Workshop Fun

Alcohol resist technique

First, find an interesting piece of paper with some printing on it, maybe an old book page or map. Then coat it with a solid fluid acrylic color. Here i used an old check register page that I picked up at Arts and Scraps in Detroit, MI last summer. I coated it with cad yellow fluid acrylics and let it mostly dry. 

Next, you apply a layer of darker or lighter fluid acrylic paint overtop your original layer. Here I used dark green to contrast with the yellow. Before the green has a chance to dry, you use an eye dropper, drop rubbing alcohol into the paint, this pushes the green away (or resists) and allows the yellow to show through in organic circular patterns. 

Repeat this technique with multiple layers of color upon color. 

I then added gold and red paints over the top of the alcohol technique using stencils. Lastly, I lifted the paper up and let the green paint run and drip down. 

The key to successful hand-painted collage papers is layers upon layers of texture, starting with a printed or interesting paper, through to applying many techniques of your own over top. This paper has a lovely natural texture and I'm calling it "green" for the file drawer! 

We will practice this technique hands-on as well as many, many others when we spend all day Friday creating hand--painted paper for our Saturday and Sunday collage projects.

Sedona, AZ is coming up in April. Won't you join me at the Art Center for a wonderful weekend in an amazing town full of art galleries and stellar red rock views?