What I learned today...

Really, that sounds too hilarious....as if I should be writing the september class assignment "what I did during my summer holidays"...anyway, here's what I learned today.

OK, I started off with a monoprint of the coffee cup and the word Java!.  I then wrote onto the page, with permanent pen using words to describe coffees, anywhere I might want a shadow.  Then I wanted to play with matte medium and Yes! paste.  I know that matte medium creates something of a resist, so I painted matte medium everywhere I didn't want the paint to appear, including over some of the wording.  I also stamped here and there with the matte medium.  After that, I affixed some letters, cut out of rice paper, to the page using Yes! paste.  Then I started painting.  Paint on the copy paper (on the left) resisted the medium differently than on the paper of my sketchbook. I think I like the copy paper better, for here, anyway.  Where I had applied the letters with the paste wasn't extremely successful, I don't think, because the paste seemed to re-wet which I didn't like.  (I did discover, as a by-the-way, that Yes! paste is acid-free but not archival, just so you know.)  Here is a close-up of the cup.

All in all, it was a fun day. I suppose tomorrow I should think about housework.  Sometimes thinking can take up a lot of time.  I'll think about that, too. 

Yes! paste experiments

I'm frustrated that I can't draw or paint with watercolours on top of matte medium once I've affixed something to one of my pages.  So I experimented with Yes! paste.  I used it to paste some tissue paper onto a page (that had not been previously prepared with anything).  I then drew on the page with permanent pens and HB pencil.  I did some shading with the pencil as well.  Then I painted into the page with watercolours.  I tried lifting some of the paint at one point and the permanent pen lifted as well (!!).  Also, where I had done some drawing and shading with the pencil, the watercolour, that is, the water, lifted away all the graphite as well.  Before painting, any graphite marks smudged badly .  I used inktense pencils on the tissue and it seemed to hold.  But it does mean I can paint onto a page once I've affixed something with tissue paper and so far, the edges don't seem to be a problem because I find they sometimes show quite badly with matte medium.  The page might need to be set with a fixative once completed.  So lots more experimenting to do yet.  But I think I will use the Yes! paste again, just keeping all of this in mind.  I still have to try it with a page that is already painted on...I forgot to paint a bit before I started laying on the paste and tissue.  Next time....

 I'd love to hear what experiences you've had with this medium.....any thoughts????