Experimentation with Plaster

4th October 2023

I want to use my own photographs, to create images. By that, I want to experiment with ways of transferring images onto different surfaces and paint over them with different mediums. I started by taking two sheets of paper, one glossy printer paper that had an image on it already and a blank piece of sketchbook paper. I then painted white slip on them and let it dry.

I found that as the slip dried it started to flake off the glossy paper and as I painted on it with watercolour paint, it lifted even more exposing the image underneath. I did find the watercolours were not as vibrant.
With the matt paper, the slip managed to find something to purchase because of the texture so it stayed without flaking. Even when it was painted over with watercolour paint.
Another experiment was using plaster on different surfaces like wood and metal.
I quite possibly put a little too much plaster on both, but that’s more to do with the fact that I am hopeless at measuring out plaster, especially if I haven’t done it for a while. I had to leave the plaster to dry before I could do any painting on it. What I do like is that the plaster reacted tot he metal and this rusty pattern made its way up through the plaster.

The watercolour paints were very vibrant on the plaster, although I had to do a few applications as the paint soaked into the plaster.

This has got me thinking about texture and I do like the natural ridges that have occurred in the plaster pieces. I probably won’t use clay slip on paper, it’s not quite what I am looking for as a finish. Although this early in the year I’m not really sure what I’m looking for.

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