Alternative Printmaking Report #6

Art Resin

I promised I would return to my photo-encuastic progress, and I will. Just not today. The reason is that I am actually making progress with it and want to have just a bit more time to experiment. I have definitely found some things I was doing wrong and my results are improving. It’s something that definitely takes practice.

But today I would like to tell you about something else I tried that really gave me a beautiful result and that I am excited about. I am talking about Art Resin. Art resin is a perfectly clear, non-toxic, and easy-to-use epoxy resin that can be used to coat artwork. I bought their smallest size along with their accessory kit to give it a try.

I mounted a photo onto a cradled wood panel and painted the sides, as I have done for the encaustic pieces I have previously shown. The cradled panel is then held up off the work surface by four short plastic pieces (from the accessory kit) so that any excess resin runs down the sides and doesn’t end up cementing the piece to the work surface. You then check that the piece you are working on is level (so the resin coating is even) and can put a bit of cardboard under any of the four supports if needed. The epoxy is then mixed, poured over the photo, and spread using a spreader (again, from the accessory kit). Air bubbles are then easily removed using a small torch and the piece is then protected by putting a box over it (so that dust doesn’t find its way onto the surface of the resin before it cures). By the next day, the resin is hard to the touch.

The result was beautiful. The finish was smooth and glossy with no imperfections. It has to be used with the right image, as it does have quite a glossy surface. But glossy doesn’t really fully explain it. If I had to compare it to anything, I would say that it looks like an image printed on metal.

The photo of the finished piece below doesn’t really do it justice because the photo doesn’t transmit that metallic feel. In addition, it doesn’t show that the piece is really a three-dimensional one on a wood panel approximately an inch deep.

One aspect of Art Resin I still need to work on is the sides of the piece. The options for the sides are to use a foam brush or your gloved hand to wipe the liquid resin along the sides to coat them, to tape the sides flush with the top of the panel to try to keep the resin off the sides, or to tape the sides and have the tape extend higher than the edge to build a ‘dam’ to get a thicker resin layer.

I tried coating the sides of the piece with a foam brush because I don’t really want or need a thicker resin layer. As you can see from the photo of the side below, the coating with a foam brush turned out very uneven (which is unlike the front which is wonderfully even and smooth). In addition, I don’t really like the shininess on the wooden sides. So my next attempt is going to be with the sides taped to try to keep the resin off of it. I may also play around with seeing if one could add a matte coating of some sort.

I think this will be quite an easy fix. The ‘hard’ part (the front) really came out beautifully on the first try. I will definitely be ordering some more resin and plan on making more artwork with it. In addition to giving a photo a different look, it also gives it a three-dimensionality by having it mounted on a cradled art board and allows a different way of displaying images besides the traditional (and very expensive) matting and framing.

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