An 'Ah HA!' Moment



I managed to finish my 'Clowder of Cats' sketch but lost interest before I could start painting. It happens sometimes. I'll probably come back to it eventually but in the meantime I had one of those 'ah HA!' moments that makes me wonder why I didn't think of it long ago. I have solved the dilemma of ink painting on metal leaf.

This past summer I posted a couple of small paintings done on copper Simple Leaf. I loved the effect but the paintings were so delicate and scratched easily. Also the copper leaf did not like blending solution. Painting on the silver Simple Leaf was even more difficult and I never managed to create anything worthy of posting. It scratched just by breathing on it, I swear. Then two days ago the solution suddenly came to me. Why not apply the leafing to clear acetate, then paint on the flip side? The leafing would show through but be completely protected. Today I found time to experiment on an acetate display sleeve. First I had to find out if the alcohol ink would move and flow on acetate. Would it withstand rubbing alcohol and blending solution? Yes to both. Then I applied the Simple Leaf to the acetate, flipped it over and created a quick little painting. I even added a bit of line work with a Micron pen. A side note: the Micron pen went on better after the alcohol ink had been applied. I would like to try Krylon workable fixative next time to see what affect that will create. I love it when I have a rare moment of 'smart'.