Monday 18 March 2024

2024 Topic 2 : Mattints {by Floss Nicholls} on the PaperArtsy Blog


Hi everyone

It's Floss from flossWORKSHOPart here with you today.  

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 Walnut 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...
 

Knowing how much I love using infusions I wanted to explore how the infusions would work with the Mattints on their own...so rather than spritzing the infusions with water I sprinkled a little of the walnut stain infusions onto the fern Mattint.


Again I wanted to keep the dye pigment as separated as possible to give me the maximum colour differentiation and so I dabbed the mixture carefully with a sponge to lift the colour. I love how the brown walnut crystals are slower to dissolve allowing this to work so well...you can see it on the sponge here.


Carefully dabbing this through the PaperArtsy diamond Stencil by Sara Naumann (PS272) onto fabric left some glorious colour. Again I found that the gesso area reacted like a resist making the absorbency less and the colour more subtle. 


The diamonds on the left was where I was mopping up the last of the mixture and the walnut stain crystals had dissolved into the fern mattint making it more of a solid colour.


I got so engrossed with what I was doing that I missed taking a photo of my next test! I spread the grunge paste mixed with shark matt tint over the fabric tissue and impressed stencil (PS202) also by Sara Naumann from PaperArtsy into the mixture which squeezed some through the openings giving me a relief image.  Whilst the stencil was still in place I used DRAGONFLY Mattint over the grunge paste.  It was interesting how the dragonfly was stronger in colour than the shark or fern Mattint.  When I lifted the stencil it pulled some of the surface cover away leaving me with a very distressed outcome.  


I liked the way the turquoise (dragonfly) was not a solid colour throughout and think that had something to do with how the grunge paste was drying as well as the mix of where it sat on/off the grunge paste.  I'd definitely recommend trying this on different substrates...you'll end up with some fabulous pieces to use in your collages.

I was excited with how I thought the test pieces might work together and even though I hadn't planned this part...I started gluing the tissue papers over old sheet music paper which was pasted onto 300gsm card.  


I wanted to see how the mattint would be under the presser foot on my sewing machine as some glazes and finishes do not run as smoothly as their tackiness can get stuck a little.  I was so pleased to find this was not the case and that everything ran smoothly. That is no doubt because the Mattints are matte tints, and so the surface is not going to have a sticky glossy type finish, it is smooth and almost toothy.


Smearing the mixed grunge paste and fern Mattint onto some black tissue paper and impressing the PS202 stencil and then pulling it off whilst still wet gave me the little flower detail. I especially liked how the image is not solid and parts of the flower are line only. I used slimed fresco finish acrylic to pick out some definition in the centres of the flower. 


To complete the collaged card I free motion stitched the flower stems on the sewing machine.

I added an eyelet and some strong black variegated thread to the smaller piece to make it into a 'mismatching' tag.



I really liked how the mattint extended the life of my grunge paste, not only with a subtle colour change and becoming a really nice working consistency but the way it allowed me to press a stencil into it giving me a more distressed finish. 

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Even though I have explained mostly what I did in the blurb above, there were a few other things I tried along the way which I did not capture.  I have created a video of the things I tried with PaperArtsy Mattints and my thoughts as I went along... 

(INSERT VIDEO EMBED CODE HERE)
coming soon



Blog: https://www.flossworkshopart.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/floss.workshop.art
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/floss_workshop.art/
website:https://www.flossworkshopart.com/


I have plenty of workshops going on in East Sussex UK. Details and booking can be found on my website 

I am also in The Enterprise Centre, Eastbourne 23rd March in the morning teaching mixed media coneflowers...tickets available now on Eventbrite  


Thursday 14 March 2024

2024 Topic 2 : Mattints {by Victoria Wilding} on the PaperArtsy Blog



Hi everyone

Victoria here with you today.

Since I was last here with you on the PaperArtsy blog, I’ve squeezed in a house move and built a new craft space, so I can’t wait to get stuck into some creative play with you today. I’m really enjoying having all my supplies back on hand and PaperArtsy HQ have been busy creating colour magic with the new Mattints, so let’s take them out for a spin and see what they can do. 

The Mattints topic immediately had me thinking about exploring all the different ways you can use them. After all, this is the first time I’ve had the product in my hands and I was keen to figure out how they would fit into my mixed media makes. After watching Leandra’s Facebook live in the PaperArtsy People group, I was inspired to create a journal page from a series of square swatches, which would let me play with combining the Mattints with other supplies.


I love the effect of all those swatch squares, laid out next to each other on the journal page. Not only is it a visual feast with all the textures and colours, but it also perfectly demonstrates how versatile the Mattints are to use. And this was only using a handful of different combinations and techniques! Read on for all the details of what I’d did to bring this journal page project together.



My first task was choosing which PaperArtsy products I wanted to include in the project. 

The colour palette was the first selection I tackled by picking out three Mattints. I wanted to pick some colours that would play nice together, so I went with a blue (Shark), a pink (The Pink) and an orange (Squeezed).

I knew I wanted to include some text as a background element to some of the swatches and decided that PaperArtsy HotPicks Printed Tissue (PT01) was a must. I also picked Kay Carley’s stamp set EKC54 and her stencil PS061, for some floral focal points. 

