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Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Metal Leaf on Watercolor Paper



I love metallics but am never sure how to incorporate them into my artwork effectively. Recently I purchased a few packages of Simple Leaf from Daniel Smith. I like it because it's cheaper than gilder's leaf and it doesn't require sealing to prevent tarnish. I chose silver and copper w/a bottle of Mona Lisa leaf adhesive. Last night I experimented on Fabriano 90# w/c paper and found the cotton rag drinks up the adhesive like crazy. In order to get the metal leaf to stick I had to apply it within moments of painting on the adhesive. Afterward I thought "WOW...is that bright and shiny!" To tone it down I tried some Ranger alcohol ink over the leaf and got some interesting results. It did tone down the brilliance of the copper as well as the silver and, depending on which color ink is used, I believe it's possible to create some really exciting effects. I'm posting a sample piece so you can get an idea of my results. Metallics are difficult to photograph but I did my best.

Note: The sample is partially silver leaf and copper. I used Ranger's Expresso and Clover on the copper and just Clover on the silver.

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