Polymer & Resin Results
Posted on February 26th, 2010
Yesterday was my first attempt at adding a polymer resin finish on my work. I saw this process on many works at the recently attended LA Art Fair. Artists in LA go to surf shops and have professionals apply this finish to their works. We have no surf shops in Buffalo. I of course want to try it myself to see if it would be a good finish for my recent graffiti paintings I am working on. The way I work it is not really the best addition to my paintings due to the depth and additions I add to the surface. Most of the paintings with this finish were flat and a even surface where as mine can vary going up and down quite a bit. So yesterday I mixed up this material and tried just pouring it onto the surface of a older painting. I did this as a 50/50 mix and made sure I was in a well ventilated area as the fumes can be dangerous. I poured slowly starting at the lowest point on my work making sure the area was flat and clean. The excess that happened could be cut off after this process. It took about three hours to totally harden on a 24″ x24″ painting and not tacky to the touch. After seeing it on a actual painting I would like a square edge on the sides of the work. This was how the pieces looked in the LA show. They looked like a piece of eighth inch plexi glass was on the top. This means I will have to build a mold so the art sits within it tightly to get this results. This is a continuing learning process and once the mold is made with my husband’s help I will try again. My first priority is to finish the four works I am considering for this coating first. I will post my next experiment in a few weeks. If anyone has any experience with polymer resin please comment or write and share your experiences. Thanks!
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Polymer Resin & Graffiti
Posted on February 25th, 2010
My recent trip to LA and the LA Art Fair 2010 opened my eyes to some new materials. Many of the artists in California are now finishing their paintings with a thin coat of polymer resin. I was told by one of the gallery curators there that this is done for them at surf shops. This is the same coating put on boards there to protect the wood. The material dries clear and is another way of protecting my collaged paintings without a frame. This practice has been used by photographers before but to my knowledge not by painters or mixed media artists. I am currently working on a graffiti series on a 24″ x 24″ frame with board, watercolor paper and foam core attached to it. My work has always included digging into the foam core, removing parts of it, and inserting photos or collage as the subject matter. I then have added acrylic paints, spray paints, and gel medium building a composition as I go along. The adding of this new material “resin” to the final piece has changed my work a bit. I can not dig down too deep into the foam core as it becomes hard to get a even coat of the resin on top, without bubbles forming around the deepest parts of the surface. I am now just going down a paper depth to add my subject matter. This forces me to explore other ways to get the depth to my pieces with acrylic or collage. I like a challenge! Images and more info on the pouring process of the resin tomorrow on this blog.
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Paintings on the 1913 LA ZOO
Posted on February 11th, 2010
Yesterday was a day of exploring my images taken while in LA for subject matter, in my continuing series on graffiti. I printed out more than 30 images in various sizes and papers. I am a collage artist and therefore mix and match my images. It is like a puzzle to me fitting pieces together to get my idea across in the finished work. I look at color, shapes, and textures to put these images together. A graffiti artist with his spray paints approaches a building or wall in the same way. They are stating their feelings in words and expressions with spray paints and I on canvas am doing the same. I am also using polymer resin as a new material over the finished works. This is done on the west coast by surf shops. I am attempting to do this same process in my basement. I will have another blog on this subject in the future. Today my canvas is ready and I will be a starting the next process of adding and subtracting paints and images. I love this challenge.
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LA Zoo 1910 Graffiti
Posted on February 5th, 2010
This photo is one of many I took while crawling through old cages of the abandoned 1910 old LA Zoo. The location in Griffith Park where the new zoo is located was a wonderful trip through some of the best examples of graffiti I have seen to date. I am curious about graffiti and its impact on our lives. The visual impact of letters, colors, textures, and layers is to a collage artist like me a “feast” for my eyes. My daughter Alyssa who lives and works in LA found it for me. I will be starting on Monday my journey as a artist to take these photos and incorporate them into a series of new works for upcoming exhibitions this year. I also while in LA went to many shows the biggest being the annual LA Art Fair. This show I try to always attend as it feeds my need for new techniques on materials to use, presentation, and just what is happening in other art worlds besides Buffalo. I hope everyone on Facebook will check out all my photos from the old zoo and if your not my friend or fan check me out at joyce hill studio mixed media paintings to be a fan or Joyce Hill. I will be posting updates on this painting journey so check back! p.s. encaustics also will be in these new works so see how I approach using it.
I love the new pieces! Can’t wait to own one of my own….