My textile adventure: Part One: Project 1 - Stage 2: Exercise 3 cont...

Tuesday 31st August - making marks continued....using a variety of materials.

I spent yesterday collecting as wide a range of papers as I could find........

Newsprint, white paper bag, lining paper, envelopes, papyrus, coloured & white tissue paper, brown paper bag, newspaper, handmade paper, acetate, tracing paper, watercolour paper, sugar paper and foils.

I am endeavouring to try out a range of media and tools on these papers, seeing what marks will be created on the different surfaces.

Also hoping that I will be able to get to the stage of making marks in relation to the words. I'll see how much I can get done in this session.

Acrylic paint / foil: Acrylic paint applied to the surface of foil, drawn into with the end of a paintbrush.

Foil , acrylic paint

This was a nice effect - lots of texture with the foil showing through.

Watercolour pencil / newsprint: Watercolour pencils coloured onto the dry paper and water added. Then drawn onto the wet surface again.

newsprint, watercolour pencils

This worked best once the paper was wet. That was when the lines drawn were darker, smoother and blended well.

Pencil crayon / tissue paper: Pencil crayon drawn onto the surface of the tissue paper.

Tissue paper, pencil crayon

The pencil crayon worked well, it was a nice smooth surface to work with, but, as the paper was delicate, the movements of the pencil had to be delicate.

Wax crayon / lining paper: scribbling

lining paper, wax crayon

Wax crayon worked best on this rough surface. The colours showed up well, better than a completely smooth surface.

Wax crayon / papyrus: colouring the paper

papyrus paper, wax crayon

This didn't really work as a colouring medium on this type of paper. Hardly any colour showed up.

Pencil crayon / papyrus: drawing on the surface.

papyrus paper, pancil crayon

The texture of the paper helped to hold the colour from the pencil - producing nice thick dark lines.

Pencil crayon / thick brown paper: colouring

Thick brown paper, pencil crayon

Light colours showed up well on this rough surface.

Ink / white paper bag: Ink applied with a stick

White paper bag, ink

The paper was smooth and nice to use. It was easy to create interesting lines with the stick dipped in ink But the colour became dull as it dried,

Ink / lining paper: splatter

Lining paper, ink

Ink worked well on this surface, splattering creates a nice texture with unpredictable marks - could be used with a mask or a stencil to control the area the paint will reach.

Ink / newspaper: Ink painted onto the surface of the paper.

Newspaper, ink

I really like this effect. The colour is translucent - you can still see the typeface underneath. I think this would make a really nice ground to draw on.

Ink / papyrus: Ink painted in lines on the papyrus paper.

Papyrus paper, ink

The ink showed up well on the surface of the papyrus. The texture of the paper showed through and the ink dried with a shiny finish.

Watercolour pencil / cartridge paper: pencils were used dry on the surface and then brushed with water.

Cartridge paper 120gsm, watercolour pencils

The colours showed up well. As the water was added the colours blended. If red was next to yellow - orange appeared. These will be good for outdoor sketching as they are light and easy to transport.

Watercolour pencil / thick brown paper: Pencils drawn onto brown paper

Thick brown paper, watercolour pencils

Although the roughness of the paper meant the colour showed up well, the surface worked best when wet. The colours were darker and smoother.

Ink / thin white paper: Ink applied with a stick.

Thin white paper, ink

The stick was dipped in ink and flicked across the surface. This created nice thin, jagged lines.

Acrylic paint / tissue paper: Undiluted acrylic paint brushed onto tissue.

Tissue paper, acrylic paint

This is not the best surface to paint onto - but it would work well if glued down first.

Acrylic paint / acetate: Acrylic paint splattered onto the surface of acetate.

Acetate, acrylic paint

The paint was splattered onto the clear sheet. It created fantastic textural marks.

Acrylic paint / acetate: Paint stippled and scratched on acetate.

Acetate, acrylic paint

Thick acrylic paint stippled onto acetate. While wet the paint was scratched into - creating some interesting textural marks.

Acrylic paint / newsprint: Dilute acrylic paint applied to newsprint.

Newsprint, acrylic paint

Definately not the best surface for acrylic paint. The paper needs to be much heavier.

Handmade paper / acrylic paint: Washes of dilute acrylic paint applied to surface

Handmade paper, acrylic paint

When the paper was wet it was hard to manage. Once dry it looks interesting, the texture of the paper shows through.

Acrylic paint / lining paper: Dilute acrylic painted onto lining paper - complementary colour drawn onto the wet surface.

Lining paper, acrylic paint

The end of a paintbrush was dipped into dilute purple acrylic paint and drawn onto the wet surface. The paint bled into the yellow background. This created really nice feathery lines where the paint mixed.

