As we are aware all over the world we’ve been faced with having the studio closures which are generally the hub of our creative endeavors. But in no way has that meant the end of experience of art as we know it. Today we have more options than ever with art online. You can see major Museums galleries studios and art fairs have now brought their artistic experiences into our front rooms with interactive exhibitions.
With the closure of our stores meaning our Art Spaces as well we thought why we can’t do something similar. The aim of our Art Spaces has always been to celebrate our community to support the creative endeavor of local artists and show case the people and the art that we believe in. So we created our Cass Art Blank Canvas series. This campaign is to bring our Art Spaces online and share our communities work on a weekly basis on our channel. We have seen an overwhelming amount of entries and have been so encouraged by not only the talent of the work submitted. Please see a selection of our online exhibition below thus far.
WHAT IS GUM ARABIC: WITH ARTIST
Today I’m going to talk about how to use Gum Arabic in water color painting I also use it in my Oil painting practice but that’s another story! Gum Arabic is a thick glutinous water-soluble medium that looks a bit like golden treacle. Water color paints are essentially pigment Gum Arabic and a little glycerine so if you add more Gum Arabic to your mixed paint it will act as an extender; it will make the paint more viscous so it behaves more like a glaze. The paint sits on the surface of the paper instead of soaking in and takes longer. This is especially useful if you want to create any wash but especially a gradient wash as you have longer to manipulate the paint.
Because the Gum Arabic has created a soluble layer and has the paint from soaking into the paper it is then easy to lift out soft details from the wash. I’m lifting out these clouds with the brush.
A word of the Gum Arabic wash is easily removable so if you intend to the entire area with a new color you may it; on the other hand you may like that solving the effect!
You can also use Gum Arabic as a soft mask here I’m painting it on with a brush and allowing it to completely. When the Gum Arabic is the layer your water color over it (this time don’t add any Gum Arabic to your wash or you’ll lift the lot!) The Gum will partially dissolve but still retain a soft mask with a different character to the crisp mask of Art Masking Fluid.
When your wash has carefully lift the Gum Arabic with a damp cloth I’ve found that staining colors work well with this technique as it is easy to disturb the water color while lifting the Gum Arabic. Hope you understood my story it’s quite little but useful for gum arabic.