Cecilia Swatton: Bling to the Rescue

Friday, August 4, 2023

Bling to the Rescue

What can you do with an acrylic spatter brush? Instead of hair or synthetic hair-like bristles, this brush holds a cluster of stiff "sticks" of solid acrylic.

Well, have you ever found yourself a little too heavy-handed when applying acylic paint through a stencil or mask -- leaving some "run-under" blobs? They could be just the ticket when you want a "painterly look," but what if you were after crisp edges, and feel disappointed when that didn't happen?

Or what if you liked your results but something whispered in your ear that adding some extra zing would ramp up a festive look?

Sometimes a little careful "doctoring" can bring back crisp edges. I've done some "doctoring" at times. But it's more my style to cover errant, willful blobs.

And I sometimes find myself with a "ho-hum" print. To go beyond that, I want to add bling.

Altho difficult to photograph, metallic acrylic paints introduce bling -- especially when paired with an acrylic spatter brush.

Above: This brand of metallic acrylic paint is pricey. Metallic acrylic paints are also available in more budget-friendly craft paints. For spattering and related effects, craft paints suffice.

Above: The tip of a spatter brush is shown here, lying next to its paint supply that rests on white palette paper.

This kind of brush lets me create a spattered look very fast, compared with the other approaches to spattering. Besides its speed, it provides me with more control and more variety.

Holding the paint-loaded brush at an angle, I can thump it lightly against paper to get streaks --

If I hold the brush vertically, I can create a look of spatter as shown on the green-yellow paper below....

On the black paper above: The technique of "dry brushing" on a textured surface is very easy and quick with a spatter brush. One swipe and I'm done.

Above: I made this print using 6" x 6" Ginkgo Stencil S076 with copper metallic acrylic paint. I "doctored" the lines of the ginkgo stems with a copper metallic inked Sharpie pen. Afterward, I wanted more bling, so ...