golden fluid matte medium, pva glue and the DecoArt Crackle Medium

I ran out of time for any more samples this week

as I've had to get some collages ready for faux encaustic (week 6)

but I may work some more crackle samples later with more intense colour and glazes

and it's good to try every angle of a material

my sister had some great results with the crackle paste this week

also this week I've been working some more on my St. Ives stitched collage

securing the fabrics with stab stitches and playing with the composition

since I took these photos I've stitched down the cottages

secured the rusted fabrics (which I found on the harbour beach)

and attached the shells, seaweed and vintage button

I was pleased with how the rusted orange lifted the neutral colours

it's coming along ...

I'll be back on Wednesday with The Surface Treatment Workshop

in week 6 we are exploring faux encaustic techniques which is rather exciting!