epoxied birch round

I finally had the time to mix up a batch of epoxy and conplete a few projects last night! I traded in my too powerful blowtorch for this handsome heat gun from Ace. imageIt worked really well to remove all of the bubbles from my epoxy pour, with the added bonus of not catching chemicals (or my hair) on fire.

I also love the glossy painting after completely covering it with epoxy. I think I’ll experiment with layering the epoxy to get a bubbled look on my future birch round paintings.

Succulent Mandala 1 Acrylic and epoxy on birch round 2016
Succulent Mandala 1
Acrylic and epoxy on birch round
2016

birch round succulent mandala

birch round succulent 1

I experimented with this little 3 inch birch round ($1.99 at Jo-Ann’s!) and with designs inspired by succulents. I miss my gorgeous succulents in Los Angeles, with their shadeof purple, blue, and green, so I worked on several designs and played with the colors.

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Tomorrow I’ll update on my experimentation with covering the round in clear epoxy. Here’s my first attempt:

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gesso-ing

pre-primed canvas, ready for extra gesso
pre-primed canvas, ready for extra gesso

Over the past couple weeks, I practiced gessoing canvases. I usually buy primed canvases and begin painting without additional prep. However, I want to achieve a slightly smoother surface for painting cleaner lines. I’m experimenting with the number of layers of gesso and sanding in between coats.

My first regrets were buying such a small jar of gesso and not buying a gesso brush. I started using that Bob Ross palette knife and ended up using a large filbert with smooth bristles.

And my second mistake has been over-sanding with paper that was a little too course. I settled on 400 grit paper.

My two 10 X 10 gallery wraps have 6 layers of gesso and are feeling pretty smooth and ready to go.

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