Two More Attempts with Gesso

Well okay, I don't give up easily. I wasn't happy with my first try (the post below), so I tried again. I like these better. And once I pretty much accepted that I wouldn't get much, if any, dimensional texture with the brand of gesso I used, I was reluctantly okay with that. On these I sponged the gesso onto the stamps, and stamped onto the surface. Which I had also gessoed, and let dry, before I stamped. I think one reason my first piece, Doodle Bird Haunting, seemed so washed out was because I stamped onto the brown side of the pizza cardboard, then painted over it. It didn't allow for much contrast with the paints, I think. I'm glad I learned from that.

I did use straight caulk sponged onto stamps, then stamped onto another piece. That gave me the dimensional texture I wanted and expected. I love that stuff!!! However, it didn't show up well at all in the scan. But I like that piece, and will most likely use it for the postcard swap.

So, I guess all is well that ends well, and I learned some things along the way about gesso. Thanks for all the info about gesso people gave me, in comments, and also in yahoo groups.

Doodle Bird Haunting

What a strange title for this art piece, no? I agree. After all, doodle birds are supposed to be whimsical and cute, not haunting at all. So why did I name this piece that? Well, first of all, because it just popped into my head, second of all I'm not very good at naming my art, and thirdly, I named it that because this piece seems rather washed out to me, and nothing like my idea of what I wanted it to look like when I started.

This was supposed to be for a postcard swap using gesso as the technic. Using gesso for the texture. And I'm a big texture nut, as some of you know, so I was excited to use gesso for great texture. So I sponged the gesso on the stamps I used for this, and gee, it didn't produce texture at all, it was like using white acrylic paint. And I used wooden mounted stamps, so I couldn't re-stamp over what I'd stamped. The gesso is supposed to work as a resist and for texture.

Well, it worked pretty well as a resist, but not well at all for texture. After I stamped, I sponged glazes in violet, yellow, and blue, and then rubbed them partially off with a paper towel. Oh, and I also used gold glaze on the very top, the last glaze I used. Then I sealed with Future Floor Finish, which gives a glossy effect and makes colors pop. Which it did. But I was very disappointed in the texture, or lack thereof. So I brushed gel medium over it, in different directions, to get some real texture. And that worked, but then it was so glossy, it was glaring with reflective light. So I tried to tone down the gloss and glare by sealing with Acrylic Floor Finish (Family Dollar Brand), which gives a satin effect.

So that's what I did with this piece, but I'm not very happy with it. I don't intend to use it for the swap, I plan to make a new postcard for that. I may, however, use this piece in another piece of art, in some way. I'm also considering using diluted caulk, instead of gesso, for the stamping and texture on my swap piece, because the gesso I used just didn't do the job for creating texture. Or maybe not even diluted caulk, but just caulk, to get the kind of texture I'd like to get.

So, this is a piece I'm not thrilled with at all, but I thought I'd post it anyway. Just to show that I sometimes make art that I'm not satisfied with. However, I learn from that, which is a good thing.