Wednesday, November 4, 2009

EXCITING NEW TECHNIQUE!!!


I found a very interesting book at the library called "Painting without a Brush" by David Ferry. Printed in 1991, it is still available on line. In fact, I had to pay as much for postage as for the book! The library is a very expensive place for me. When I find a book I like, I want to own it. This book has lots of interesting mixed media ideas. Today I decided to try one that really intrigued me. The idea is to use bleach to lift areas of ink. Above is the final result. Here is the process I followed:
First I drew the image with charcoal onto a sheet of smooth watercolor paper. Next, I took a white candle and drew some lines that will act as a resist. Then I took some non-permanent black ink (permanent ink has shellac in it and won't work) and brushed the ink over the paper, leaving some of the area white. When that dried, I then used various brushes and applied bleach. Be sure you have decent ventilation as the bleach odor can be fairly strong. The bleached area turned shades of orange. I want to explore different strengths of ink and different dilutions of bleach to see how much variation I can achieve. When the paper dried, I applied more charcoal, then sprayed with an acrylic fixative. Lastly, I glazed some acrylic color over areas and used titanium white acrylic from the tube for more opaque passages.

This was so much fun, I can't wait to try it again tomorrow. Now that I have the idea, there are some variations I want to try.

12 comments:

Sue J said...

What stunning results. Would the bleach eventually rot the paper? I love seeing what you are up to. Thanks for sharing.

Unknown said...

Wow, Myrna! You're both a painter and an alchemist :) The effect is marvelous.

Liz said...

Please be careful about inhaling the bleach fumes, especially if you have any health problems:

http://www.ehow.com/about_5371619_effects-inhalation-clorox-fumes.html

Cindi said...

wow myrna.. you are so creative.. love the way you think out of the box.... this latest portrait is awesome.... will be back later, to see what ever else you can create with this technique... love it!!

SharonWrightArtist said...

Fabulous image and very intriguing technique. I am utterly amazed at all your experimentation, and with such glorious results!

Mary Lou said...

love the results Myrna, but wouldn't the bleach degrade the paper since it isn't pH neutral? I'm curious...

Lynne said...

I have this book too, and I love it. Be aware that bleach will ruin brushes - all the hair tends to break away and drop out!

Love your results.

Myrna Wacknov said...

Thanks for all your comments. I will check out about inhaling bleach fumes! I don't know about what happens to the paper from the bleach. I'm sure it doesn't improve it! I have stopped being concerned about archival quality. As long as things last while I'm here, that is good enough for me. I do pay attention to light fastness in pigments.

Thanks for the tip about brushes and bleach. I will make sure to use junk brushes and rinse well.

Cynthia said...

What a magnificent piece....so inspiring....now I have to find this book!!!

Rebecca said...

This is stunning - the detail that you created! The process rather sounds like negative drawing - dancing in heels backwards.

I have used bleach for abstract affects (and I have the stains on clothes to prove it :) but not to actually paint with...hmmmm.

Cindy said...

Hi I am new to your blog, very interesting, I love this portrait, you are amazing! I could not leave without telling you that. Take care.

David Lobenberg said...

My students and I are excitedt to see you in action with this technique! We are planning an in class potluck lunch.

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