Finally, to give some extra colour variation, I decided to include some other PaperArtsy colour mediums to mix with the Mattints. I selected PaperArtsy Infusion in Are You Cerise and PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics in Eggshell



The first step of my project was creating all the squares to experiment on using the Mattints. I cut some smooth white card using my paper cutter, creating 12, 1 3/4 inch squares and 1 larger square for the main focal point measuring 3 1/2 inches square.

Next I put my thinking cap on and wrote on the back of the cards, ideas for different supplies to combine each Mattint with. I don’t end up using all of these in the final project, but it’s left me with some things to try out next time!


With the basic prep done, it was playtime. I love swatching and learning about new supplies, so this bit was going to be fun!
 

Mattints and Printed Tissue

Mattints are a matte effect tinted glaze and they can be used to both colour and stick. They have a toothy and slightly tacky texture, so one of the first things I wanted to test them out with was some PaperArtsy Printed Tissue. I started off by applying a generous coat of the Mattint (Shark) to the card. I then placed the tissue paper over the top and added another coat of Mattint over the top. Whilst it worked well at generally holding the tissue in place, I did find it peeled up slightly at the edges and applied a bit of extra glue to hold it down. I really liked how the colour builds with each layer of Mattint applied, so you are in total control of how vibrant the colours are on your final piece. So my tip is, apply it liberally so you get good adhesion.

Mattints and Infusions

As a watercolour addict, Infusions are a colour supply of choice for me. They are made to shift with water, so I knew combining them with the Squeezed Mattint would require some thought. I decided that I wanted to test how much the colour shifted if I used the Mattint as a glaze, over the top of the Infusions. I sprinkled some Infusions (Are You Cerise) onto a square of card and spritzed with water. Once dry I applied a coat of Mattint (Squeezed) with a paint brush. The key to this is a gentle, light hand! The walnut crystals in the Infusions were definitely shifting, so go carefully to avoid stripes.

Mattints and Ink Sprays

With their matte finish, I wanted to test out how other mediums might sit on top of a coat of Mattint. I applied a coat of Mattint (Squeezed) to the card and let it dry. Then I used a Distress Oxide Spray (Weathered Wood) for a spray pattern in a contrasting colour. Because they are matte, the spray grabbed onto the surface nicely.

Mattints and Coloured Pencils

Continuing with the idea of applying mediums on top, next I wanted to test out how coloured pencil would sit on top of a coat of Mattint. I stamped one of the florals from stamp set EKC54 on the card and then applied a mix of Mattint (Squeezed & The Pink), blending the colours with the brush. Once dry, I coloured the florals with coloured pencils. I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the colour went down, and again, as the finish of the product is matte, it make sense that offers some tooth for a coloured pencil to grab onto. The Mattints are definitely going to be great for layering in mixed media pieces. 


Mattints and Grunge Paste

I scraped out some PaperArtsy Grunge Paste onto my craft mat and squeezed out a blob of Mattint in Shark, on top of it. I then mixed this with a palette knife. I’ve had my grunge paste for a while and it was actually a little bit dried up as I scrapped it out, but mixing it with the Mattint reconstituted it nicely making it much easier to apply through stencil PS061creating a leafy floral texture.


Mattints and Watercolour

Watercolours are a medium I always come back to, so of course I was going to test out how they layer on top of the Mattints. I stamped one of the florals from stamp set EKC54 and coated the square with Mattint in Shark. I then painted the flowers with watercolours, which were so easy to lay down on top of the Mattint. This really excites me for future mixed media projects!  You would assume a sealant like this would prevent my watercolour from staying in place, but once again, that matte feature of this product stands out as a feature that can be explored in many ways with companion products.


Mattint and Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics

Finally, it was time to colour the main focal point. I wanted to try out the Mattint as a colouring medium both on it’s own and mixed it with a neutral, PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics in Eggshellto give a different tint. I applied this to the stamped image and finished the floral by colouring the stem and leaves with coloured pencil. I love the subtle colouring effect that you can achieve with Mattints. Whilst the colour looks very dark in the bottle, when applied it is actually very subtle. It gives you all the options as the maker, as you can continue layering for a darker colour if you wish.


With the squares all complete, I added the final finishing touches. I distressed some of the edges on each square and added brown ink using my blending brush.


Then I backed each square onto black paper, to provide some more contrast once assembled on the journal page. I didn’t measure this and just cut them by eye, using my trimmer. In hindsight, measuring them out would have provided a more exact finish when sticking them into the journal. 


Finally, I placed all the squares on the page, placing the large square in the middle and arranging the smaller ones so there is a variety techniques and patterns on each side. I secured them with double sided tape and with that, the page was finished. 



I know Mattints a whole lot better, thanks to creating this journal page. Playing with the different techniques and mediums on the little squares really increased the permission to play. The small scale and easy replacement if needed, stops creative fear in its tracks. 

The finished layout in the journal is simple, but really effective, due to the mixture of colours and textures on the finished piece. I’m definitely excited to use Mattints more, in future projects, especially knowing how well they work with some of my other favourite mediums. They’re certainly going to be a great tool in my mixed media kit. 


Wishing you a creative, happy week!

Victoria.


If you’d like to watch me putting this project together, hop over to my YouTube channel on the link below, where I talk you through all the steps of this project.