"Letters"

($40.00......5" x 5".....mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)


"Letters provide layers of comfort to my soul." Letters make words and words come together to express thought and feelings. Even technology must rely on letters to convey thought and meaning. Of course, the most personal way to express thought is through the handwritten word.

This piece represents layers of texture. The first layer is Patching Plaster (DAP brand) that can be purchased in the paint department of a home building store. The "key word" is patching plaster. If the container does not contain those two words, it is not the right thing. The reason I chose to use this material is because it does not contain a polymer emulsion like all of the Golden and Liquitex mediums do. Quite often, a medium with polymer emulsion will create a resist unless applied with a concentrated amount of acrylic and a brush.

The Patching Plaster was applied to blank 140 lb. HP with a palette knife and texturized by writing into it with the corner of a credit card. It was then left to dry overnight. The following day, I lightly sanded the surface (outside) and ran it under a faucet on both sides to prepare it for Pouring Medium. (all my colors were already mixed.) I then laid it aside to dry overnight.

This morning I was able to make my final design decisions. The large color block of green was a bit overpowering so I knew I needed to break up the surface tension. By stamping with white Speedball Printing Ink, I was able to bring another color in the piece into this green color block to create a "back and forth" between two areas of color. White also provides a contrast to the warm colors since pure white is generally considered to be cool.

For those who do lettering, pointed pen will work better on this surface since you will most likely be writing over a textured surface. And there you have it...a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.