Original art, tutorials, and more. One, former number cruncher's journey to find her own unique artistic style. I'm going to try it all and see what sticks!
I tried the faux metal look again. This time I used a small canvas for the substrate. I added small plastic scrapbooking decorations and lightweight, wooden cross ornament.
I started out just like last time, but when I got to the point of adding the tin foil, I changed my mind. The foil just wasn't working out because the cross was little thick, making it difficult for the foil to cover without ripping. So, I decided to paint the entire piece with bronze metallic craft paint. When it dried, I brushed on Asphalt Driveway Crack Filler. I added a little water to the asphalt to make it thinner Surprisingly, the asphalt dries in about 10 minutes. I put a little turpentine on a paper towel and rubbed it over the piece removing part of the asphalt, exposing the bronze underneath. I like it. I plan to brush on a clear sealer before hanging it on the wall.
I watched a YouTube video by Gary Reef about creating the look of metal. His work was very pretty, so I figured I would give it a try. I used a little 5X5 wooden block, a "Faith" bookmark, a little scrapbooking trinket, and 3 little crosses from my jewelry-making days.
Following Mr. Reef's instructions, I glued the items onto the block, then brushed gel medium all over the top and sides. The next step is to put regular tin foil on, pressing it into all of the crevasses. Now, this was the most difficult part. It, of course, looked very easy in the video, but I had problems with the foil ripping as I tried to press it around the little crosses. I did the best that I could. Next time I'm going to try some different types of foil. Oops, I almost forgot, I had also glued some cut up portions of paper doilies on the side so that the sides would have texture under the foil.
The next step was to put some paint on it. I used blue, yellow and a tiny bit of metallic purple acrylic paint. I just mushed it all over. In the video, Mr Reef says to use "Bitumen" for the next step. Now this is not an easy thing to find. Evidently bitumen is a term that they use in Australia and places other than the U.S. It's actually an asphalt-type product. I went to Lowes and studied the asphalt aisle, finally settling on Asphalt Driveway Crack Filler. I had read online that wood stain would also work, so I picked up a small can of wood stain in Ebony. Even though he used the asphalt (bitumen) in the video, I went with the wood stain because I thought it would be easier. After the paint dried, I painted on the wood stain. My advise to anyone who wants to try this - DON'T use the wood stain! It took forever to dry. It was still tacky after 4 days. I got tired of waiting for it to dry and moved on to final step..I put a little turpentine on a rag and rubbed it over the piece removing some of the stain, revealing the painted "metal" underneath. And, here it is.
The photo is kind of dark, but you get the idea. I'm going to try it again, but next time, I will use the asphalt product to see how that goes. Here's the video:
