When I first started learning about Altered Books, there was a small series of book/ magazines published by Design Originals (actually it turned into a series) called AB101, 102, 103 and so on. The first 2 were pioneered by Beth Cote, and then they turned into a free for all with all kinds of contributors. She also did a DVD, and that's where I first saw the glazes being used.Its very simple process: squeeze and spread. Glazes can be used over or under collage elements, and I have even used them to transfer ink-jet images into the 'paint'. On the left I used cut 'n' dry foam to apply the glaze (Yellow Ochre, Sea Foam Green) to watercolour paper. After each layer, dry well, and you can gradually build depth of colour along the way. Glazes blend really well, and they have a long 'open' time. [That means they take a while to dry]. These dry with a matte finish which is great because you can easily work on top of glaze to stamp, journal, collage etc as its not a plastic shiny finish.
Permanet dye inks work well over glazes for bold sharp images, but today I successfully used distress ink (antique linen, Frayed Burlap) up against a zig-zag mask at the top of this piece. I then over-stamped a flourish image (SM08) with distress. I did find the distress colour would get darker as I dried it with a heat gun.
To finish, I stamped an arch (Urban Snapshots - Arched Apertures 2) in Jet Black Archival ink on the toothy side of ink-jet transparency film..this is much easier than stamping onto slippery acetate. I then used Patina Green Glaze on the reverse shiny side of the acetate to create a little bit of contrast between the background. The doors are cut open and bent back, and a collage sheet image (tinted with distress inks) is placed behind for a focal point.
On the right the glaze background is much more Blue, however again I used Sea Foam Green, and Patina Green (which is more like a green/blue ...the BEST shade of the collection). This time 3 -4 layers gave a much stronger colour., But I did try to keep a couple of sections more green than others...it seems to appeal to the eye more.
You might recognise the swirly heart and numbers are grunge-board, the smaller of whcih was embossed in red, and held together with a brad. I then tried to imitate the font in the stamp (don't think I did too badly!) and the lines were stamped. The little house was stamped onto beige card, and masked and sponged with distress inks. The Stamp is from PaperArtsy Squiggly Ink Collection- Love & Kisses 1.
This glaze method is often how I start a canvas, because as the colours are soft, you gradually build. Starting with glazes isn't so scary as acrylics, and they are easy to move around, blend etc. You can also soften the harshness of acrylic with glazes, or create transcluscent, bespoke glazes to your own preference. And of course, they can be a way to seal your work.
A nice finishing touch to any type of mixed media project is to use a metallic or pearlescent glaze. These products can accent texture is a soft subtle way, and the pearlescent glaze mixed into any solid colour will add a really neat tint...particularly striking in darker paint shades.
Have you used glazes before? Let me know how you got on if you have time to drop a comment.
