Will Resin adhere to Encaustic?
15/9/2017
It is often said that Resin and Encaustic won't work together, that the Encaustic will resist the Resin, so I decided to try some experiments of pouring clear Resin over Encaustic paintings. At first I did about half a dozen small ones to see if the resin would separate from the encaustic. Below are four of my small experiments. After two months, they are still adhering well, with no sign of deteriation or lifting.
The top left hand side image, called Rock Pool is a very textured Encaustic painting with a clear coat of Resin on top. The right side top image is an Encaustic piece with Shellac Burn, topped with a clear coat of Resin. The bottom left if an Image Transfer on Encaustic, topped with a clear coat of Resin. The fourth image on the bottom right is a very textured piece with three stripes of Encaustic with Accretion (heavy texture), and the two middle pieces are Encaustic with Shellac Burn. Resin has been added only on the two pieces with the Shellac Burn. I used Dalchem Crystal Clear Resin from Art Tree Creations on top of the Encaustic artworks. I make my own Encaustic Medium with raw beeswax and caster wax in a 8:1 ratio - 8 being beeswax, and 1 being caster wax. Because the small ones are still holding up well after two months, I wanted to see how a larger textured piece would go. So I am testing on two of my original textured Encaustic pieces, both approximately 60cm x 40cm. I will give progress reports in another couple of months, and again later. Hopefully it will hold up and not separate. The two images are Eye of the Storm 1, and Eye of the Storm 2. Aftter thee months, the original encaustic paintings with a clear coat of resin on top are still looking perfect - no lifting or separation of encaustic or resin. I am so happy with this that I tested another one today.
When I made this Encaustic work on perspex more than two years ago, all reports that I had read said that Encaustic would not adhere to perspex, but after two years, this one is still in perfect condition - so I decided to test it further by applying the clear coat of Resin on top. Once again I will report progress back each month or so.
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June 2020
For as long as I can remember, I have been able to effortlessly and accurately sketch or draw an object or persons likeness. I had an innate ability to look at a person or object, and accurately gauge the size, shape and colour, and distance, memorise that information and put it down on paper. As a child and teenager, I particularly loved to draw faces to obtain a realistic likeness to that person. This love also extended to drawing animals, and a lot of my teen years was spent drawing both from magazine photographs and from life. This expanded both to drawing from life and using my own photographs as reference.
Later, when I wanted to paint a landscape, building, or portrait of a person, I would complete a charcoal or pencil work as a preliminary study to work out composition, light and shade, and get a feeling for the subject. This enabled me to see things as they really are. Most of the time, my drawings were complete artworks in themselves. Drawing dates back to pre-history and was the earliest form of non-verbal communication between humans. Drawing is a way to communicate thoughts and feelings, and enables us to see the world as it really is. As Leonardo da Vinci once said, “Painting embraces all the ten functions of the eyes, that is to say, darkness, light, body and colour, shape and location, distance and closeness, motion and rest.” Some artists live in one part of the Universe of Art and explore a theme or themes. I have been strongly attracted to the exploration of different mediums, across the whole Universe of Art.
My early years involved mostly oil and charcoal, with forays into watercolour, pastel and acrylic. With these mediums, I explored landscapes, portraits, abstracts and surreal. Recently, my life changed to allow more time for art, leading me into vigorous exploration of new areas of art. My two major new areas are encaustic art using hot beeswax and resin art using epoxy resin. At the same time, my life also changed with my marriage to a scientist with an interest in astrophotography and, with him, I have explored combining star images with charcoal drawings to convey the meaning of the Universe of Stars. Painting with hot beeswax: The ancient Greek art of encaustic painting with hot beeswax is another major realm in the Universe of Art. Moving into a new house with a new husband gave me the opportunity to explore this exciting new art realm, since this form of art needs considerable work in establishing a dedicated studio and developing new and unusual art techniques. From 2014 to 2016, I developed abstract, image transfer and realist works, the latter focussing on a shipwreck series, which culminated in a solo exhibition called “The Last Fleet” at the Gold Coast City gallery in 2016. I have also used the image transfer variation of encaustic painting to produce a series based on Australian native birds. Painting with resin: Over the last year, I entered yet another new realm of the Universe of Art: painting with epoxy resin. Like encaustic painting, this art form needs a dedicated studio, specific equipment, new techniques and a new approach to art. I am still exploring new variations of this exciting new realm of the Universe of Art but this exciting new area has already led to another solo exhibition called “New Beginnings”, at the One Arts Gallery, Isle of Capri, Gold Coast Queensland in the month of May 2017. What is resin?: Epoxy Resin used in art is an adhesive, plastic material made from synthetic polymers and mixed with a hardener in a specific ratio which varies for different brands. Coloured pigments are added, and the mixture is generally poured onto a surface, mostly MDF, but sometimes other surfaces. When cured, it becomes a very tough and hard surface. When resin, hardener and coloured pigments are mixed, it is in a fluid form and extremely sticky – a bit like honey. An artist has to work very quickly to achieve their art with resin as it starts to cure after about 40 minutes – although it is possible to work a little longer before it becomes more like toffee. Then it must be left undisturbed until at least the next day before progressing further with it. Frequently I work with multiple layers to achieve incredible depth, so depending upon how many layers I use, a good artwork can take several days to develop. The affects achieved with resin depend upon various ways that it is applied to the surface, and each artist develops their own techniques for manipulating the fluid medium to get the effects they want. There is much more involved than just “throwing coloured resin onto a surface”. An artist needs to develop a lot of skill to develop a unique and beautiful work. Applying heat either with a torch or heat gun is an important step for proper curing of the resin and hardener mix. Proper mixing and exact volumes of resin and hardener are required for adequate curing. Whilst it becomes quite solid to touch within 5 to 7 hours, it requires up to 48 hours for a complete cure. Epoxy Resin requires a moderate level of safety precautions to avoid contact with the skin and eyes as well as avoiding the accumulation of vapours in the room. I wear protective clothing, nitrate gloves, and work in a room with cross-flow ventilation and when using solvents, a carbon mask. |
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