Saturday, August 4, 2012

2 FOR THE PRICE OF 1

50/50 #36
I was caught up in the Olympics and forgot to post last night, so here are two more instead of one.
#36 is another aluminum foil painting.  There is a technique in the last book by Mary Todd Beam where you coat the dull side of aluminum foil with black gesso, turn it over onto a piece of watercolor paper and draw on the back, transferring the gesso lines.   It looks something like a woodcut.  My friend, Kathy Mitchell, has worked with this technique to great effect and does some stunning work.  I have tried it maybe 5 times with mixed results.  This piece of foil had gold gesso on it instead of black and I had saved it from the original project.  Never throw anything away!  After glueing it down, gesso side up, with gel medium, I collaged some tissue which had been stamped with archival brown ink.  It altered the surface is a very subtle way because the brown ink almost disappears into the gold background.   The ink drawing was applied in my usual manner.

50/50 #37
This background  uses a lace patterned washi paper.  On another panel, I scraped white gesso through the paper.  I then stuck this same lace paper down on this panel and covered it with heavy gloss gel.  The same washi paper created two very different surfaces.  After the gel medium was dry I glazed the surface with  wash of Cerulean Blue Acrylic.  It has a fairly slick surface which is reflected in the way the black line drawing is so fluid.  I used diluted black gesso for the drawing as I didn't think the ink would be permanent on such a plastic surface.


7 comments:

Meera Rao said...

love the super cool texture of 36 and the minimalism of the otherone :) i have to read your explanations or just come watch you do it !!!!

Myrna Wacknov said...

Oh, Meera, do come and watch! That would be great and the weather is good, too!

Autumn Leaves said...

The first piece done with foil is extremely powerful, Myrna. Even moreso than the first piece (last post) done in this manner. I absolutely love it. The color in the second piece is also wonderful and somehow reminds me of skin tones on elderly people. I do like the fluid lines in the piece as well. Always love seeing what you are doing, even if I don't always get how it is all done.

RH Carpenter said...

As much as I love color, the minimalist ones are becoming my favorites - greys with just a touch of color really sets off the drawings. I enjoy hearing how to created each one - you make it easy to get the materials and try one!

Myrna Wacknov said...

Thanks, Sherry. I don't usually remember how it was done, myself! This time I put a post-it note on the back and wrote down each step after I did it. My latest book will act as a reference for me to be able to repeat some of the textures that I particularly liked.

Myrna Wacknov said...

Thanks, Rhonda. Be sure and try some of them.

Anonymous said...

This is stunning and fascinating! I could keep looking at it and looking at it...

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