So many mediums! Confused? Here's a list that might help!
All fabric paints and mediums are acrylic products. They have different effects depending on their composition. All are combinable and washable with soap and water.
All fabric paints and mediums are acrylic products. They have different effects depending on their composition. All are combinable and washable with soap and water.
Additives These substances modify the chemistry of the paint film. Some additives will increase flow and blending; other additives will thicken the color, and still others additives will slow the drying time. Use additives sparingly. Large amounts will hamper adhesion and durability.
Binder are found in acrylic paints, the binder is the chain of polymer molecules. They hold the pigments in place- like glue.
Airbrush Medium thins acrylic paint to a consistency that allows spraying without affecting flexibility, durability, or adhesion. This ready to use, pre-mixed blend of acrylic emulsion, water, retarder, and
Denatured Alcohol. Artists use it as a solvent. Denatured alcohol is inexpensive
and readily available. It cannot be consumed, since a poisonous substance (eg
acetone) has been added.
Dyeing: Dyes are colors that create a chemical change that binds the color to a fabric's molecules. Dyes can be applied to cloth or paper in a number of ways and require fixing or passive setting.
Enamel. A paint that dries to a hard glossy finish.
Extender medium is a soft body medium. It increases the volume of acrylics without affecting opacity or hue. Extenders can be used as resists. They dry clear.
Fabric medium or Textile medium
This medium enhances the workability of acrylic paint on fabric. It controls bleeding of colors thinned with water and provides a smooth, consistent flow to acrylic color. It reduces the stiffness of dried acrylic paint on fabric and allows paint to penetrate the surface, yet maintains fabric hand. The paint will be subject to abrasion; it is not absorbed into the fiber as dyes.
Flow-Aid is used to increase the spread or bleed of paint. It can be mixed with all acrylic paint, acrylic inks, and mediums.
Fluid Mediums are liquid in nature. They increase viscosity of heavier paints and gels, tend to self-level and do not retain brush strokes. They help maintain or enhance adhesion and durability. Increase flow of acrylic paints, Dry transparent or translucent, may be used to seal a surface, may be mixed with water to seal water soluble pencils or paint sticks onto fabric.
Some artists are applying dry colored pencil or chalks to fabric, Sealing with medium (of any kind) may help preserve the surface and prevent the color from rubbing off.
Fluid mediums make an excellent archival adhesive for collage on surfaces that can handle moisture. Gel mediums are more versatile as adhesives.
Fluorescent Colors. These brilliant colors are made from dyes and polymer.
They glow, and will overshadow traditional colors made from pigments.
Gel Mediums add body to thinner paint for impasto techniques as well as extending color volume and adding transparency. Gels add “open time” as they tend to dry slower than thinner paint films. These mediums tend to improve adhesion and durability of the paint film. They are translucent when wet and transparent when dry. They dry to a gloss finish. Gloss Gel makes an excellent adhesive for mixed media collage.
Gesso. Gesso is a primer made from gypsum and a binder. AB artists sometimes prime the book's pages with gesso prior to adding color. The gesso adds strength to a page, enhances coverage, and also adds tooth (ie.roughness) to help paint adhere to a smooth page. Traditionally, gesso's binder was made from animal hyde glue. AB artists favor acrylic gesso, and often use it simply to create special effects. Gesso is available in clear, white, black, and in various colors.
Glazing Medium creates brilliant, jewel-like glazes when used with acrylic colors. It has excellent brushing and leveling qualities and it dries quickly for rapid layering. This medium works best with transparent or translucent colors. It is flexible, non-yellowing, non-cracking, and water resistant when dry.
Gum Arabic. A binder dervied from hardened sap of the acacia tree.
Watercolors and gouache contain gum arabic as a binder. You can buy the gum in
bottles for other purposes. For example, Jacquard Pearl-Ex powders can be used as
a paint when water and gum arabic is added.
Interference Colors. Made from mica flakes instead of pigments, this product
changes its color depending on the angle from which you view it. If, for example, you
are using green interference over red card stock, the finished surface might appear
green in one light, but viewed from a different angle, it would display the underlying
red color.
Iridescent Colors. These colors result in a variety of non-tarnishing metallic
effects.
Lacquer. A clear gloss coating applied to printed material for strength,
appearance and protection.
InkAid- a medium that enables Inkjet printing photographs on almost any material.
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Matte. A dull finish. Media and various other paint products come in a choice of
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matte, gloss or semi-gloss finishes.
Medium (media - plural). Available in fluid or gel, media come in different
varieties and have many uses. Mixed with paint, they can increase flow, give a matte
or gloss sheen, enhance blending, extend the color, add optical effects, add strength,
extend drying time, etc.
Media made to use with acrylic paints contain acrylic resins.
Therefore, they will not cause loss of durability or adhesion. Many altered book artists
also use media for gluing collages or for gluing blocks of pages together.
Gel medium
is best for this. Other media is available specially for use with oil paints.
Mediums extend the volume of paint. Mix Mediums into acrylic color to add flexibility, adhesion, and long-term stability. All mediums, whether fluid, or gel, in any of the weights, are available in matte or gloss finishes. All mediums are combinable, may be used with all acrylic paints, inks, or used alone as adhesives, glazes or to stabilize other products on a surface. Mediums can add or subtract sheen from a surface and can create transparency. A thin film (1/16”) of medium may take between 1⁄2 hour to 24 hours to dry, while a thicker film (1/4”) may take between 2-5 days to dry
Do not overwork mediums during application. If mediums are over-brushed during drying, clouding may result. Once the acrylic film is clouded and dry, it cannot be clarified or removed.
