Decoupage was a popular pastime in the Victorian era. It involved the cutting out of printed decorative paper and applying the cut paper pieces onto objects like wooden boxes, scrapbooks and screens. Modern decoupage Decoupage is still the art of cutting paper and is...
Last week Jane looked at making and using egg tempera. In a similar vein, this week she looks at gesso – making your own or buying it. What is gesso for? It is a primer! Traditionally gesso was a mix of an animal glue binder which is usually rabbit skin glue,...
Jane takes a look at using tempera (or egg tempera) as a medium for painting. It was replaced by oil paints centuries ago but, for aspiring artists, is offers some unique and valuable differences over the use of oil paints. What is egg tempera? Tempera, also known as...
In this blog Jane takes a look at cleaning your brushes. She uses acrylics and has found that soapy warm water does the trick and then a good rinse to clean the soap away. But here she just checked whether she was doing the right thing? Cleaning brushes used with...
Adding a touch of luxury to your work Using gold leaf, whether it’s the real thing at 23ct or imitation gold leaf, will add luxury to your art or craft work. Jane takes us through the different options and gives an overview of how to use it. Why gold leaf? Gold has...
