"Caretakers"

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"Angels are the caretakers of the world." There are celestial beings known as angels and then there are people who have the gift of mercy who are also angels. God uses both.

(This piece along with all of the other 4 x 6's I've posted will be given away in a drawing at an upcoming Opening Reception for "Visual Rhapsody".  The date is Friday, Sept. 21st.  For more information check out our website at http://www.pactofaustin.com  Everyone is invited!)

This is a piece created on 300lb. HP watercolor paper. I worked on a larger sheet and began by painting it with black gesso. The papers chosen for the "frame in frame" collage layout were first prepared by mono printing on rice paper. (Mine was purchased at Jerry's and it's called Shanghai)

The process of preparing the rice paper was quite dependent on Speedball Printing Ink and a rubber brayer. The color was brayered on a glass surface and then texturized with gestural marks created with the edge of an old credit card. After these strips of paper were painted, they were dried and sprayed with Spray Acrylic Coating since the ink is water soluble. The importance of this step is to achieve some movement in the piece since most of the edges are straight. However, I took care to have some torn edges as well and to vary the angle a bit. If this is not done, the piece will become very static.  The papers were then caredfully adhered on the support with Gel Matte Medium.  (Golden)

Also notice that the text was adhered to the surface and then overlaid with a blank piece of the rice paper. It is important to include some plain white parts for the sake of light and dark values. Overlaying the rice paper over another image or text also gives a translucent effect.

After the collage was finished, I sprayed again with acrylic coating, dried with a hair dryer, and mounted it on a 4" x 6" piece of masonite. I then poured a white mixture of pouring medium over the entire piece, followed by spraying it with water to remove most of it.  It is very important to mount the piece, if you are simply doing a pour to create a hazy or encaustic look.  I did leave on a considerable amount over the capital "A". It was left to dry overnight and then the surface was prepared for lettering and completed this morning. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.