Golden Fluid Acrylics in Burnt Sienna and Burnt Umber
(Any acrylic can be used that will make a transparent glaze. Craft acrylics will not work because they are too opaque)
A large, soft brush, paper towels, and water
Now, it is time to take a good look at your elements and choose colors for your glazing that will pull them together.
We chose a reddish brown (burnt sienna) and a dark brown (burnt umber) to pick up the tones in the rusted frame. You may choose something else to better suit the handmade paper you use. Our paper goes well with the earthtone pallette we have in mind.
A glaze is a very thin layer of paint that you can see through. To make this glaze, just mix a little of your lighter color into some water.
Apply a wash of the glaze over the surface of the canvas, working from one corner. You will notice that some areas seem more porous than others - usually the areas where your paper has inclusions. Use a paper towel to blot back some of the color as you go (see below).
The interesting thing about the GAC 400 you used on the canvas earlier is that it allows the glaze to penetrate the paper somewhat - it has not “sealed” it over with a plastic film as other mediums would have.This gives a wonderful effect to the color wash.
When this first glaze is completely dry, mix your darker glaze color and repeat the procedure. Blot some of the darker glaze back completely so the first glaze shows through purely in some areas.
Glaze all sides of the canvas.
When your glaze coats are dry, lay the frame on the canvas and see if you think you have color harmony. If not, apply more coats of glazes.
When you are satisfied with the way the frame and canvas go together, it is time to work with your photo print. Does it harmonize? Ours doesn’t - the photo is much too cold. If you are using a laminated print, you must make your necessary color adjustments in the computer, and print a new copy.
Because we are using a waterproof canvas print, we have other options.
We were able to glaze our photo print the same way we did the canvas (but with just the light glaze). Wiping back the excess is especially important here.
Don’t try this with an ordinary print - it will destroy it.
Note: Cre8it Water Proof Inkjet Canvas is expensive (although not as expensive as any other on the market), and it takes special handling to feed it to the printer, but the result is unlike anything else. It is not yet on our site and is being sold only by word-of-mouth. If you are interested, please email.
The photo we glazed is the one on the right. You can see how such a subtle change made a big difference in the color harmony of our three elements.
