Plaque - Swan

Speaking: Ike Charlie

The graphite grey that I used on here is watered down. It's probably three parts water to one part graphite paint acrylic. What it did was it obviously thinned out the colour grey, but it allowed for me to wipe it right away. As soon as I put it down, I wipe it, so it gets most of that moisture off. You can actually use a sponge or a cloth and it leaves the graphite behind in patches. On the first coat, I was generous. I just let it lay where it landed, let it dry a little bit, and then I wiped it right away and then I sanded it so that the green would raise. When you look at it, you'll see a lot of pieces that are printed, and you'll see the green, but you won't notice it because until you actually feel it, you'll feel the green is raised so it adds another texture to it. so when I sanded it, I put on a second coat on select spots. That's why you can see a little bit more of that graphite red in there and the green that comes through. It's so resilient. Cederwood is so resilient. That water content darkened it, and then after it dried I was like wow, look at that the natural tannins in the water. As soon as they touch each other it holds that colour. It's almost like an orangey-pink colour, and then I put the oil on top of it just this afternoon.... and it locked everything in place perfectly where it is. So, I love that playing with paint and the texture.