TECHNIQUES USING MATCHPOT PAINTS

I thought I would offer another couple of examples of using Matchpot paint backgrounds. These are a couple of older pieces of artwork from sketchbooks - the first piece has the dark brown undercoat brushed on thickly so the brush strokes are visible.  A very thin top coat of duck-egg blue was added and lightly brushed over with an almost dry paint brush  - it was lightly sanded with wire wool to give a grainy, wood effect.

 This second piece has bubbles, which I discovered by accident!  I painted one side of the paper with a red coat and then when dry I used a top coat of metallic gold (a specialist paint sample pot).  I then went and painted the back of the page ready for the next piece of work, and I used a heat gun to speed up the drying process.  By blowing heat on the back of the page it created these wonderful bubbles.  I have used this technique since with normal Matchpot paints rather than the metallic and it works just as well.

A WALK IN THE NEW FOREST

We went for a lovely walk in the warm November sunshine this morning and I collected some treasures to photograph.  It gave me an excuse to use the wonderful marbled paper I found in an antique book as the background.  I think it works really well.  The lichen seem to have an underwater feel - might be a starting point for some seaside themed art work in the future.  The toadstools were photographed on the insides of old books and I really like the foxing marks on the background of the last two photos as it reminds me of the marks on leaves as they start to deteriorate.

   

MATCHPOT PAINTS

I was recently asked how I toughened up the pages in my Brooklyn Sketchbook to take the weight of the collage materials I used.  I gave each page of the sketchbook a base coat, using a selection of Dulux/Crown sample 'matchpots' - I just love them - they gave the pages a tougher, more manageable strength as I found the paper rather flimsy.  However, I also use them quite a lot as backgrounds on thicker papers.  I find them affordable (I pick up one or two whenever I'm in B&Q) and there is a wonderful array of colours to choose from.   

These two collages were ideas for a birthday card for someone who loves cycling.  I painted the paper with a reasonably thick layer of a dark coloured matt vinyl matchpot paint.  I then covered it in a thinner layer of cream coloured paint and let it dry thoroughly overnight.  I used wire wool (like the old-fashioned brillo pad) to rub some of the top layer of paint off to achieve the vintage look - it also gives a slight sheen to the background, as though the paint has been polished.  Both layers of paint on these collages were fairly thick - which means harder work with the wire wool!   Be careful - I have worn holes through work before now!
On the first collage I rubbed quite a lot of paint off so that more dark red showed through.  On the second collage I went for a more subtle look and didn't remove so much, so less of the dark green background is showing.

THE BROOKLYN SKETCHBOOK PROJECT

It's finished!  I've finally completed the sketchbook and all images are on my website and my Brooklyn Sketchbook Profile page.  I am quite sad it's come to an end as I was enjoying myself so much!

I Remember You - page 28

The last section has been about my ancestors - grandparents/ great-grandparents - the people who have made me who I am.  The above image is an old photograph printed on silk and covered by a page from an old vintage book, punched with holes, to give a moth-eaten, antique look to it. 

THE BROOKLYN SKETCHBOOK PROJECT

I'm on a bit of a roll now and have just finished the third section of my sketchbook - it's been downloaded onto my website and also my profile page (click the icon on the right to see more).  Just seven more pages to go - still brimming with ideas and I am certain that the ideas I've been putting down in this little book will be leading me on to other art work - so exciting!

Page 20 - transfer gel, photographic images and organza