The activity I have to share this week is not going to make it into the sketchbook, but it is in the experimental spirit of the sketchbook, so here we go:
I have a substrate issue. I love working on wood. The scraping I do works really well on wood. The wood pushes back against my tools. My favorite effects are on wood. But I am not quite ready to invest in the cost and hassle (weight) of large boards. At this point, anytime I paint larger than 12x12 inches, I paint on canvas. And it is just not the same. I cannot get the same effects, and am especially bothered by the texture of the canvas. When I scrape paint back, it will often reveal the canvas texture in a way that I just don’t like.
An artist online mentioned that they cover the canvas in light molding paste before painting to get rid of the canvas texture.
So this week, I gave it a try. As the molding paste was going on, it was clear it was not fully getting rid of the canvas texture. Perhaps the person who suggested this puts down one layer, lets it dry, sands it a bit, and puts down another layer. But I did not. I am impatient. One layer. No sanding.
I let it dry for a week or two and then this week laid some experimental layers down in different types of paint: acrylic ink, acrylic ink and water, fluid paint, and heavy body paint. I wanted to see how the thin layer of molding paste interacted with all these different viscosities. On my instagram I have a reel showing how I used the different paints.
As can be expected, the molding paste was more absorbent than a gessoed canvas, so the ink did not move as much as it normally would. I loved the way the ink brushed along the canvas and kept the fan brush lines. The fluid paint applied with a brush behaves much like a typical canvas, but it dried with a sort of silky feel that seems less plasticky than on canvas. The heavy body was the real text, because that is the weight I like to scrape. The texture of the canvas did assert itself, but much less than it does on a canvas without molding paste.
Conclusion: I think I like this method! The next time I try it, I will be less impatient: two layers, with some sanding in between.
Prompts for the Week:
What is your favorite substrate? How does that substrate allow you to do the work you want to do? What are the limitations? How do those limitations affect your work?
Grab a red, a blue and a yellow. It does not have to be the “primary” versions. Make a 12 part color wheel with them. Do you discover any interesting colors?
What are you experimenting with in your studio this week? I would love to hear about it in the comments!
Thanks for sharing this experience. Yes, so far, I like wood the best and I still have lots of different paper surfaces to try.