Opening the Packages

I spend a lot of time (and money) at Michael's because it's close at hand and a lot of my collaging involves the same materials as  scrapbooking. And I can find some fine art supplies there; but my favorite place for fine art supplies is the Dick Blick online catalog. Years ago it began with their lovely catalog and mail order over the phone, but once they hit the web I was in trouble. And, like Amazon, they have a "wish" list, too.

It has been awhile since I placed an order with them but I'd come to the end of some of my essentials so I found it necessary to order more. And whenever I place an order for art supplies, I try to throw in a couple fun things, too.

Since I'm often asked, "How do you do that?" I thought I'd show you what was in the order.

Of course, there were canvases. I ordered six of my trusty, chunky 6x6 canvases. They are great for grouping together on a wall in an interesting display, or standing on a bookshelf somewhere. Because they are so wide, they stand on their own.

And for an upcoming show, I ordered three 20x20 canvases. I don't usually work this big, so I'm looking forward to the challenge.

You can see the nearly empty gallon in the background.

I was scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to my "glue." I use Golden soft gel medium in matte; by the gallon! I find its consistency perfect as an adhesive. I'm hoping that it will become a fashion statement, too, as most days when I've been working in my studio I wear it all over my hands and even in my hair. :-/

After I've collaged all my many layers and layers, I protect the surface from dirt and UV rays with acrylic varnish; Lascaux acrylic varnish. I won't use anything else. Yes, it's expensive, but worth it. I use at least two coats of gloss first, to preserve the color and lock in the UV protection. And then I finish with at least one coat of matte. I LOVE the finish to the matte. It's more like satin; so it has a glow without being shiny. I used to use Liquitex acrylic varnish, but was not impressed with its UV protection and the matte finish is very flat. There's a huge difference. Love, love Lascaux. So, as you can see, I purchased two bottles of gloss and one in matte since that's the proportions in which I use them.

So, now we get into the "fun" stuff. As you all know, I'm obsessed with Japanese lace papers. They can be used to create so many great effects. You can imitate glass, or fog, or just add a layer of mystery with it. And I particularly like ogura lace. I use it a lot to create a WOW factor in my artwork. When laid over another background it works like magic at creating depth and glowing color. (See the collage at the beginning of this post.) I ordered it in five different colors, but one color, blush, has been back-ordered. So I have plum, spring green, lilac and natural.

And finally, something new and different. Crayola Metallic Fx crayons. I haven't been able to find them in any craft stores. I cannot wait to play with them; but first I have to dig my electric skillet and cheese grater out of the attic. Then I'll show you what fun we can have.