Hi everyone Dounia here with you today.
This year on the blog, we are being given free reign to do a deep dive into one of the PaperArtsy product ranges, and for this post I have been exploring Mattints! I one of their main properties is their transparency so I decided to explore and exploit that in some semi transparent art, a fall inspired suncatcher mobile.
I really love how it transforms depending on the light! For the base of this project, I'm sharing with you one of my favourite technique with Mattints, making 'tissue skins'. It is is really simple and 'brainless' with gorgeous results. I hope you enjoy it too.
For transparency, the 'skins' are built out of tissue paper. The more transparent the better! I know all the PaperArtsy printed tissues will work, so I grabbed the Blank and Background Tissues (PT07 et PT10) I had on my craft table.
For a project about Mattints, I used... Mattints! also for their transparency. I somewhat limited my palette, to help create a united look. Any theme would work so I chose my favourite, fall colours! I love warm hues so went for yellow/orange/red with some greens and browns to completely cover the foliage range. I also added the 'wild cards' The Pink (MT08) et Dragonfly (MT07) to spice things up and create variety.
I first prepared the building blocks necessary, by colouring blank tissue with my chosen Mattints.
I painted roughly A4 pieces in all my fall colours, and half that in the 'wild cards'. The intensity of the colour depends a lot on the quantity of Mattint applied. Here I did two coats on one side and another coat over only half the other side. That way I had two shades of each colour, for more variety and depth.
Here is my very high-tech drying system. With the current weather, my projects are enjoying the wood stove with me! As the Mattints also work as a glue, you have to be careful not to let the sheets stick to one another!
I like to add opaque parts to all transparent projects, to create contrast & texture and highlight the transparency. For this one, I did some very basic mark making on more blank tissue with a opaque Fresco Finish Acrylic Paint. I chose Cloud 9 (FF149), a warm white, because white shows off colours the best and I thought warm version worked the best with my chosen colours.
As you can see, not much thinking is necessary for these steps, just fun playing with paint! Now it is time to start putting the layers together.
The principle to creating the 'skins' is to glue layers of tissue on top of each other with a transparent and wet medium, like Matte Glaze (FF52) or Mattints. For the tissue 'disappear', it is crucial to fully saturate it with glaze when gluing it. I like to apply the glaze on the back of the tissue and on the top of receiving substrate before connecting them, then apply another layer on top of the glued down tissue while it is still wet. Here you can easily see the difference between the already glued pieces and the still dry ones.
As my base, I used half of one the big sheets of painted tissue, this one is the Ladybug (MT12) one. I created a layer on top using pieces of the Backgrounds tissue as well as the tissue with white mark making. To create more variation and depth of colour, I decided to glue the pieces with Mattints instead of a colourless glaze. I chose Ladybug (MT12), Squeezed (PT06) and Nutty (MT02) to coordinate with the background. The limits of the tissue pieces are more noticeable that way but I did not mind for this project.
I repeated the process with Nutty (MT02), Glow (MT01) and Fern (MT03) backgrounds. This is the results after this first layer. The white opaque patterns will be softened by the following step.
On top of the 'pattern' layer, I added another one, this time with pieces of the coloured tissues, using coordinated Mattints to glue them. The picture seem to imply I planed their placement but in reality, I did not think too much and just glued stuff on top of each other. If the pieces overlay in some places, it just creates even more colour variation.
As the Mattints are also sealants, they make the tissue less absorbent. So I have found that you often need to 'work' the glue a bit more into the painted pieces, but they too end up disappearing.
Once all of that was a bit more dry, I repeated those two layers on the other side of the bases. This creates even more variations and also makes a stronger 'skin'. I really love how they turned out, with the bits of pattern poking out and all the different colours. However, I think their true beauty shine when seen in transparency.
There you can really see all the layers and the new colours they build. I like the darker touches created by the opaque white paint. I could just make those 'skins' for themselves and display them on my windows, but here I also wanted to show you a use for them.
All those colours had to become leaves! I roughly traced the shapes with Fresco Finish Chocolate Pudding (FF42) and cut in the middle of the lines. This both helped guide the cutting and created a border around the leaves. I think it gives them dimension and reminds me of fallen leaves starting to brown at the edges.
Here is my pile of leaves and my (also very high-tech) structure for the mobile: a cut open soda can. It then only needed a couple hours of threading the leaves onto fishing wire and adding them to the can...
I absolutely love the result. It is a bit messy and misshapen, like real leaves, and I am mesmerized by how different it looks in different lights.
The aim was to have light shine through the leaves, creating shadows and patterns, and here in the rising sun, it does not disappoint!
But I think it is also beautiful in the sun light, without transparency. The depth of colour really shows here and, I think, capture the feeling of an early autumn day.
With no direct sunlight, the colours are softer and more reminiscent of fallen leaves. I love how the golden beads pop then, adding even more whimsy.
Inside, lighted by a lamp, this thing moves with the slightest air currant and cast crazy wispy shadows. So moody!
I leave you with a couple of detail shots of the leaves.
I love the snippets of pattern and texture that randomly show.
I prefer warm colours, but let's not forget the beautiful greens that bring depth and contrast.
I hope you enjoyed this journey in Mattintland and that it inspires you to try making tissue 'skins'. The process itself is easy and fun and the possibilities to use them are endless!
Keep creative
Dounia x
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