Acrylic pours with strappo

 It might seem my post topics are all over the place with me jumping from a new theme to technique, but rest assured it all fits together in my head.  Last Saturday I visited friends who were doing day 2 of a strappo workshop I took at Torbay Bight Studio last year.  I wrote about it here.  I never wrote part 2 as promised and I need to rectify that.  In addition,  I want to create new pieces using strappo so a refresher is in order.

 

 This is where I left off in the last post.  I had pulled the image off the glass plate and applied two coats of gesso and watercolour paper to it  in order to stabilize the image. See the white backing below.

 Then you sandwich this work between parchment paper and cover with a board and heavy object to let it dry. It  has to dry for several days to be sure all moisture is gone.

I'm now going to change images because I didn't do a pour on the landscape in the previous post.

 Tape around the edges of your cradled panel to protect the sides when you do the poor.

Put a layer of gesso on the surface of the support and on the back of the strappo piece. Sandwich the two together and  put under weights to dry. Make sure your strappo piece is at least as big as the support. Having a little hanging over the edge of the panel is ideal then you can trim it when the work is complete.

 

Getting ready to pour 

Golden Self Leveling Clear Gel

This product is great for a clear top pour because it is thick and easier to control than other products.  It has a high gloss sheen when dry.

 Put parchment paper, wax paper or refrigerator paper under the work to catch the drips.  It should have a slick surface to allow you to scrape up the drips and save to another bottle for  future use as an adhesive. in collage.  Returning it to the same bottle may cause problems  later ( it might have dried somewhat and shouldn't be mixed with fresh gel).

 For ease of application a squirt bottle works well.  Don't shake the bottle and transfer it several hours before you are ready to use it to prevent air bubbles.  This medium is thick and holds it place as you begin.

 Pour in a circular motion.

 When you get near the edge stop pouring and begin to tip the board to get  the gel to move to the edges.

 When the drips become too much, clean up with a palette knife and put back in another bottle.

 

 Wearing gloves helps to keep your hands clean.

 Check for level application.

 If you have an area near the edge where the gel is thin, apply more. Resist the urge to poke at it with a palette knife ( my specialty).

 Dealing with air bubbles

One of the solutions to air bubbles is to stick a pin in them. If you have a lot of bubbles you can try lifting the piece about 6 inches and letting it drop as you would a cake pan. You may think you have all the bubbles, but more can rise to the surface.  Check back in 15 - 20 minutes.  Another solution is to put isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle and mist the top of the gel while still wet. you can repeat this more than once.

It will take several days for your project to dry. 

Additional pouring tips

• use a level to to check your table.  If your table is off, your pour will not be evenly distributed.
• use a makeshift dome (paper, fabric or a large plastic container with air holes in the sides to keep dust and falling debris off the work surface
• If you have a lot of pieces or a large piece, make sure the room is properly vented.  Gels contain ammonia which  evaporates  as the piece dries.

Other Golden pouring mediums

GAC 800 -  works well when tinted with paint because it has a hazy surface when used alone

GAC 500-  thinnest levelling product that has little tack when dry; it is best used when creating poured  acrylic skins. 

Clear Tar Gel - by far the thickest pouring gel. It is best used if you want to pour lines on top of a work by dripping from a palette knife. You can thin it up to 1 part water and 3 parts gel.

Strappo

 In the midst of my ArtFix studio residency, I went outside my four walls to take a  workshop from my friend and fellow instructor Carol Bajen-Gahm at her Torbay Bight Studio. Usually I teach encaustic with Carol , but this time I was  learning the ins and outs of strappo. 

It was a fabulous two days and I created four pieces of work, some more successful than others. The strappo technique was new to me, but it will be one I'll definitely use in the future.   I would describe it as a combination of painting and printmaking which fits into the category of monotype except it is done with acrylics not oils.  Intrigued?  

The Process

 You begin with a sheet of clean  glass  the size determined by finished work dimensions. You can do  a conventional painting or a mixed media work. Straight painting is  the easiest to demonstrate/explain, so I will stick with that for my first post on this topic. As a result of my explorations I learned the following:

My Observations

- the glass should be free of any dirt or grease; a good cleaning is in order;

- the paint slides around on the glass and you can see the brushstrokes;
- the softer, smoother your brush, the better coverage you get;
- don't fight your natural application tendency (mine has a watercolour look);
- check periodically to see what the image looks like through the glass- this is how the finished print will look;  

 

 Louise Sutton checks out her progress.

- apply  one thin coat of paint, let dry and then reinforce with a second coat if you want solid coverage;
 

- work with the light coverage and add a second layer of another colour to make the image look "deeper"/more dimensional ;  (I used a blue green as my second backing  coat).  You could still see through sections of it after the second coat.  I decided to see what would happen in the end.

- if you dislike what you create, use a blade or the handle of your brush or thin slivers of wood to remove parts;

The original idea for frothy water against the rocks was a failure. You have to blend as you go because what dries in the first layer is what you get.  You don't have the option of laying in rough areas and refining by building up which is how I paint in acrylics.  I was ready to give up on this one when Louise said, "Scrape back". I broke up all the solid bits of white and changed the season to spring when we get a lot of lose ice in the harbour by my summer house.

This is more like it.

When your painting is dry apply two coats of acrylic gesso to the back of it to thicken the acrylic skin.  Let dry between each coat. 

The final step was to apply a  coat of gesso to the  back of the painting and to a sheet of printmaking paper or 90 lb. watercolour paper.  Put the paper( still wet) on top of the wet gesso on the painting and roll with a brayer. Put the sandwich under weights and let dry thoroughly. If you want to frame the work as a print make sure the paper you are attaching has enough border. 


When dry, (leave overnight) use a razor blade to trim the dried ooze from the gesso  and if you are going to mount the image on a cradled panel (my choice) then also cut off the excess paper that hangs over the edge. 

Use a wet Q-tip to moisten the corners and the top edge of the "sandwich".  Use a razor blade to gently loosen the top edge away from the glass.  Slowly begin to lift the acrylic skin from the glass using your fingers close to the glass rather than pulling higher up.  

In the pictures below I am almost at the end of the "pull".  This is often the part that can stick and pull away from the paper especially if the gesso has seeped into a crack and attaches itself to the glass. 

Almost there and it is stuck with gesso.  I had to get a blade to "persuade" it to separate .

 When you have a section that sticks you can correct the area with a mixture of paint and gloss gel.  I hate the long green line in the rocks lower right.  I'll have to doctor that up a bit.

Harold Garde developed/named this technique. I also discovered that the strappo technique was originally used to preserve frescos .  Check out this video.  I found it fascinating.

A strappo image has a surface that is unique in its tactile and visual qualities. This method expands the print makers choices. It has proven useful, adding to the range of techniques available for an artist's visual expression."

                           - Harold Garde

Next post:  Attaching to a cradled panel and an acrylic pour