Medium also means the material used to produce the art -- such as oil paint, watercolors,
pastels, etc. AB artists used the word medium in both contexts. The plural is media although
many of us, including myself, are guilty of saying mediums.
Mixed Media. This refers to using a mixture of media or techniques in one
composition (i.e. pastels, collage, ink).
Molding paste is an acrylic medium that is filled with solid material. The result is a thick “pasty” white substance that can create a controlled textural surface. Molding paste is an opaque white when it dries.
It’s great to use as a surface base producing textures.
Opaque. Colors with hiding power. You cannot see through them.
Open Time is the time during which acrylic paints are moist and workable. The use of additives can extend this: mediums, extender, or flow release. Water will also extend the open time, but weakens the paint film and pigment load.
Pastels. The pastels most often used by AB artists are made from pigments that
have been mixed with gum arabic and water, then pressed into a stick form. They are
sold as crayons or chalk. Chalk pastels are more tightly bound than pastel crayons.
Altered book artists use pastels for coloring background paper, embellishments, or
applying directly to the page.
If the page lacks tooth, applying gesso first is
advisable. Spraying with fixative afterwords will prevent crumbling.
Oil pastels use an
oil binder instead of gum arabic.
Pearlescent tinting medium is a soft body medium that produces a range of iridescent colors when mixed with acrylics paints. It is opaque when wet, transparent to translucent when dry. It also makes a nice glaze on top of other surfaces when mixed with fluid medium.
Modeling paste is an opaque modeling paste for oil and acrylic colors. Made from marble dust and polymer emulsion, it’s perfect for building heavy textures on rigid supports and for creating three-dimensional forms. Light weight is best for fabrics and heavy papers.
Paint- Paints are applied to the surface of substrate creating a right and wrong side. There is no chemical bonding as with dye. Sometimes very thin paint will seep though and create interesting patterns on the reverse side. Paints are usually permanent once dry. Fabric paints usually require heat setting.
Paint- Paints are applied to the surface of substrate creating a right and wrong side. There is no chemical bonding as with dye. Sometimes very thin paint will seep though and create interesting patterns on the reverse side. Paints are usually permanent once dry. Fabric paints usually require heat setting.
Pigments. Pigments are the finely ground compounds that produce a medium's color. Depending on the nature of the vehicle and the binder, the resulting medium will be paint, ink, or dye. Pigment can be natural or synthetic. Pigments can be purchased separately, allowing you to create or customize your colors. Pigments are mixed with binders to create paints, colored pencils, pastels or chalks. High quality paints have a heavier pigment load than student grade paints.
Primer. An undercoating that makes a surface ready to receive paint. Acrylics
can be used on almost any surface providing appropriate priming is done. Gesso is a
well-known primer.
Resist: There are a great variety of ways to resisting on a substrate. A physical\
or mechanical resist might be string or rubber bands that are place onto a surface. A
washable resist- flour paste or Elmer's Glue are two very simple methods that can be
applied to cloth. Resists block dye or paint and colors areas not blocked. Tie dye or
Shibori are forms of resist using elastics and string.
Sealer. An undercoat used to protect a surface.
Screen printing: is printing using a screen.This is a wooden frame with a fine
polyester mesh stretched on it. The mesh can be blocked in a variety of ways to
create a design, similar to a stencil. To print, place a small line of paint on the inside
edge of the frame and pull using a squeegee. This provides a simple pattern repetition
method.
Sizing. Canvas artists "size" the canvas by coating it with a sealant before
adding a primer. Today's AB artists might size a book's page if the page is particularly
porous. Matte medium is a good sealant for sizing pages in an altered book.
Solvent. A substance, usually a liquid, capable of dissolving another substance.
In the art world, solvents are used for processes such as cleaning, thinning or mixing.
Water is a solvent, as is turpentine, paint thinner, denatured alcohol and many others.
Student Grade Paints. These usually contain a lower pigment load than their
artist quality counterparts. They are adequate for much of the work done in altered
books. The professional quality artist product is recommended if you are doing fine
detail work.
Substrate is the surface to be worked, printed or painted.
Textile Paints: are water-based, and can be cleaned up with water. They have acrylic or plastic components—binder-permanently to the cloth. Paints are formulated for fabric with softeners so they don't affect the hand of the cloth as craft acrylic paint does. The paints are interchanged and come in a variety of thicknesses. "Inks" are usually just thinner acrylics . These paints can be used stamping, stenciling, silk screen printing or any process. Be sure to choose the right product for your technique.
Texture Gels or Speciality Gels contain particles such as sand, glass, stucco, that produce a variety of unique textural and dimensional effects. They may be mixed with acrylic colors, other mediums, or used on their own. Dry Texture Gels can be over-painted with acrylic or oil colors or can be used as an under painting textural ground. They may be combined to achieve unique colors.
Transparent. Colors that you can see through.
Translucent. Partially see-through colors.
Varnish Varnish can be applied over dried color and even fabric to protect the surface or to modify the surface sheen (i.e. gloss, matte, semi-gloss). I use a satin varnish by Jacquard. I also mix a small amount of this with paint to create glazes.
UV Protection Varnishes protect against fading from light and makes it easier to dust fabric art with vacuum. Colors generally deepen after application.
UV Protection Varnishes protect against fading from light and makes it easier to dust fabric art with vacuum. Colors generally deepen after application.
Drying Time: An acrylic film surface will feel dry to the touch.
Always test or make samples.
Other References
Golden Paint Newsletter http://www.goldenpaints.com/justpaint/jpindex.php
Paints http://www.goldenpaints.com/products/color/fluid/fldcht2.php
Golden Mediums http://www.goldenpaints.com/products/medsadds/index.php
cool utube http://www.youtube.com/user/48hlc48#p/a/u/9/xIPcc
