Monday, September 19, 2011

Stone Hollihocks- TerraSkin

What a weird title for this painting, right?  Well, it's painted on "stone" of a sort.  I found out about this new "paper" from a blogger (sorry I don't remember who) and hunted it down because I just had to try it.  It is called TerraSkin and is made from 75-80% stone (recycled calcium carbonate, the mineral in marble) and an environmentally friendly polyethylene resin.  It uses about 50% less energy to produce, no bleach and little to no water.  It is also acid free.  When I heard about it, I couldn't wait to try it.  I'm always looking for interesting substrates for my art.

One of the environmental perks of this "paper" is that it is biodegradable in 3-9 months with enough heat, moisture and sun.  Of course, I don't want my art degrading but I would imagine that a piece of regular paper would be destroyed much, much quicker in that type of environment than this surface would.  Remember people, don't put your art in the direct sun and definitely don't put your paintings in the landfill and expect for them to survive. : )

This paper has a wonderful chalky feel to it and it comes in various weights.  I think this painting is done on the heaviest paper.  The paint sits on the surface much like on yupo (I'm talking about watercolors) but I think this surface is more forgiving in a few instances.  I started a completely different design on this paper and erased all of it and that didn't seem to change the surface of the paper.  With Yupo, I've found that erasing is a big no no.  Also, fingerprints don't seem to be such an issue with this paper as they are with Yupo.  Lifting paint was similar when the paint was freshly dried but seemed to be a little harder to lift as it sat longer.  It could still be lifted but didn't feel as impermanent as on Yupo and it was easier to get a blended edge when lifting instead of being either white or the color.  Of course, I have NOT had much luck working on Yupo so for those of you that know what you're doing, these issues are probably not even problems for you.

I like the TerraSkin surface and look forward to painting on a large piece of it.  I really like the effect of the paints on this paper, which is similar to the look on Yupo, but working on TerraSkin seems easier.

I would love to hear from anyone that has painted on this surface with watercolor and what your experiences have been.

Stone Hollihocks
Image Size 5.5" x 4"
Watercolor

14 comments:

  1. Très intéressant de nous faire partager votre avis sur ce nouveau support.
    J'aime la puissance dans les couleurs de vos fleurs.
    Très joli travail, bravo!
    Gros bisous

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  2. Nancy..this is such a beautiful painting. I love the way the light is hitting this lovely flower. You are amazing with watercolor!!

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  3. Nancy...how very interesting. Thanks so much for sharing...I think I will have to give it try with my watercolors.

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  4. oops..totally forgot to say what a lovely painting you produced on this paper. love your background washes.

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  5. SOunds like an interesting new substrate! I love that you can wipe off what you're doing and start again. Ain't experimenting fun? Oh and the hollyhocks are lovely!

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  6. Merci, Martine Alison

    Thanks Hilda. Using the watercolor on this surface is lots of fun.

    Hi Julie, you should try it. I think you painting style would work really well on it.

    Thanks Deborah, it is fun to have the freedom to wipe away anything I don't like. That's very different than on the usual paper surfaces.

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  7. Your light on this just glows!!!

    Thanks for your review of this paper. It sounds interesting.

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  8. What a great & informative post, thanks Nancy! I may have to investigate this substrate a bit more. As for the painting, that gorgeous color you used really caught my eye. Very nice!

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  9. Nancy first I have to say this is gorgeous and I am so intrigued by the stone paper! I still haven't even tried Yupo and I've been wanting to since I first heard of it. One of these days.

    Do you know that this new post just showed up in my sidebar today? I go through the blog roll on my blog every day and your blog thumbnail and title didn't change to reflect this latest post until today. Honest! I wouldn't miss one of my favorite blogger's posts!

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  10. Very pretty painting of the hollyhocks. I think it's Jeanette Jobson who has used this - I checked into it because of her blog but never ordered any at the time. Not sure I need another substrate to paint on until I figure out paper! ha ha

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  11. Nancy,
    I've read of TerraSkin before from Charlene McGill but this is the first time I've seen a painting done on it. Beautiful!
    Thank you for posting your experience with it. Now I can't wait til TerraSkin is available here so I can try it.

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  12. Thanks Karen. The TerraSkin isn't available here either. I got it through Etsy from a company called Mitzart which I think is in Canada.

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  13. very good watercolours, Nancy !! : )

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  14. Thanks Rose. I visited your blog and really like the flower you painted on the Terraskin. I'll be watching to see what you do with it next.

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