Failure isn't always what you think

Failure isn't always what you think.  Take, for instance, my failure to correctly order the gessoboard panels I usually use and, instead, ordered clayboard, an extremely absorbent surface that must work wonderfully for the watermedia folks, but not well for oil.  I managed one small landscape, after rubbing out the initial painting, finding myself stuck with the staining, too much paint drag - it was one of those days. 

But painting is at the core of my joie de vivre.  Like the singer who can't stop thinking about the song, I can't seem to put the brush down.  Yes, sometimes I make a fool of myself, but as I age, it's a lot easier to set aside the performance anxiety that plagued my youth. 

My solution was to experiment with ideas others had shared and to see what I could do.  Here is what I used:

7 x 5 clayboard panel

copper leaf

GAC 100 acrylic adhesive

acrylic paint with glazing medium

oil paint with liquin

galkyd lite

I applied the copper leaf by cutting and tearing into small pieces and randomly adhering them to the panel using the GAC 100.  When that was dry, I rubbed the surface with burnt sienna acrylic paint thinned with a glazing liquid to darken the creases and add an aged look. 

The next day I sketched out my image with charcoal, rubbing out what I didn't like. I developed the image using oil paint thinned with liquin.  While the paint was still pliable I scrubbed back areas to let the copper leaf act as a value and to create the aged feel I was after. 

Why not try this process yourself? 

Comments

[Helen]

Great result... I have some of the clayboard but haven't tried it yet....

[vicki ross]

I, too, tried to use Claybord with oil...couldn't figure out what was wrong until I looked at the label in the trash. What a mess!

Like your copper idea. did something similar with gold leaf on panel, then applying grit for a pastel painting. Worked pretty good.

[leslie]

Good example of making it work! I use water media, but don't like clayboard at all. As a texture painter, I find all the texture tends to slide right off. Lesson learned!

[tammy vitale]

Beautiful - very delicate! Nothing like making lemonade...=]