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Adding Gesso for Texture

Lesson 3 from: Introduction to Mixed Media

Stephenie Hamen

Adding Gesso for Texture

Lesson 3 from: Introduction to Mixed Media

Stephenie Hamen

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Lesson Info

3. Adding Gesso for Texture

Lesson Info

Adding Gesso for Texture

So we're cheating we everybody here gets tv like just so so I've preview guys having over there I've pre just old stuff that's dry so we don't have to wait for the just so dry that you guys can use and deco pies I'm just as it is but I'm gonna show everybody at home how to use the jess so and so the jess so we got came from mrs white jess oh and it's from ranger they were nice enough to send it for our class and just I was really great because what it does is it perhaps your surface to take other media so if you've got a canvas that wasn't already pre prepped like this one you would take jess oh put it down and that would prep your surface to better take any of the media you're going to put on it um so this one is white because I like having the contrast and what's really nice is it's a super opaque so it's going to cover stuff and so you'll have a really nice division between the papers and you're just so so when the color goes on you'll see a difference in how the color and the paint...

s react to where the paper is towards one of the jess oh is and the other thing is you can layer this stuff and get lots of texture so if you want to throw it on there super chunky you're going to get lots of hills and valleys and peaks and things and make just lots of next texture with it so for this class I'm just I'm putting it on but you can use stencils to do what you can do all sorts of fun things but I just I just like to kind of I call it slap it on it's really technical so um you just take your just so and the phone brush we're just going to kind of I'll do this smear it on and there's all sorts of great like textural brushes out there there's companies that make they almost look like what you would use on find on things to just add texture to your frosting are on cakes and things that you can also find them for our use well and you can just a little stripes in and it's going to dry however you leave it so that texture is going to stay however you do it so if you want to add bits and with your fingers add texture you can do that you could lay a stencil down paint the just going over the sensor will pull it up and get a nice result that way I'm a finger painter, so I just like to kind of swirl it around and then like you would when you're icing a cake if you want little peaks you just kind of pull it up you can also do the whole full half kind of thing and open it backups you've got like this really cool, symmetrical look to it so it's just a matter of playing with it and then you just said it to the side and let it dry I usually do it in small chunks just you know, I don't drive I mean, right you can but when you heat dry it especially if you put on a really thick um you're gonna get a lot of bubbles and so that's why I just let it all air dry and brought it for you guys to use that way if you want to go for it today and do your own jess oh, go for it, but just know that when you use the heat gun, the media could bubble up and you'll get little air bubbles. So I'm one those people that I always intend to let it air dry. Then at some point I get really impatient and I go back with time. So it was the price of thy left all of these sheets to dry because they normally would have little pockets of air bubbles in it so you can always put that to the side and let it dry, but it will take time to dry all the way through the other thing I would say to you is there's different types of jess o's in terms of thickness you can get them where they're really condensed and thick. This is a pretty lightweight, jess oh, but those air it'll take a long time to drive, but the results you get are really cool, so we'll just throw this over here then who is tuning in and watching us eyes wondering if you could kind of tell us a little bit about how to assure the longevity of any kind of artwork by using this method, it seems teo ethan and that it won't last long and last we'd do it properly because of old paper, which is used to contain plant compounds and so far also there's someone else who further on that? No was saying ultimately his attorney yellow over time can can yell over time. It kind of depends on where you display it and what you're going to do with it. It's not meant to be like hanging out on your front porch it's not it's meant to be in your home if you live somewhere with extreme temperatures probably wanna make sure you've got your dehumidifier on and things like that like you would with any other piece of art that you have in your home um I guess I don't look at it as this probably isn't gonna be a picasso hanging somewhere, I'll say that, but um papers will tend teo yellow and you can kind of see that already so in this spot right here this is from the same piece, you'll get a little bit of that, but it doesn't bother me. I mean, I guess if you're somebody that you're worried about that, then you just know that going into it, I'm not worried about preserving the paper to me, the paper is going to get covered up in ninety percent paint anyway, so the preservation of paper I wouldn't be ripping it up, I was worried about preserving his. So, um, and I think that in terms of the peace itself lasting, I've got pieces that I have decca pies that are twenty years old that look as good as they did twenty years ago when I did them, so I don't notice them like, decomposing or breaking down or anything over time, as long as I'm putting full layers of the media on top of it, they seem to last just fine. So yes, me, I'm talking about jess. Oh, um, what about using a lightweight, uh, modeling paste or texture pace? Or is that too heavy? No one doesn't do that essentially the same thing, they're different there are different. The thing about justice is it's really meant to be a base for taking on other media with modeling things like that you have to be careful about what all you throw on there and it's the type of modeling pace it is and what you're doing with it and things but if you want