Tag Archives: ART TUTOR

Create this Cool Marbling effect with Shaving Foam and Golden Air Brush Colours

Ok this is a great way to create a lovely Marbling effect!

Material List – Paper, Shaving Foam, Spatula Pallet knife, fork and skewer, Newspaper, heaps of handy towels, Golden Air Brush Colours. (Air Brush acrylics have a very thin viscosity and are very close to ink like!)

1) Start off with two pieces of Paper, the same size .

2) Spray some Shaving Foam onto the first piece of paper, and then spread it out with a pallet knife ( shaving foam needs to be approx 1cm in-depth) mmm its just like icing a cake lol

3) Drop some Golden Air Brush colours onto the shaving Foam, maybe to start with pick 4 or 5 colours, dropping about 5 drops per colour.

4) Once you have all your colours dropped onto your shaving foam, then use your (fork, spatula, pallet knife or skewer) whatever you have to move the paint around, swirl it, zig zag it, make patterns, words whatever you like.

5) Now that you have done this, place the other piece of paper down onto the painted shaving foam and press or Burnish really well, Yip this is messy, as some of the excess shaving foam will spill out the sides … but it is important that you do press and rub firmly, when you are done then peel back the top paper and place down in front of you!

6) Now using your paper towels, wipe off all the Shaving Foam from that paper, and you will be left looking at a very Cool Marble Paper !!

Wolaa !

Play around with using all different kinds of colour, and tools to make the designs.  Here is one that I have made and painted some cocoons and Butterflies on…

“Evolve – A Journey”

What is Interference colour ??

Ok what is Interference Colour? Interference paint comes in Fluid or Heavy Body (in a tube) – simply put it is a paint when viewed from different perspectives the colour flips! Interference colours are quite unique. When painted over a Light background, the colour will “Flip” as you move it in the light. When painted over a dark surface, the colour of the Interference reveals itself. These “pigments” are a copy of naturally occurring colour in butterfly wings and bird features. To get the maximum effect, extend Interference colours with Transparent mediums, such as Polymer Medium (Gloss) or Soft Gel s, such as Polymer Medium(Gloss) or Soft Gel(Gloss)

Quick Art Tip – What is the difference between Gel and Paste ?

I often get people asking me What is the difference between Gel Medium or Paste?

Simply put….

Gel Medium is usually White when wet and dries Clear  ( with exception of Coarse Pumice gel and Extra Coarse Pumice Gel).

Paste is White when wet and stays the same colour when dry!

Gel mediums can be used an adhesive for  collage , to add texture to your artwork, to thicken paint, and added with paint can make a lovely glaze!

Pastes can add a lovely texture to your artwork, and depending on the type of paste you use you can get lots of different effects. examples of pastes are Crackle Paste, Fibre Past and Molding pastes light, hard, and coarse.

For more information regarding gels and pastes check out my upcoming Workshop to be held in Christchurch on March the 25th 2012!

Another Quick Art Tip for the Week- Painting with Contrast Colours …

Art Tip of the Week- Painting with Contrast Values

Value = the Lightness or Darkness of a colour.

To Brighten a colour paint its complementary colour beside it.

Complementary Colour – Combining a shade, tint or tone of one colour and the colour opposite on the colour wheel.

When two tones far apart from each other on the value scale are selected for example dark brown and cream,  and these tones are painted right beside each other, sharing a common edge, then that pair of tones are said to be in HIGH CONTRAST.

High- Contrast  pairs of colours appear to come forward, while Low-Contrast pairs of colours appear to recede

In this photo below …

1) I have mixed a blue background, and painted the korus with Van Dyke Brown and Titan Buff.

2) When paint is dry I have made up the background colour and mixed this with a glazing liquid and painted over the Korus that I wanted to appear to recede into the background.

Contrast colours with values …

Art – Quick Tip – Blending Acrylic Made Easy with Golden Glazing Liquid !

Blending Acrylic  Made Easy with Golden Glazing Liquid !

How many times have you had trouble with trying to blend acrylic colours?

Acrylic dries fast so can be a real issue for people trying to blend with it!

Glazing is a wonderful way to add depth to your artwork !

There are, several great ways to Blend colours but today I am just going to talk about blending with Golden Glazing Liquid!

Using Golden Glazing Liquid is especially good for those that are new to painting?

You will need : Gel Medium Gloss, Glazing Liquid and 4 different colour Acrylic Fluid paints. (I like to use fluid paint as it doesn’t show brush strokes )

* Golden is the Brand Name, and the name of their product is Glazing Liquid.

1 – Seal your surface  that you are about to paint on,  with a layer of Gloss Gel Medium and allow that to dry.

2- Paint a straight layer of Golden Glazing Liquid over your surface, now it is very IMPORTANT : NOT TO LET THIS DRY B4 THE NEXT STEP!

3 -  On your palate, side by side (do not mix them together!) put an equal amount of  Golden Glazing Liquid and Paint.

 4 - Dip your brush into the paint and then glazing liquid and apply straight onto your surface, starting from one side of your surface to about the middle or 3/4 off the way across at that point stop and wipe off any paint left on your brush. ( you should notice that the paint where you started should be way more intense in colour and starting to lighten toward the middle of your surface.)  After you have wiped off  with a cloth or paper towel excess paint on your brush, continue to spread the glaze and paint toward the middle and right across your surface until you reach the other side. ( you should notice by the time you get to the other side you probably will have hardly any paint left just glazing liquid, that is good ! ) * If by this stage the paint is starting to dry and get sticky then STOP  and wait till it is dry b4 you paint any more!

Blending Glazing Liquid, Cad Red Med and Hansa Yellow Med Fluid acrylic paint

5- Now starting  in another area or corner repeat above process with 2 different colours.

Have Fun !!

( and don’t be shy I would love to hear how you got on ! )

Handy Art Tips – Meths

My Art Tip of the Week – Meths

What can you use to get rid of those troublesome bubbles that can appear in your Gel Mediums ?

When applying gel mediums for example Self leveling gel and sometimes you get little air bubbles all through the gel… just give them a quick spray of Meths…. and wolaaa the bubbles will disappear ! 

Just a reminder to check out my Creative Blog … :)

Hi everyone just a little reminder that if you are interested in checking out my creative blog you can see it by clicking here :)

 http://donnasteelsblog.wordpress.com/

Check out my new Weekly – Art tip of the Week! Tip 1.

Donna’s Art Tip of the Week – Titanium Vs Zinc White ?

My Art Tip of the Week - Sunday 8th January 2012

Tip 1. Titanium Vs Zinc White ?

Make sure when mixing White to a colour you use the right one for what you are wanting!

Titanium White is more opaque and when added to a colour changes that colour giving it more of a Pastel Tone.

Zinc White is more Translucent and when added to a colour just slightly tones down that original colour rather than changing the overall tone of it.

See Below

Titanium Vs Zinc White!

Taylors Mistake – Mixed Media 4 Sale

 Below is some close up photos of the rocks and houses in original artwork above.