2012/365 - Day 161

Unryu paper to the rescue (again)

I've used Unryu paper to cover up paint messes before.  Now I am using it to cover up/add another layer to the surface I have been papering for the last three days. (I just tried to look that other paper up...I couldn't find the exact one but it is either a Japanese or Thai paper with inclusions...I will find it eventually.)

So this time it is Unryu paper in forest green doing the rescuing.

LOL -- it almost looked like I had pulled off the other paper after the first piece of Unryu was on.

This paper is very very lightweight and fiber-y.  When it became wet with the matte medium (in this particular application) it became very easy to rip and also almost mushy -- so I had to be extremely aware of the pouncing of the brush when I was laying it down...but I still wanted it to conform to the dips and uneven surface...no air pockets if possible.

This is with just the first piece added.

This is when I was done (for today).

This was after I cleaned up the area and set him back on the desktop.

When he started to dry a little I knew I wanted to go back and smooth out the pounced marks.

There was also this trouble area on his left rear leg.  See how the paper is almost melted and mushy?  

I added a few more teensy pieces of paper and smoothed them on with just my gloved finger and matte medium -- no pouncing with the brush.

  

I really need to stop touching it now and just let it dry all the way. 

I can't wait to see how it looks tomorrow because at this moment it looks pretty good -- the forest green Unryu paper is blending back in with the original remaining paint colors.

2012/365 - Day 160

round three of trying out the paper on the beast

I added more sections of paper to the beast.  It is drying nicely, but now I am not so sure how I feel about the overall look of it.  I like the colors.  I like the paper and the inclusions in it.  But now I think that it is looking (to me) like the plain plaster cloth almost.  Whatever happens, I know I am going to have to paint him, too.

How he looked when I started out today.

It kept feeling like the paper needed to be extended further and further...now it looks like he has on a horse blanket/cooler or something.

And then it looked like I should add paper to the top of his head.

I played with the color around his eyes a bit and I like these lines...I wasn't able to repeat them on the other eye...I tried three times...but they kept coming out wide and blotchy.

No matter how he turns out in the very end, I will like him.  I think he is adorable.

2012/365 - Day 159

trying out an idea -- round two

The paper dried as I hoped it would -- you can see color coming through it.  Now, how much more do I add?

Pretty much how he looked when I started this evening.

It is hard to see in the photos, but you can see the color under the paper.

I decided I needed to put on at least enough more paper to cover the little nicks in the paint.

I tore the paper more deliberately today...trying to fill in spaces.

Because I made this guy over another statue/form, he had pretty uneven surfaces.  I know nothing about muscle structure or where bulges should go -- but hey -- this is MY guy, I made him up...so it is all correct.

In a couple of places I had to rip the paper as I laid it into the glop so that it would conform to the surface imperfections.  Like yesterday, as it was drying I smoothed out as many air pockets as I could.

Heh -- he trusts me.

I added a good coat of matte medium over the unpapered surfaces to even things out and to keep the rest of the paint in place...hopefully.

The little guy tries to reassure him that the matte medium dries clear.

AND -- I cleaned up my mess yet again.  (I think this might be a new routine!)

2012/365 - Day 26

time to get back to wet work

Now that the cat-creature is done and in the varnishing stage, I am ready to get back to some wet plaster cloth work -- yay! It feels like it has been ages since I worked on anything.


Remember this guy? Here is the very first day I worked on him.

He has changed quite a bit since then. Today he still needed a bit of tweaking.

















I needed to fill in some "valleys" and smooth him out.

















I like this guy so much!













He is looking better now...it is hard to see in the first picture, but he was looking like he'd been in a fight and had chunks missing or something.

I worked on him enough tonight...my fingers are all pruney.

I had almost forgotten what it is like to work on something "small". Trying to smooth the plaster cloth in tight spots was a bit of a challenge...but it felt good.

He still has a few spots that need fixing and I have to figure out what the base is going to do. I also need to plot out how I will work on him so that I am not making more trouble for myself. I need to figure out in what order things need to happen.

365 Day 201

building a magical Magic-inspired beast/monster of my own













I got this one-eared horse statue at a garage sale last year for fifty cents. I knew I would recycle it into art at some point. I hadn't started doing anything with plaster cloth yet when I bought him.


















I just adore most of the gigantic, lumbering beasts in the game Magic: the Gathering. I want to combine the sort of Magic beasts I like with the creatures that are showing up in my sketch book for relief printmaking class.


Some of the Magic beasts are a little more cuddly-looking (to me) than others but they are all HUGE. Okay, they may not be as sweet and cute as a baby goat, but I still want to hug them.

I'm not sure what it is about them, but they give me these "give me your paw" / "let's sit and cuddle for a while and I'll tell you a story" feelings when I look at them.





I don't know exactly how to go about it or how I will end up painting this guy when it comes time, but I am diving in tonight with the horse statue as a base to build on.

I am trying to give him a new shape with aluminum foil and masking tape.














He is looking a little bison-y here.













Something is off...but I can change it later.












I think I'd like to put a layer or two of plaster cloth on tonight. I had to stop at this point to give my hands a break for a bit (crunching aluminum foil is tiring) and to take photos and blog before my midnight deadline.













Looking at this photo I think maybe he needs a little less chin area and more nose area...maybe make it look like he is holding his head a little higher...we'll see...










I like how the cat-creature in the background is like "wtf?" and the goat-creature is laughing.