part II

gilberto ~pencil, soft pastels, casein paint, watercolors & oil pastel on muslin; approx. 5" x 6"

i think i wasn't very clear in my last post about the casein paint... : )

it's the casein paint that creates the texture - it comes in a tube and it's thick. it almost reminds me of wet plaster. it has a matte surface, but if you buff it with a soft cloth it quickly develops a soft sheen. it does smell something like pine-sol when it's wet, but not when it's dry. it is a milk based paint and it's non-toxic. let's see, what else... it dries quickly and they say not to use it in thick layers on canvas (or other flexible surfaces) because the binders will crack. of course i'm ignoring this completely. pencil erases off of it easily.

on gilberto i used soft pastels to put the color down for his face, and then i smudged creme caran d'ache oil pastel over most it. the casein paint (white background) is not slick - you have to really push the oil pastel around with a blending stump.

pencil, soft pastels, casein paint, old wallpaper, watercolors & oil pastel on muslin; approx. 4" x 5"

this is the next page (after gilberto) in a muslin journal i've been working in for months now. the dark spot near her nose is a hole in the page. this happens sometimes when i sand the pages... a bit of something gets under the sanding block and in the blink of an eye i've sanded right through the page...

thank you all for your questions about the casein paint... without them i would've thought i'd done a great job of explaining. ; )

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toe tapping and smile making...



XO