Decalomania

Decalcomania

Decalcomania is a technique that I have discussed elsewhere on this blog
Here are some hints on how to use this technique, using examples of my own work

The strange rock formations shown above are created by spreading wet ink (I actually use bone black powder mixed with water) then applying paper, pressing it down then drawing it back carefully

With practice you can create amazing shapes. In the above painting I have added a photographic face to turn the shapes into a strange figure

The above painting used exactly the same technique but the tree shapes were created with a palette knife

You need to work fast for the bone black 'paste' dries quickly

You also need shiny white paper. Photographic paper is ideal but expensive but it does not absorb water too readily, allowing you to manipulate the 'ink' on its surface more effectively

If you combine both techniques (pressed paper + palette knife)  with colour you can create very interesting images - as in the 'Bramble Landscape'' shown above

Once dry, the surface is unstable and will need a spray varnish to fix it
I use normal hair spray - just as good and a fraction the price.
Best not use spays with perfume!

 These techniques work equally well in color - in this case,  a thin wash of poster paint

I will explain in more detail how this works sometime soon so do please visit this blog again

Mike Healey