TECHNIQUES
FLOATING
Floating is a technique commonly used by Folk Artists
to provide a quick and easy graduated shading (or highlighting)
to a project.
It is often done with brushes such as shaders, angle
shaders or dagger brushes. The best paint for this
technique are Matisse
Flow Formula Paints - they have been specially
formulated for this kind of thing!
BASIC TECHNIQUE
-
Simply fill your brush with water, and put a small
amount of paint into the tip or edge of one side
of the brush (normally the toe of the angle shader
or dagger brushes).
-
Blend the paint into the brush on your paletted,
patting the paint from side to side.
Note: you should be pushing the paint into the brush, not wiping it
off.
-
The color on your brush should now graduate from
an intense color, fading to nothing. If the paint
has worked it's way through the full width of the
brush, wash it out and start again - there should
always be just water at the end of the brush (no
hint of paint).
-
Apply this to the area to be shaded (or highlighted)
by putting the most intensely colored part of the
brush to the point where you want the most color.
-
Make sure you have the entire face of the brush
on your project and either use a single stroke, or
a soft patting motion, paint in the shading / highlighting
as directed.
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
How wet to have the brush: The hardest
part of this technique is knowing how wet to have your
brush. Too wet, and the paint will puddle and clump.
Too dry and the brush will drag. A good rule of thumb
is to have enough water on the brush so as to have
the bristles looking like satin finish (not glossy,
not matt). If there is too much water, just simple
touch the tip of the brush to a piece of kitchen paper
or an old towel. If there is not enough water, tip
the brush (very gently) into your water jar.
Making the job easier: To make the
job of floating a bit easier, try making up a "floating
mix".
In a small glass bottle, add a small amount of Surface
Tension Breaker, and fill the remainder of the
glass with water. The Surface
Tension Breaker should make up no more than 1/10th
of this mixture. |
