Cedar Raven

I had this lovely surface which I want to play with this weekend, and here are the results! I wish I had scanned in the surface before I painted on it, but I sort of forgot to as I was concentrating rather hard on just how I was going to apply the acrylic inks, and if I was going to limit my palette etc, etc. (I had recently added blue and yellow to my inks collection, and as I really cannot resist new art materials the inevitable choice was to use them all! )

Creating the heavily textured surface involves applying acrylic gel to a canvas board (can also be done on a stretched canvas), soaking paper (ie watercolour paper) larger than the board, then laying the paper on the board, lining up the edges, and shaping/manipulating the paper for a raised texture. Here I manipulated the paper to form a tree. It was sheer luck that the paper also formed a lovely raised shadow. The gel itself contributed to the texture of the grassy areas.    

Now, if you don't get the gel on the front of the watercolour paper you can use it for watercolours. Othewise, use acrylics or markers, pencils, pastels, etc. I used only acrylic inks  for this painting.


 You can use any acid free paper (or material), any weight (just lengthens or shortens the soaking times), or tissue paper which you don't soak. Smooth paper, like cardstock gives you nice stiff peaks. Softer paper, like tissuepaper, gives a smaller more delicate or fine texture (which can be observed in this painting.)
    

Use a heavy gel medium for less water content and quicker drying time. (Gesso is not a sealer.) But you should use a sealer or varnish upon completion.

If you wish to comment on this painting go back up to the top of the picture.

Thanks for looking!

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