sealant nightmares
i've had a few incidences lately where the sealant that i've been using has created a problem for my artwork. in fact, it has been such a problem that i have quit using it and purchased something else. i have used this several times before and on many projects and haven't had a problem that i could specifically trace to it, but now i have had a few very specific problems.
the first example, who is watching journal, was covered in full, vibrant colored pencil on top of acrylic paint. the silver/purple of the dragonflies and the various bright colors of the water's edge just disappeared when i sprayed the page w/ the krylon matte finish. once the spray hit the page, the vibrant colors just melted away. i thought they would return after the sealant dried -- but no such luck. i even tried to pencil them back in after the sealant had dried, but the colors will just not adhere and/or show up on these pages now. the dull colors are the best i can get to "stick" to the pages.
an even worse situation happened on pow-wow dancer, and i was so disappointed that i was almost sick. i had worked several hours on drawing, coloring, shading, blending, adding in last minute details and more. this was the first ATC i had ever made and i didn't want my trade partner to be disappointed in the ATC he received. i stayed up late to finish the picture so i could spray it w/ sealant before going to bed.
in the morning when i went out to check the ATC, i found that it looked like i had sprayed it w/ silver spray paint instead of sealant. i checked the bottle to see if i had grabbed the wrong can or something, but basically my beautiful (in my eyes, anyway!) ATC looked ruined, w/ "blobs" of silver covering the picture. the blobs of silver wouldn't scrape off w/o pulling off bits of the paper behind it, so i just decided to work on top of the problem.
i started coloring the picture again, and after about 5 hours or reworking the details and losing some other details -- i was able to save the piece. imagine my disappointment, though, to see what had happened to my picture and the time/work/effort i had put into it.
after these events, i was afraid to use the same stuff on my tiger lily picture that i had just finished. i really liked the picture and hated to invest the time/effort into a picture that would/could be ruined as soon as i sprayed it w/ sealant. i went to the art supply store and talked w/ the owner about what to do. she said she had had some of the same problems using the matte sealant, especially when she worked on a dark background.
she suggested that i use the krylon "workable fixatif" and that she had been very happy with her projects and successes with that product. it doesn't have the same finish as the matte sealant, but i didn't really want or need that finish. plus, it doesn't seem to have a problem w/ leaving residue or silver specks on my artwork -- and i really like that! what i need is protection from smearing and smudging, so it looks like i'm sold on "workable fixatif"!
so, if you're looking for something to protect your work, consider the "workable fixatif" rather than the sealant. from the name of the product, it's obvious that even though it has been sprayed, it's still a workable surface, so you can work/spray/work/spray, etc. sometimes i need that protection in one area of my work to continue on in other areas of my work w/o smudging one area to another.
any other ideas, suggestions, or stories of similar incidences and what you did to solve them would be welcomed here. after all, the comparison of products helps us all out in the end!
the first example, who is watching journal, was covered in full, vibrant colored pencil on top of acrylic paint. the silver/purple of the dragonflies and the various bright colors of the water's edge just disappeared when i sprayed the page w/ the krylon matte finish. once the spray hit the page, the vibrant colors just melted away. i thought they would return after the sealant dried -- but no such luck. i even tried to pencil them back in after the sealant had dried, but the colors will just not adhere and/or show up on these pages now. the dull colors are the best i can get to "stick" to the pages.
an even worse situation happened on pow-wow dancer, and i was so disappointed that i was almost sick. i had worked several hours on drawing, coloring, shading, blending, adding in last minute details and more. this was the first ATC i had ever made and i didn't want my trade partner to be disappointed in the ATC he received. i stayed up late to finish the picture so i could spray it w/ sealant before going to bed.
in the morning when i went out to check the ATC, i found that it looked like i had sprayed it w/ silver spray paint instead of sealant. i checked the bottle to see if i had grabbed the wrong can or something, but basically my beautiful (in my eyes, anyway!) ATC looked ruined, w/ "blobs" of silver covering the picture. the blobs of silver wouldn't scrape off w/o pulling off bits of the paper behind it, so i just decided to work on top of the problem.
i started coloring the picture again, and after about 5 hours or reworking the details and losing some other details -- i was able to save the piece. imagine my disappointment, though, to see what had happened to my picture and the time/work/effort i had put into it.
after these events, i was afraid to use the same stuff on my tiger lily picture that i had just finished. i really liked the picture and hated to invest the time/effort into a picture that would/could be ruined as soon as i sprayed it w/ sealant. i went to the art supply store and talked w/ the owner about what to do. she said she had had some of the same problems using the matte sealant, especially when she worked on a dark background.
she suggested that i use the krylon "workable fixatif" and that she had been very happy with her projects and successes with that product. it doesn't have the same finish as the matte sealant, but i didn't really want or need that finish. plus, it doesn't seem to have a problem w/ leaving residue or silver specks on my artwork -- and i really like that! what i need is protection from smearing and smudging, so it looks like i'm sold on "workable fixatif"!
so, if you're looking for something to protect your work, consider the "workable fixatif" rather than the sealant. from the name of the product, it's obvious that even though it has been sprayed, it's still a workable surface, so you can work/spray/work/spray, etc. sometimes i need that protection in one area of my work to continue on in other areas of my work w/o smudging one area to another.
any other ideas, suggestions, or stories of similar incidences and what you did to solve them would be welcomed here. after all, the comparison of products helps us all out in the end!
posted by jill at Saturday, November 10, 2007
3 Comments:
Interesting - I've heard of other people who have problems with specific sealants on specific surfaces. One one it melted all the CP!
I don't know Krylon but can't comment. Personally I rarely seal and have no problems with artwork.
However I have seen work which has been 'improved' in terms of depth of colour and saturation through using a spray.
Krylon Matte 1311 spray is my favourite spray to use on my acrylic canvas paintings. I also use it for my art cards which are painted with acrylic on mat board. I haven't had a problem with it though there was one time where I had sprayed too heavily on a black background and it turned a milky colour. However, with 48 hours, it cleared. Maybe the surface has something to do with its performance? I use a fixative spray for all my sketchbook work as I find the Krylon Matte does leave a residue on paper. I've heard good things about the workable fixatives. I'm glad you were able to save your near disasters, Jill.
So sorry to hear about your troubles with the fixative. I'd be absolutely sick, too. I stopped using any fixative at all way back in art school because it would mute my colors. But, that was before they made workable fixes. glad you were able to save your piece altho that was a lot of stress you didn't need.
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