Epoxy resin paintings are already popular all over the world! This kind of creativity is very original, but at the same time does not require special skill or complex skills. In this article we will reveal almost all the secrets of the amazing substance and tell you everything about the process of creating a picture in the Resin Art technique.
Epoxy resin. What’s it?
Epoxy compounds are usually dealt with by performing minor repairs of plastic and metal surfaces. The liquid composition, initially divided into two fractions, is able to be stored for a long time, and when interacting, it quickly passes from the liquid to the solid phase. The hardened surfaces are well amenable to mechanical processing – cutting, drilling, grinding, but at the same time they persistently retain their original shape. The “epoxy” known to the layman is used when the lost fragments need to be given significant strength and rigidity (including bodywork during car repairs).
The artistic use of epoxy compounds is dictated by the same property – polymer resins after curing retain their original shape and surface quality, and the paints added to the transparent base do not fade and do not lose brightness over time.
A remarkable property of the material is solidification without significant shrinkage, since “drying” does not occur as a result of evaporation of part of the composition (as in the case of lacquers), but solely due to a chemical reaction between the components. Therefore, the work retains its original volume, and when meeting the requirements of the technology – and the form originally given by the master.
Two-component resin for drawing in the Resin Art technique
Not every epoxy resin is suitable for creating paintings. You will need two-component materials purposefully created for creative artistic activity. A special resin for Resin Art thickens as a result of mixing with a hardener that gives optimal viscosity, protects the originally created picture from spreading, does not form whitish stripes when drying
Both components are mixed in plastic cups, preferably after staining. In small containers, the resin is less likely to boil, saturate it with air bubbles, which affects the final quality of work. Special dyes are added following the proportions specified in the instructions (otherwise the composition will harden badly). Additionally, pigment powders (silver, bronze, gold), phosphors (glow in the dark) and glitters (sequins of various sizes and shapes) are used. Swarovski crystals and other decorative finishing elements are firmly fixed and held on the thickening resin.
The ideal temperature for working with the material is 22oC, but you can work with resin from 18 degrees (the resin will be only slightly more viscous). By heating in warm water, it is possible to bring the improperly stored, thickened component A (actually, resin) into working condition. Component B (hardener) may turn yellow over time, the shade will affect the color scheme of the artwork (this should be taken into account when choosing a palette, since methods of “resuscitation” of the hardener have not been invented).
What can be filled with epoxy resin?
Special paints for drawing with epoxy resin inform the initially transparent mass of a bright covering color. Different colors mix well, forming saturated shades. Acrylic paints added to the resin do not cloud or soften the coating if there is no water in their base.
Resin can be poured into finished oil or acrylic paintings, potal or a pre-dried relief surface (for example, from gypsum), giving it artistic depth (for example, you can create multicolored reliefs of the seabed with corals and grottoes).
You can also use acrylic, oil, and aerosol paints to apply images to frozen resin layers. A new transparent layer is poured on top, so original 3D images are obtained, the depth of which is limited only by the height of the sides of the filled box.
Images printed on thick glossy paper, glued to a wooden base, have a great chance of not being soaked with resin. To fill watercolors written on thick paper, it is worth performing a preliminary test on a small fragment with similar materials. Paper and wood will be protected by a special decoupage varnish, it dries evenly without warping the surfaces.
If the original artwork is treated with an aerosol – acrylic varnish, the resin will not dissolve alcohol-based dyes, the lines drawn with alcohol ink and permanent markers will remain clear.
Colorful natural materials – butterfly wings, herbariums of dried flowers, autumn skeletonized leaves are preserved with an epoxy layer, without losing colorfulness, provided that they have been well dried from the moisture contained in them before. Otherwise, the decomposition of preserved natural decorative elements will continue in the hardened layer and the work will be hopelessly spoiled.
Ceramics are coated with resin, and polymer clay products are used to give strength and connect disparate parts. It should be taken into account, when choosing the position of the art object before firing, that the frozen epoxy layer will soften somewhat and harden again after removing the product from the furnace. Colors when resin solidifies on ceramics become, as a rule, sharper, their perception by the viewer depends on the shape of the product, the curvature of the surface.
