Rainy Sunday afternoons (aka nap time) are a great time to refine current or try new techniques. I find that I stick with my acrylic paint. I know to many in the art community this is children’s play as oil painting takes much more time and precision. Exactly! It takes more time. I am a mother of 2, time is of the essence. So, for now I will stick to my acrylic paints, as they are much more forgiving and dry quickly.
I wanted to try something I read about breaking the glass pebbles that I got from Hobby Lobby. https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Mosaics/Mosaic-Pieces/Green-Glass-Mosaic-Gems/p/80811419
I have read a few blogs that said to break to smaller pieces by:
- Place in water on the stove and boil.
- Move glass pebbles from boiling water to an ice bath to make weaken.
- Cover pebbles with cloth and break with hammer.
Yes, this broke the glass pebbles. However, when readying these other blogs, it made it seem like these would break easily with the “shatter” effect. Perhaps I don’t know my own strength, but I had a lot of shards. And I didn’t give enough thought beforehand because I did on my back porch on the concrete… I had a lot of cleaning up to do. I will point out though, when I sprinkled the pieces on my canvas, I did not get cut or even anything close to it. So hopefully I don’t have any barefoot injuries in our backyard anytime soon.
On this painting, I was hoping for transitions from light to dark, but as I mentioned, acrylic is forgiving, which also means I can change my mind mid painting based on how some of the colors are blending. I LOVED the bronze color, but it didn’t have the overall blend that I liked. I LOVE a lot of texture no matter what, so I was mindful that I was adding thick paint with 1 brush, I kept the movement and direction of the brush the same throughout the painting. Half way through it became more of an ombre painting and became primarily 2 toned.
In the middle where the colors came together I added my stones to give it even more personality. I had some gold leaf left over from other projects. So yes, I added it along with some glitter once I came to the drying side of the project. AGAIN, I LOVE TEXTURE! For so long, I didn’t add too much in fear of it being gawdy, but now, I figure, add it to it, and then if I don’t like it, then I will start over.
I have so many paintings on top of paintings. Not just because I don’t like them, but over time my mood changes, and that is okay. Let it dry and start over if you want (beauty of acrylic…. Am I selling you on the idea of acrylic yet?) Granted, I do realize that once the bedazzles are in place the starting over is a bit trickier, but not impossible… scrape it baby, or throw away, or let your kids paint on it (they would love a large canvas!)
I have become a huge fan of resin. So, after drying for several several hours, and the storms passed (because humidity is not a friend) I got my epoxy and hardener out.
** This one is pretty easy to use, not super expensive, and relatively easy clean up. However, I am always afraid that I am going to run out. Trick with epoxy that I keep learning the hard(er) way, mix as you go. Have a plan-of-attack in mind and work through covering in sections, especially if working with multiple colors, so you can work with that area without fear of it drying before blended. https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Clay-Molding-Sculpting/Casting/Amazing-Clear-Cast/p/80845719
I personally love the look of the deep texture, then love the epoxy on top b/c you touch it and it feels smooth but to the eye it looks rough. I added a powder to some to give some grey hints and poured it to extend from the middle stones. And then dried with some clear to create full coverage but also a little more uniqueness. Lastly, I added a few more full pebbles to finish off. I set to dry overnight and here is my finished product.
To watch the complete How-To Video (sped up greatly) CLICK HERE
Art by Jesica 