Day 5 - Crackle Glaze Medium

Crackle Glaze Detail

I had a painting all finished, but hadn't tried anything new from the list. So, I have used a bit of crackle glaze medium in the bottom right corner.  It is hard to see (I am having to photograph in poor light) and it didn't work very well, here is a close-up.

I think part of the problem was that I did it on an already heavily textured area and perhaps blasting it with the hair-dryer to speed up drying wasn't helpful.

I will be trying this again in a future painting.

How This Painting Was Made

On stretched 300gsm watercolour paper, I applied some scrim, some modeling paste through a stencil as before, as well as some stitched canvas.  The stitched canvas, unfortunately, has not shown up well in the photograph, the relief is a lot more pronounced in the flesh.

Then many layers of paint, some stamped tissue over the stitched area to soften it, some text, some charcoal drawing, yet more paint and then the crackle glaze.

How to Use Crackle Glaze Medium

I used Marabu Crackle Medium, but there are several different ones on the market.

From what I understand, the method to use is to apply a thick layer of paint in a darker colour (or the colour you want to show through the cracks.  Allow it to dry, then apply a layer of the crackle medium, brushing in one direction.  Once that has dried (I left it an hour or so), apply a thin layer of the top coat of paint in a lighter colour, brushing in a different direction.  Allow it to dry and the cracks will form.