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inksmith

F

or years people have referred to my painting

technique as Encaustic, but the fact is, I do

not use wax. I achieve this affect solely by

using GOLDEN'S Acrylic products.

I simply layer various transparent or translu-

cent gels and/or mediums over my paintings and

collage works. In essence, I am encapsulating my

imagery, creating pond-like surfaces that slowly

reveal new details at every glance.

Sounds simple but there are so many prod-

ucts to choose from.

Let me share some insight that will help de-

mystify the products and this technique. Hope-

fully this will act as a spring board for your own

discoveries!

What type of supports work best?

Acrylic is incredibly versatile and flexible lit-

erally! You can use a whole range of supports to

create your work: wood, canvas, paper and so on.

Imagery

Whatever your style of working or chosen

medium might be painting, collage, drawing or

a combination now begins the creative process,

creating your imagery!

If painting, for best results, use acrylic paints.

Either GOLDEN'S Heavy Body or Fluid Acrylic

Colors will work.

If gluing collage elements, I recommend using

Soft, Regular or Heavy Gel as your glue. For

heavier papers, use a heavier gel.

If using any drawing mediums or watercolor,

be sure to protect it with the appropriate fixative.

Acrylic is a water based product; many of these

other mediums are re-soluble.

One of the beautiful benefits of creating mul-

tiple transparent layers, is that you can create art

within those layers. Ahhh...more possibilities!

Building layers

Once satisfied with your composition, it's time

to begin building up layers of the Gel or Medium

of choice.

Each of these products will give you a different

effect. I recommend experimenting on a sample

piece before applying directly to your art. In my

workshops, I have the artists create a sample chart

of each of the products to use as a reference.

Creating thick transparent layers

If you want to build up a thick, transparent

layer over your imagery, it's best to achieve this

gradually. Apply multiple thin coats, drying in

between each layer. Some of my pieces have as

many as 6-8 layers!

The gloss products allow you to create a deep,

transparent

surface without

losing visibility

of your underlay-

ers. To color tint

these gels and

mediums, try

mixing in a very

small amount of Fluid Acrylics. This will add a

slight veil of color.

Polymer Medium (Gloss) is a fluid medium

which will give you a smooth, clear surface. It

can be applied with a brush in multiple thin

coats. Allow drying between each layer. The more

layers, the deeper the visual surface becomes. Do

not use this product if you wish to create a deep

pour; crazing will occur. Crazing is caused by the

shrinking of the product during the drying pro-

cess, leaving ssures on the surface of your piece.

GAC 800 is also a fluid, glossy medium, which

will give you a smooth, resin-like surface. It can

be used to create deep pours and will not craze

while drying. Pour over surface and gently spread

using brush or palette knife. If air bubbles occur,

gently mist with rubbing alcohol. This will break

the surface tension and burst the bubbles.

Soft Gel (Gloss), Regular Gel (Gloss) and

Heavy Gel (Gloss) are thick and buttery. The

Heavy Gel is the thickest and Soft Gel the thin-

nest. These products allow you to create a thick,

textural, transparent surface. The Soft Gel is thin

enough to apply with a brush, but the Regular

and Heavy Gel work best when applied with a

palette knife. Try experimenting with various

tools to create surface texture.

If you prefer to have a semi-gloss or matte fin-

ish to your final piece, this can be accomplished

in your final coat. I use either the Soft Gel (Semi-

gloss), Soft Gel (Matte) or Fluid Medium (Matte)

for this. In a thin application, the matting agent

in these products will not cloud your piece. One

to two THIN coats will do the trick.

Thin, translucent, wax-like appearance

Another way to accomplish the Faux Encaustic

effect is to create a thin, translucent layer of the

following products.

These products will

give you a wax-like

appearance in 1-2

thin coats.

Fine Pumice Gel,

the color and translu

cency of this product

will mimic the look

of beeswax. This gel

can be applied using a brush or palette knife. To

achieve even more transparency, try mixing in

either the gloss or semi-gloss gels. All three thick-

nesses will work: Soft, Regular or Heavy Gel.

The Semi-Gloss and Matte Gels contain mat-

ting agents which will create a foggy appearance,

also mimicking wax. Again, all three thicknesses

will work:

Soft, Regular

or Heavy

Gel. The Soft

Gel is thin

enough to

apply with a

brush, but the

Regular and

Heavy Gels

work best

when applied

with a palette

knife. These gels may also be color tinted by mix-

ing in a very small amount of Fluid Acrylics.

Creating Faux Encaustics with

GOLDEN® Acrylic Colors, Gels and Mediums