to go super crazy and go chunky go for it but I didn't wanna do that because this was supposed to be controlled so we're doing intro I'm just gonna throw my nine with deco pies quick we have a few votes on this question from carla I'm hoping stephanie will be able to address the use of photographs and a mixed media project should photos be printed on digital or dark room photo paper or is another I'm sorry or is another type more conducive for the techniques she will be demonstrating today that's something you're gonna cover we weren't gonna cover photos but I could answer the question okay what I would say is I never ever ever use a picture a real picture unless it's like a more recent photo of my kids and I have the digital copy of it if it's a family photo of my grand parents or something I am copying that thing and doing that the printing process in terms of what it's going to do when you deck deposit um your best bet for something like that is to print it out on a laser printer like a copier because then ink when you put the deco posh on it will not run so photo papers depending on whether you're printing them at home. If you're getting them dying somewhere else, I would kind of test it again before you do it having print a couple and then test it just not knowing who does what, what lab? How that thinks being applied? Um, you just want to make sure that that color doesn't run. So if we and I even do that with like the quotes and things if I printed out at home on my jet, I know before I ever start working that some of that color when I put the deco papa gene is going to run where if I have my husband printed at work or I send it teo a print shop and have them do it on an ink jet or on a sari on a laser printer, I'm fine. So it comes down teo, the type of printing process that's used on those photos. But when it comes to old photos, if it's something, I am a stickler for making sure that the original is preserved and intact. It's that answer and I hope no okay to me like it's, just more of a personal valuables at something you don't really wanna right damage or it's the only one you really want to make sure you preserved it and kept it intact camera throw this down here just for you guys here if you're doing this like I am right now you're going to need a little bit of extra deck a posh underneath it just to make sure it sticks because it's a little bit thicker so just kind of really put it on there and I should tell everybody at home I'm self taught I did not have an art degree I do not have an art history degree I'm just years of working in the craft and art industry and working with different companies and different products and things like that I'm really self taught so if you've got really technical questions about preservation of things that's not me because I'm about just playing and having fun and things like that so I don't want anyone to think that ever think that I have I am authority and I'll be all on things because I'm not you're the final word I'm the final word no definitely not I will not stand up in court I'm just going to put it that way but this is from years of doing it and playing around and trying things and experimenting and talking with the companies that make some of the stuff and learning directly from them so I just don't want anybody thinking I'm being an imposter over here way have someone ask a little earlier and I just want to make sure that I clarify is decoupage the same as hodgepodge but I just brand huh? The big steckel posh so deco pages more than generic term were my podge that's an actual brand name okay of a specific formula? Yes, I just wanted to say that I really like this I've never used this before but I like it because it's thin and end blocks yeah it's a lot center like well, you just mentioned my version is a lot of the month way like I have use lawyers that I've used them all and I just it's less sticky I feel like when I get done with certain like with mod podge another one I just feel like I'm because I'm so hands on I'm or of a mess with that and maybe that's why? You know, I just I preferred the less messy when I can because as you can see, I'm a very clean crafter artist person but stephanie, I actually got a really good response for you good to hear that you are self taught from someone online very encouraging for me when you begin to paint, do you start with a wet or dry brush? I start with what I do paint depends on what I'm painting, so when I'm just doing stuff like this with the curlicue usually start with a dry brush and honestly I'm I'm a big proponent of the disposable phone brush when I'm doing detail work it depends on the actual acrylic paint that I'm using, like how thick or how thin it is and what I want for an end result. So if I wanted to be kind of a runny result, then I'll add water. If I wanted to be more of a thick result, or I have less of that mary result, then I'll start with dry brush. So just kind of hands on what I want my result to be, but nine out of ten times, I start with home brush, so I kind of cheap that way. I'm not gonna lie.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

Intro To Mixed Media Quotes
Intro To Mixed Media Supply List

Ratings and Reviews

Kedryn Evans
 

Wonderful class, so much fun and I love how Stephanie makes you feel so relaxed and that things will be great even if you've never tried something like this before. I wanted to watch the course to get the idea of it, now I can't wait to get the supplies and watch again while trying it out myself. Thanks!

Kimberly Jones
 

This was very informative, and quite fun to watch. I liked that the instructor endorsed the idea of using items that you have onhand; repurposing old books and other items to use until you really know where your style lies. I also like that she shared the names of products she truly believed were worth purchasing, without being pushy. This art form encourages "play" and is quite forgiving if you have a "happy little accident", because it's not difficult to cover the area in question, to try something different. I'm quite happy that I viewed this class!

Carol Harlan
 

Great class. Stephenie is a fun teacher. I really enjoyed it and loved the idea of using melted crayons.

Student Work

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