For this exercise we had to choose a subject and then explore different ways of depicting it with media. We were encouraged to use anything we had available and as I have been experimenting with mixed media in my art journaling I used the suplies I had in my ‘stash’. I interpretted that the sirit of the exercise was to try unusual techniques so I used supplies in ways I haven’t before. Some of the techniques I really liked and will use again. I chose 6 different surfaces:
- texture paste on cold pressed paper
- pumice gel on cold pressed paper
- cold pressed paper
- cardboard
- vellum
- white foam
The results are below:
There are other combinations I can think of to try, including some wet media and pastel on the texture paste. There are also combinations that I use such as inktense and matt acrylic that I haven’t included here in order to keep the exercise manageable.
Of the combinations above I felt that number 2 (inkense on pumice gel) gives the best idea of what the apples actually looked like regarding their waxy skins. Number 1 (texture paste), I think, was least successful in depicting the apples, although I could have possibly worked the oil pastel more on the surface.
My favourite techniques were 7 (the alcohol inks and crayons on vellum) and 8 (the alcohol inks and gel medium on foam). Of the two number 7 probably photographed the best and may be even better if scanned but number 8 is more shiny in ‘real life’.
Using indian ink with oil pastel in number 6 gave an odd effect, which I expected as I knew the oil would resist the ink. However, when I dried it off using a heat tool the oil pastel melted, creating a more ‘blobby’ result which could be useful in another project. The ink stuck after drying but remained in a pooled pattern on the surface. Interesting!
I really enjoyed this exercise and would love to hear of any other interesting combinations.
