Pebeo paints has two new (to me) paints–Fantasy Moon and Prisme. Today I took the afternoon off (seeing as how it is one of the three days I’m home this month) and spent time in the studio.
Blue, purple and turquoise was the palette for this project.
The paints are solvent-based, so if you are going to work with them, do it in a room with open windows or good ventilation. These paints are actually meant primarily for resin-based jewelry. But you can use the paints on wood or canvas, too. How could I resist?
The paints create their own honeycomb effects without any help from a brush. Best of all, achieving good-looking abstract paintings isn’t hard.
First, choose a frame with a 3millimeter lip around the edge, as the paints flow.
Second, shake the paints well to fully mix the sparkly bits. When you have shaken them, stir them as well. Shaking creates bubbles and that effect can change the final look.
Before the paints settle, open the bottle and pour one of the colors directly onto the cradled board. You can paint with a brush or drop with a dropper, but pouring freestyle is more my style.
Pour the second color. I limited myself to three colors, but you can use as many as you want. (There are at least 18 colors in the Fantasy Moon line). If you overlap the colors, they blend with special effects. I didn’t get the strong honeycomb I’ve seen in other examples, but I loved the blending that did happen.
Pour the third color. I poured it around the edges and directed a few thin strings across the other two colors. You aren’t supposed to tilt the board, but I did anyway. Once the color was spread over the frame, I used a small specialized stick Starbucks plastic lid stopper to drag the paint to the edge.
The next step is important: Get a level and put the piece on a level surface to dry. It will tack-dry in about 6 hours and dry completely in 72, depending on where you live. Four hours after I did it, both of mine were still thick-set, with a consistency of latex paint.
Piece one, at completion.
If you don’t use a level surface, the paint will drift over the edge. Prop up the slanting corner with small risers–coins, pieces of gum, folded index cards.
Piece one after two hours
The piece will change over time. That’s part of the charm.
Leave the frames alone until they are completely dry. There is a clear resin you can coat the paintings with to protect the surface.
Piece 2 after two hours
You can match linens, wallpaper, and towels to make interesting, abstract art for any room of your house. Just remember that real art never has to match the couch.
Disclosure: I purchased the paints and boards. I am not a designer for any company (at the moment.)
—Quinn McDonald enjoys every minute in the studio. These pieces don’t match the couch or anything else in the house, either. She likes that idea.
QuinnCreative 