Acrylic paint / white paper bag: Dilute acrylic brushed onto surface of the paper.

White paper bag, acylic paint

The paint dried very quickly, darker colours were made when the brushstrokes overlapped.

Acrylic paint / white paper bag: Undilute acrylic paint brushed onto surface of the paper.

White paper bag, acrylic paint

The undilute paint was dabbed onto the surface of the paper - this created a brighter colour of paint when dry

Wax crayon / white paper bag: Using wax resist.

White paper bag, acrylic paint

Nice textural lines appear when using the wax resist.

Acrylic paint / papyrus: Undilute acrylic brushed onto surface of the papyrus.

Papyrus paper, acrylic paint

Using the paint undiluted created lots of texture. Nicer result when the paint was diluted.

Soft pastel / lining paper: scribbling with pastel.

Lining paper, soft pastel

The 'bite' of the paper helps the pastel adhere to the surface. Good paper to draw on with almost any medium.

Soft pastel / envelope: Pastel drawn onto the inside of an envelope.

Envelope, soft pastel

I liked the print from the inside of the envelope showing through into the drawing. Good surface to draw on.

Soft pastel / envelope: Pastel drawn on the outside of the envelope.

Envelope, soft pastel

Scribbled and blended the pastel onto the envelope. I like the white line that appears - where the envelope had been glued down.

Soft pastel / envelope: Pastel drawn onto surface of envelope.

Envelope, soft pastel

After blending the pastel onto the surface, I was able to draw on top of it. The envelope was a very versatile ground to draw on.

Acrylic paint / tracing paper: painting dilute acrylic on tracing paper.

Tracing paper, acrylic paint

This didn't really work well - paper crinkled when wet paint was applied.

Felt pen / newsprint: Scribbled.

Newsprint, felt pen

The felt pens worked well on the smooth surface of the paper.

Felt pen / tracing paper: Drawn onto the surface.

Tracing paper, felt pen

This was a good, smooth surface for the pen. The colour became duller and more transparent as it dried.

Charcoal / brown paper bag: scrumpled bag drawn on with chunky charcoal.

Brown paper bag, charcoal

Interesting marks form on the folds of the paper. Holds the colour well.

Soft pastel / brown paper bag: Scrumpled bag drawn on with soft pastel.

Brown paper bag, soft pastel

Again like the charcoal - interesting marks form on the folds of the paper and the colour shows up well.

Soft pastel / handmade paper: Soft pastel drawn onto the handmade paper.

Handmade paper, soft pastel

Pastel looks really nice on the handmade paper. The texture of the paper shows up well.
Unfortunately requires alot of fixative, or it may smudge and be rubbed off the surface.

Soft pastel / newspaper: Soft pastel drawn onto newspaper.

Newspaper, soft pastel

Nice to work on, the print of the newspaper shows through.
Not many layers of pastel could be used due to the smooth finish on the paper.

Soft pastel / papyrus: drawn onto surface of the papyrus.

Papyrus, soft pastel

Worked best drawn on the surface, texture of the paper shows through. I didn't really like the effect produced when smudged into the surface.

Oil pastel / corrugated cardboard: Pastel was drawn onto surface of the cardboard.

Corrugated card, oil pastel

This had lots of texture, colour showed up well. The corrugations on the cardboard produced some dark shadows.
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I managed to use all the papers with all the media I had in front of me. I created an enormous mess but feel I am closer to 'knowing' my materials than I was before I started the exercise.

I hadn't used some of the papers before - like papyrus - so I was very interested in these results. Felt tips worked beautifully on this surface, as did watered down acrylic paint and pencil crayon. The texture of the paper helped achieve a great depth of colour in the pencil crayon - lots of 'bite'. Also when used with inks - the surface texture showed through.

Sometimes a technique didn't appear to 'work' - handmade paper with very wet acrylic paint for example, produced a wet soggy unmanageable piece of paper. When it had dried however - the colours of the paint were clear and bright, the grain of the paper showed through - this was a nice effect.

All of the effects tried out produced a good result - it is my reference table for future projects now, and can always be added to.

Having finished this stage I am now looking at all my work spread out across the floor, wondering which word is best described by which technique, which media, which paper. I am going to jot down some ideas and compare the ideas with my finished exercise.

I would love to skip straight to exercise 4 at this stage - but somehow I know it will be harder to come back to this part later.

Conclusion - should have set my timer tonight - feel exhausted and know that tomorrow I still have to tackle the words. If I had had all the materials in the last session I would have saved alot of time - and enjoyed this part more. Although I have produced an awful lot of samples by spending the extra time.... so maybe the extra time was well spent?

Some of the finished pages from this exercise: