Hi everyone
I have been having some fun experimenting with the new Mattint products that PaperArtsy have introduced to their wonderful range of colours. I wanted to see, other than using them as a glaze over fresco acrylics, or a tint to tissue paper, how else I could use them within my style of mixed media. I spent quite some time filming the methods I tried so that I could share this with you in a way that you could see just what I got up to and my thinking behind it as well as showing you with still photos and a description. I got googley eyes editing all the clips!
I ended up with quite a lot of 'collage fodder' through playing and experimenting and so rather than present you with a pile of bits and pieces, I used the sample pieces to create a greetings card and (mismatching) tag...to be honest I couldn't resist playing with the pile of yumminess!
I love greens and teals and so when PaperArtsy announced they were bringing out a green (Fern), blue (shark) and turquoise (dragonfly) Mattint I jumped at the chance to use them. I wanted to see how they would work with PaperArtsy grunge paste, the PaperArtsy Just W
alnut and
Slime infusions and how they look on fabric.
Naturally, not having used the Mattint product before, the very first thing I did was to use it on good old plain white tissue paper. This gave me the base line in understanding it's properties and most importantly (for me) knowing the colour pigment strength. I used a sponge to apply the Mattint through the
PaperArtsy Stencil by Sara Naumann (
PS092) and found that it was a very delicate sage like tint...it got me wondering if all the Mattints were this subtle...or if I needed to shake the bottle a little longer to get the full colour density.
I often work with materials and fabrics in my mixed media and so I wanted to see how Mattints would work applying it straight onto the fabric surface versus onto a gesso prepared fabric.
What I found was that, just like a paper substrate, the Mattint absorbed into the fabric with a deeper colour than the area where the gesso was. I tried using a spatula with the stencil first but I had much more control and accurate success applying it with a sponge.
I wanted to see how it would mix with grunge paste and how it would apply to fabric and I absolutely was not disappointed!
Firstly, I used grunge paste on its own (top left) so that I could again make a comparison. The grunge paste mixed with FERN Mattint (top right) was slightly less brittle and took a fraction longer to dry. I then strengthened the colour using a tiny drop of
slimed fresco finish acrylic paint (bottom right) into the grunge paste mixed with fern Mattint; this took the longest time to dry.
What I really liked was how the Mattint made the grunge paste more pliable; having not used it for a while, the grunge paste had become a little stiff. Although yes, mixing it with a few drops of the Mattint naturally 'thinned' the grunge paste, it gave it a more creamy workable consistency and was easy to apply through the PaperArtsy Stencil by Sara Naumann (PS272) with a spatula.
Having liked how the PaperArtsy Fern Mattint mixed with the grunge paste, I sprinkled some Just Walnut infusions onto that to try.
I wanted to keep the dye granules more concentrated in places and liked how the consistency worked onto the fabric tissue paper.
Having liked how the infusions worked with this mix and how the Mattints are transparent I looked at how they would layer up and definitely can see how they could be used with adding detail over specific areas.
Sometimes it can be hard knowing where to start with a project, or or what the focal point of your art will be. I often find by playing with colour or fiddling with products naturally flows into something more specific as I get lost in the process. Having tested these things, my inquisitive nature had me all fired up and wanting to find out more...