DIFFUSIONS, CONFUSIONS, AND ILLUSIONS
STAYING SAFE BUT MAKING DANGEROUS ART #2 - Diffusions, Confusions, and illusions
Using collage methods for creating paintings has been around for decades. It was used by Cubists like Picasso and Braque, and Impressionists like Matisse. Finding a new way to use collage (and having fun) was my challenge.
I looked around for interesting papers to introduce into my painting. The old idea of using parts of magazine pages didn’t excite me. Using someone else’s images was also worrisome so I racked my brain as to how to create a painting from my own images. I spent a week furiously making my own collage materials by painting newspapers. Although they were interesting in colour and texture, they buckled, leaving bubbles of air under the acrylic medium when glued down onto a substrate. Tissue papers worked well but were too transparent and didn’t have the solidity I was looking for.
I had read that some artists were using CITRASOLVE (a degreasing household cleaner) to diffuse images from National Geographic magazines. The illustrations showing the results of the altered images were indeed impressive. But, to my disappointment, the product wasn’t available in Canada. Finding what looked like comparable products at a local hardware store, I purchased three different brands of grease-dissolving cleaners. Well, they didn’t work on National Geographic pages. However, in my rush to try them out, I accidentally sprayed an inkjet-printed sheet of one of my paintings. In just a few minutes the ink dissolved, resulting in fuzzy shapes of colors. The brand RESOLVE worked really well. Now, that was exciting!
After printing out several more pages of my old paintings on 20-lb. bond paper, I diffused them with RESOLVE. If heavily inked areas didn’t diffuse as much I wanted, the backs of the sheets had just the right amount of diffusion for my purposes. Matt acrylic medium was used to glue whole sheets or just interesting parts onto a canvas. Another coat of medium was carefully brushed on top of the pieces as well. Although the 20-lb. bond papers buckled a bit at first, they shrank and became smooth and flat after drying.
The next step was superimposing a drawing over the collaged papers. I settled on several photos that I had taken of my neighbor’s cat. It routinely sat in her window as it watched birds flitting about on a nearby tree. White chalk was used for the drawing because it gave me flexibility in making quick changes in the composition. Adding a vine on the right provided balance to the design.
To preserve the diffused background as much as possible, acrylic paints were used with a negative painting technique. The painting was completed with minimal detail. Some collaged pieces were also added to the positive shapes to sharpen a few details.
CALICO CAT - 30” X 24”
Excited about trying several other such collages, I printed many more images several days later. But to my dismay, the RESOLVE degreaser didn’t do it’s diffusing duty. What went wrong? Well, I had bought a new printer that used a different kind of ink. So, a new quest had begun in trying to find something that would dissolve the new ink. Plain water as well as alcohol and a paint solvent were dismal failures.
After printing a few pages for another project, I became aware of the distinct smell of ammonia immediately after printing. Eureka! I purchased a quart of ammonia at the Canadian Tire store near my home and wasted no time in doing a few trials.
Spraying ammonia didn’t seem like a good idea from a health standpoint but application with a soft brush was successful. A table covered with layers of newspapers in a corner of my garage prevented the smell of ammonia from pervading through my painting studio. The diffusing method worked best on newly printed pages while the ink was still damp and not well cured. For older sheets with well cured ink, the backs of the sheets showed just the right amount of diffusion for my purposes. I could now continue with my fun collages.
It is important that the diffusions take place in a well-ventilated area. Wearing a mask might also be a good idea. The sheets are odor free after they dry.
After completing the collage and painting, a coat of gloss acrylic varnish brings out the richness of the colours. If a more matt appearance is desired, another coat of either matt or satin varnish can be applied.
You can see more examples of wild experiments in my portfolio of mixed media works at: sitkastudios.faso.com
