2/13/2008

Glue and Gouache


Recently I did a post on an email that a fellow collage artist had sent me regarding glues. I also have done a recent post about a collage artist that used gouache to create flowing effects in their collage work.
I wanted to tie the 2 together and write just a little about the combination of glue and gouache. While visiting Matthew Roses's The Whole Truth exhibit in Vermont, I was able to get up close and examine the deep and complex textures that he creates. I wanted to get exact information, and in an email here's what he says regarding his materials:
"I've used a zillion kinds of glue and my favorite was a one liter bottle from BIB / Giotto and distributed by Omycolor. but they changed the formula and when I called them, they denied they did, but it's clearly a different glue with different surface qualities when it dries. The new version is high gloss. I'm scavenging Paris for the old formula now. For gouache, I've used most of everything, but prefer the large one and two-liter bottles from Giotto and Dalbe. The glue I tend to mix with about 1 part hot water with every 3-4 parts glue. Another glue I've used a lot is Sadler (your name!). I used to buy it in tubs of 10 kilos from the BHV in Paris. I no longer use the expensive mediums that dry to an impossibly high end finish because I can't scrap them away as easily or effectively with steel wool. Some of my "paintings" mix layers of gouache and glue then are drenched in water and scraped ... so as to reveal underlying colors. Sometimes I leave the finish flat and matte and other times I'll apply more glue on top to create that cake icing look. "

This texture is really thick and I like it very much. It adds depth and an air of antiquity to his pieces. Visibility of this texture on the web is limited, but in person, the effect is stunning.
There is a wealth of Matthew Rose collage work here and you can also visit his blog here.

3 comments:

Daniel C. Boyer said...

This is rather tangential, but I have (and quite often recently) worked with gouache diluted with Coca-Cola instead of water; you can see an example at http://www.artbreak.com/work/show/2995 .

Julie Takacs said...

sick! what an idea! I wonder what the caustic quality of coke would do in time to the paper? color?

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I was able to get up close and examine the deep and complex textures that he creates. I wanted to get exact information, and in an email here's what he says regarding his materials:


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