List of materials and tools
To work on an epoxy resin painting, you will need:
covering material for the table (polyethylene);
scissors and masking tape — the reverse side of the base is glued with them to avoid sticking of resin drops, and the sides to prevent the resin from draining from the tablet at the very beginning of work;
inverted plastic cups — from 4 pieces. On them, as on the basis, a tablet is placed (otherwise fallen drops of resin can stick it firmly to the table);
a small construction level to check the horizontal surface, ideally a table with adjustable legs;
PVC gloves, polyethylene apron and armbands, respiratory mask;
cups for creating a palette (according to the number of colors \ dyes used) clean mixing sticks;
tubes, sticks and a hair dryer – for the formation of resin drips, toothpicks for removing dust particles, hairs, small air bubbles from the solidifying surface (we blow the hair dryer from the dust in advance!)
a low-power gas burner (optional). With its help, bubbles are removed from the surface (with a good resin, the surface will be perfect in any case);
a hair dryer to achieve different effects when working on a picture;
nail polish remover, with its help, resin drops are erased from any surfaces, greasy cream and paper towels to remove resin splashes from the skin.
acrylic paints for priming plywood or wooden base
The room where the work is carried out should be well ventilated, heated, not damp.
The basis for drawing with epoxy resin
The microporous structure of chipboard or plywood is pre-treated with acrylic paints. As a basis for drawing, not only wood, but also glass is suitable. To make trial sketches on paper, glossy, non-matte sheets are chosen. A fabric base glued to a rigid substrate or stretched on a stretcher, like loose paper, is moistened with resin, which makes it dark.
Bases that have poor adhesion to the epoxy composition are used as a casting form. Polyethylene or thin plastic for drawing will allow you to get a glossy surface when peeling off a layer of epoxy resin. If the drawing “from the inside out” of the fill, according to the artist’s plan, becomes a facial one, it is carefully performed by the first layer, and can be corrected only after removing the forming substrate, while having to sacrifice the perfect smoothness of the surface.
The process of drawing with epoxy resin
Before starting work, the table is placed horizontally with the help of a level, covered with polyethylene, a tablet is placed on it on inverted cups (or other stable stands of equal height), the surface of which is carefully dust-free, checked by the level for horizontality. If a wooden or plywood base is used, then it is pre-coated with acrylic paints. The strip of masking tape pasting the sides protrudes 4-5 mm above the plane of the tablet, pressed, smoothed around the perimeter (for a tight fit, a plastic card is used as a “spatula”) – this will allow not to waste the freely spreading resin unnecessarily, and also to save the table from unnecessary drips.
We glue the base behind with masking tape.
And we also create bumpers with them.
We put the base on plastic cups.
Take a container and mix resin (Component A) and hardener (Component B) in a weight ratio of 2 (resin):1 (hardener). Mix thoroughly for 3 to 5 minutes.
Then pour the resin into cups, depending on the planned number of colors. It is important to remember that in the previously diluted resin (from 5-10 minutes ago), in no case can you top up a portion of the newly diluted one – the material may turn out to be heterogeneous and cloudy.
Add the dyes drop by drop into the cups, also mixing well. At the same stage, you can add various pigments, phosphors or glitters to achieve the desired effect.
Pour resin successively from the cups onto the base, creating an image of the picture. The drawing can be formed then by air from a hair dryer or through a straw, by slightly tilting the tablet in one direction or another. The resin shift, the intersection and rupture of layers, various swirls of the paint layer are performed with thin sticks or with a gloved hand. Unleash your imagination at this stage!
Using a hair dryer, we form a drawing.
The thickened resin (40-60 minutes after the start of the reaction with the hardener) resembles the consistency of aged honey. The adhesive tape is removed from the sides of the tablet, the layer flows freely along the edges, forming a picturesque continuation of the drawing of the main plane. Kneading with gloved fingers, we distribute the streaks evenly over the side surfaces.
With a gas burner, air bubbles-cavities are carefully removed from the surface (you should hold the burner over the accumulation of bubbles for no longer than half a second so that the resin does not boil). Also, bubbles can be blown away with hot air from a hair dryer, but be careful – the air flow can blow away the drawing.
The work is maintained for a day, covered with a box from sticking dust particles scattered in the air. The hardened surface with stuck dust particles is corrected by grinding. The resin freezes best in a warm, dry room without drafts.
The work is maintained for a day, covered with a box from sticking dust particles scattered in the air. The hardened surface with stuck dust particles is corrected by grinding. The resin freezes best in a warm, dry room without drafts.
Made in compliance with the requirements of resin art technology, the finished art object will delight the owner with a bright combination of colors for a long time!
