Yes, Virginia, you can patina paper. Whoo-hoo!
Remember, the key is to seal the paper, otherwise it'll just drink up whatever paint you apply. A coat of gel medium or matte medium creates a barrier between the paper and acrylic paint.
Then you'll need metallic paint and patina solution, which you can find in a craft store kit. (You can find a how-to here.) Finally, finish up with another coat of gel medium. The second coat halts the patina process, so the patina doesn't continue eating away at the metal in the paint.
My dad was the Fixer in my life, and my grandfather was much the same for my mom. (Dr. Freud, you can take a break now.) Both were pretty practical men; one was an accountant, the other was a master plumber. Which is why I started out with the blueprint paper as a background and the idea of a balance scale.
But an ordinary balance didn't really do much for me. Then I thought of substituting the fulcrum (is that the term for the vertical piece?) with a pipe wrench. I found what I was looking for on FunDraw:
When I painted the wrench, I wanted to leave some of the detail apparent. So I went a little lighter on some areas, and left most of the shadowing alone.
It's funny: I don't know if either my dad or my grandfather would've gotten what I'm going for in this tarot card. Dad would've certainly understood some of the implications of the symbols I chose. He did have his artistic side: he collected a few Ernie Barnes and Erté prints. And as a kid, he went to the first arts high school in the country, where he played clarinet and sax.
But the main priority for both him and my grandfather was to spare their daughters the kind of economic pressures they were under. So I wonder if they would be open to this kind of personal exploration.
Remember, the key is to seal the paper, otherwise it'll just drink up whatever paint you apply. A coat of gel medium or matte medium creates a barrier between the paper and acrylic paint.Then you'll need metallic paint and patina solution, which you can find in a craft store kit. (You can find a how-to here.) Finally, finish up with another coat of gel medium. The second coat halts the patina process, so the patina doesn't continue eating away at the metal in the paint.
My dad was the Fixer in my life, and my grandfather was much the same for my mom. (Dr. Freud, you can take a break now.) Both were pretty practical men; one was an accountant, the other was a master plumber. Which is why I started out with the blueprint paper as a background and the idea of a balance scale.But an ordinary balance didn't really do much for me. Then I thought of substituting the fulcrum (is that the term for the vertical piece?) with a pipe wrench. I found what I was looking for on FunDraw:When I painted the wrench, I wanted to leave some of the detail apparent. So I went a little lighter on some areas, and left most of the shadowing alone.It's funny: I don't know if either my dad or my grandfather would've gotten what I'm going for in this tarot card. Dad would've certainly understood some of the implications of the symbols I chose. He did have his artistic side: he collected a few Ernie Barnes and Erté prints. And as a kid, he went to the first arts high school in the country, where he played clarinet and sax.But the main priority for both him and my grandfather was to spare their daughters the kind of economic pressures they were under. So I wonder if they would be open to this kind of personal exploration.