For centuries, artisans have been decorating papers by drawing designs in colored paste. Guest author/paper artist Diane Maurer-Mathison carries on this age-old tradition by showing how to paint in paste with your fingers and with any object around the house, including the contents of your favorite junk drawer.
Materials:
offset printing paper or sturdy paper:
Dick Blick--Canson Mi-Teintes drawing paper or Strathmore charcoal paper
cornstarch
water
measuring cup and teaspoon
one quart cooking pot and stirring spoon
fine strainer
one or more containers with lids - large enough to hold
two- to three-inch paintbrushes
two- or three-inch wide house paintbrushes
Liquitex concentrated acrylic artist color - dark colors like prism violet, pthalocyanine blue, pthalocyanine green, ivory black and raspberry are good to begin with pan of water in which to relax paper
sheet of Plexiglas or Formica - two inches larger than the paper you're decorating
sponge
bucket of water in which to rinse sponge
graining combs
drying rack or lines
Steps:
- Make a starch paste by blending 1/4 cup of cornstarch with 1/4 cup water. Then add one cup of water and heat on medium high, while stirring, until almost boiling. The consistency of the paste should resemble a thick custard.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup water. Cover and let the paste re-thicken as it cools.
- Strain the cooled paste into separate containers.
- Stir about two teaspoons Liquitex acrylic color into each 1/2 cup of paste, depending upon color intensity desired.
- Relax the paper by wetting it briefly in a pan of water.
- Place the paper on a sheet of Plexiglas or Formica (figure A) and stroke from the center outward with a sponge, to press out air bubbles or wrinkles and remove excess water.
- Use a two- to three-inch wide house painting brush to evenly coat the paper with a solid color paste or stripes of different colored pastes (figure B).
- Create scalloped, wavy or straight lines by drawing wood graining combs (figure C) or other tools across the paste-covered sheets. Overlap patterns to create a three-dimensional effect.
- Hang papers over racks or lines to dry. Iron on the wrong side to flatten.
Diane's Tips:
- Create designs on paste with rubber stamps, calligraphy pens, knotched plastic, chopsticks, plastic spackling knives, sponges, crumpled plastic wrap, etc.
- Re-dampen a previously printed sheet and coat it with metallic-colored paste. Pattern this sheet to create a double-image design.
Resources acrylic paint - Liquitex
Liquitex
Website:
www.liquitex.com
Paper Art: The Complete Guide to Paper Art Techniques
by Diane Maurer-Mathison and Jennifer Philippoff (ISBN: 0823038408)
Click
here to order this title.
Watson-Guptill Publications
Website:
www.watsonguptill.comStrathmore Charcoal and Canson Mi-Teintes--charcoal and pastel drawing papers
Dick Blick Art Materials Company
Website:
www.dickblick.com
The Art of Making Paste Papers
by Diane Maurer-Mathison (ISBN: 0823039331)
Order this title
Diane Maurer-Mathison Hand Marbled Papers
Spring Mills, PA
US
Phone: 814-422-8651
Email:
dkmaurer1@aol.com
URL:
www.dianemaurer.com
books and paste papers supplies
Diane Maurer-Mathison Hand Marbled Papers
Spring Mills, PA
US
Phone: 814-422-8651
Email:
dkmaurer1@aol.com
URL:
www.dianemaurer.com
Guests Diane Maurer-Mathison
Owner / Artist, Diane Maurer-Mathison Hand Marbled Papers
Spring Mills, PA
Phone: 814-422-8651
Email:
dkmaurer1@aol.com
URL:
www.dianemaurer.com
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