Keeping it crafty

This week

I want to share with you my secret weapon and the true staple in the art supplies that I use. Bah bah bah BAAAH. Presenting, MOD PODGE (aka craft glue). 

One day I was talking with a colleague, and she presented a great idea to me that sparked a search for the perfect solution...I needed to find a way to preserve my line work within a painting. What do i mean be that? You might be wondering. Well, when I start a new piece, I sketch out the subject matter with pencil or black ink. As the painting progresses, I like to switch from paint brush back to pencil/pastel and add some extra line work on top of the acrylic paint once it has dried. The problem is that by adding paint on top of the pastel or pencil, the lines would just be washed away or smudged almost as quickly as they had been created. There had to be a way to "lock in" those lines, have the ability to paint over them, and not have to sacrifice any mark making all at once. After doing some searching, I realized that this craft glue could potentially be the perfect solution. Turns out that it was!

Mod Podge can be found at your local craft store, such as a Michael's or Hobby Lobby.  I prefer using the matte finish kind so that there isn't much of a reflective surface on the finished product. (You want to be able to photograph the finished piece with as little glare as possible). The pastel can still smudge when you apply Mod Podge on top, so...

Here's the trick:

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​-Use a wide, flat head paint brush
-Load your brush with a generous amount of Mod Podge
-Holding your brush at an angle, almost parallel to the canvas, gently drag and unload the brush across your line work 

Happy Art Making! 

​xoxo Alexa