Create colorful marble-textured wallpapers and turn them into paintings to bring life to your walls or use them to write on or decorate other objects. The technique consists of making the pigment float on the water so that it is then fixed on the paper, thus forming streaks like the ones seen in the image below. If this job is too complex for you, you will also find a simpler alternative.
Materials
– Oil paintings
– Turpentine (turpentine)
– Papers: the ones that work best are blotters, cardboard and watercolor papers. You can also try regular leaves, as long as they are not shiny.
– A rectangular container that is bigger than your paper
– Small containers to prepare the paint
– Latex gloves
– Paint mixing utensils: you can use the back of a paintbrush or make your own tool out of toothpicks, cardboard, and tape.
– Newspaper to cover the work surface
Instructions
1. Cover your work surface well as it is likely to get a lot of stains.
2. Prepare your paint mixing tool. Take a rectangular piece of cardboard and fold it in half. On one of the halves, place the toothpicks and tape them to hold them in place. Fold the cardboard again and tape its entire contour well. When finished, you should get an object similar to a comb.
Make sure the size of your tool is not bigger than your tray. If not, you will find it uncomfortable to work.
3. Pour approximately 3 centimeters of water into your tray.
4. Choose the colors you are going to use and place each one in a container. You can add white or black to lighten or darken them.
5. Pour a little bit of turpentine over each pigment (approximately one teaspoon for every half teaspoon of paint). Stir to mix both components. The paint should be runny and smooth, but not too watery. Do this in a well-ventilated area and wear gloves to protect your hands.
6. Create your design on the water. You can throw all the paint together or selectively accommodate it by sectors. If you want it to be more translucent in places, pour in a little more turpentine.
7. If you like the design you created in the previous step, you can leave it as is. If not, you can use the tool you created in step 2 to distribute the colors a bit more.
8. Slowly place the sheet of paper into the tray. To prevent it from submerging, start by inserting one of its ends and release it little by little. The face that looks up should get as little wet as possible. That is, the sheet should not be completely submerged.
9. As soon as it is completely resting on the water, you must remove it. Again it begins at one of its ends. Do not rush.
10. Lay the paper on a flat, clean surface. When it’s dry, you can weight it down to prevent the edges from curling. Each tray will serve you to make four or five leaves. They will all look different. The latter are usually clearer.
Materials:
– Shaving cream
– Food coloring
– Paper: in this case it is important that you use thicker paper than a common sheet, such as cardboard or blotting paper.
– Masking tape (like painter’s)
– A rule
– A spatula
– A rectangular tray that is bigger than your paper
– Chopsticks (optional)
Instructions
1. To prepare your paper, put some masking tape on the back of it, as seen in the image above.
2. In a rectangular tray, place a good amount of shaving cream. On top, pour a little bit of one of the dyes.
3. Using a spatula, begin mixing to spread the color. Don’t over mix, as you don’t want to tint all of the cream.
4. Once you’ve mixed your base color, insert a toothpick into another of the colorants and move it through different areas of the shaving cream to create colored areas. You can use as many colors as you want. When you’re done, it should look like the images above.
5. Place your paper on top of the shaving cream, masking tape facing up. Press it lightly with your fingers, so that the entire surface comes into contact with the colors. Remove it quickly so it doesn’t get too wet. As you do this, carefully lift it up by one of the corners and slowly pull it up.
6. Place the paper on a piece of kitchen paper, shaving cream side up.
7. With the ruler, remove the excess shaving cream. You must do it in a single pass.
8. With another kitchen paper, remove any excess shaving cream that has remained. Do it by patting, without rubbing. Then let it dry completely. Put weight on the paper so it doesn’t bend. You can repeat the process until the colors look washed out.