Pencil drawings, collage and acrylic paint

FROM THE EMAIL BAG:

Judith asks: "I wonder how to seal pencil (lead, ink, and colored too), ink jet xeroxes, and watercolor and pastels so that when trying to collage them...the image doesn't smudge or disappear into the polymer products.

Thanks for your question, Judith. The best way to protect pencil or water-based images from smudging when applying polymer products on top is to use a protective spray like Golden's MSA Varnish. Be sure you test on a similar sample first. MSA Varnish may cause darkening or discoloring of delicate pencil or pastel. Always test first!

I also have had a fair amount of success by very carefully laying a pool of polymer medium at the top of the paper that the pencil drawing is on, and then gently tilting the paper (taped to cardboard for stiffness) so that the polymer rolls over the pencil. You may have to shake or jiggle the paper so that you get an even covering of polymer. In this way you can cover the delicate pencil or pastel with polymer without disturbing it with a brush.

You can also try Airbrush Medium, which is very thin, and spray it from a spray bottle. Cover the entire pencil/pastel image with Airbrush Medium and let dry. Don't over-saturate it. Two or three thin layers are best.

As I said above, always test first! Keep me posted on how it turns out!

3 comments:

Lisa Sloane said...

Hi Tesia - I work with my own pencil and pen and ink drawings all the time, but I make toner copies (color copies from Kinkos and the like) of them. Then I can work with acrylic mediums, glazes, and paints as I like. I've also had great success with the Golden digital grounds and my ink jet printer - and then sealed with varnish as you indicate. That way I can use a variety of different papers and supports and am not limited to Kinkos copy paper... Thanks!

Unknown said...

Hi Lisa:
Thanks for your comment! Yeah, the new Digital Grounds from Golden will really expand your cast of characters in the studio, eh? Glad you liked it. May I forward your comment to Golden? And I'd like to post it on Twitter if I may.

Thanks!
Tesia

Lisa Sloane said...

Hi Tesia - of course - no problem. I'm still playing with the digital grounds, but really like them so far. You can also see them used on the landfillart hubcap project I did - really took my pencil drawing to a new level. In fact, I used all Golden products on that piece - I am a disciple. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPNKf1P2S1w

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