Papers, Surfaces and Grounds - what can I paint on?

Watercolour
I am often queried as to whether there are other papers one can use other than expensive Watercolour paper.When using watercolours. It all depends on what sort of result you want at the end, whether you are painting a final work or just a sketch . At the very top of the line are all the best, acid free, handmade or machine rolled watercolour papers with the names you might recognise such as Arches, Saunders Waterford, Fabriano, Canson,
Schoellerschammer and many others. Watercolour paper is made to a standard of whiteness, surface texture and feel; it is buffered with anti moulds and acid free so it can be guaranteed to last for decades and it is 'sized' on one side ( sometimes two) so that washes remain bright and luminous and workable for a few seconds to a few
minutes. When you look at all the time and trouble that has gone into producing the average sheet of arist's quality watercolour paper, you wonder why anyone would bother trying to paint on anything else.
And indeed for gallery presenation, only the best will do.
You can however experiment with rice papers and other handmade surfaces, you can paint on silk and other fine fabrics ( these can be fixed by using a special fabric medium which is then heat treated) and small scale colour
reference sketches can be made in sketch books etc. However, as a general rule, for a truly successful work using watercolour you should always use the paper made for the medium. Note: Ther is also Watercolour canvas available - but experiment with this first to see if it is to your liking- it demands a m ore 'saturated' approach to applying your colour than on paper.

Oils and Acrylics

Acrylic paint on the other hand can be used on a number of surfaces. After you get past the standard of stretched canvas, you can try working on wooden panels that have been coated with gesso and sanded. This is a smooth
surface, quite different in feel and result to the 'weave' of canvas. You can also paint on fabric ( such as T-shirts) You can apply paint directly onto plain wood but a better result is obtained if there is some undercoat so that the colours have more depth.Acrylics can be used onto glass to create 'stained glass' effects, onto metal ( eg: cars)
and many other applications. At most art stores you can find handbooks listing the range of mediums obtainable for the brand of paint you have selected that will give you an idea of more uses for this versatile medium.

Oils can be applied to many of the same surfaces as acrylics- however their longer drying time may make them the second choice for certain jobs. For both Acrylics and Oils you can gesso your own surfaces- Gesso is the white undercoat or primer that is found on all good prepared canvas - it is a mixture of acrylic apint and calicium carbonate ( Plaster of paris). You can prepare your own canvases using gesso, on boards or to use it to improve store bought canvases. When using it on boards always let it dry thoroughly between coats and give a sand using a fine grade sandpaper.

Pastels

Pastels papers such as Mi-Tientes come in a range of colours to provide a background undercolour to your work.
If you want a white backgrond for your work Pastels can be used on watercolour paper also, although it is best to use the hot press papers as they are smoother. But if 'toothy' is the feel you like try the range of Colorfix papers- a surface that is specially designed to catch the colour of pastels and enable easy reworking without clogging of the paper. You can prepare any surface - such as cardboard or even mounted canvas with colourfix primer and use pastels on this.Pastel can be overlaid on any surface that is not going to flex but it has to be protected against smudging. For this reason it is not advisable to combine pastels and acrylics on canvas- but they can be combined if on paper that will be framed under glass.
Pastels work well with watercolours if applied after the watercolour is totally dry. Once you have applied a layer of pastel you cannot paint over it again with watercolours.

Pen, Ink and Pencil
And also charcoal pencil all work best on papers and can be used in combination with anything else that works on papers also.Apart from watercolour paper you can use illustration board, high quality cartridge paper and a range of papers that come in pads that are for ink and line work.Note that some of these papers will not take a lot of watercolour work though.

Next 2 Day Workshop at Studio 3 Bangalow

Sunday April 22 - Monday April 23
9.30 - 4.30
Morning and Afternoon tea and coffee provided.
Register your intention to attend NOW!
4 places left - $65 for one day, $120 for 2 days.
Returning participants $105.

Ocean Shores Golf Club Art group

The Ocean Shores Group meets on Wednesday mornings to paint in a variety of mediums.
They welcome new members, you don't even have to play golf! Currently members are exploring Acrylics on canvas. If you live locally and would like to join this group contact me on 66 872 675. A big hello to Kirsten who left the group recently to move to South Austrlia - keep painting Kirsten!

Personal One-on-One Tuition

Always available - just ring to book- 66 872 675.
Please note new fees for 2007 - 1 1/2 hours for $45 Are you receiving this email in colour or plaintext? Enable HTML in your mail browser for a more colourful newletter!