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A NOTE ABOUT MATERIALS
TEMPERA PAINT PRINTER PAPER MATS AND MATBOARD
Tempera paint is an opaque water- Another happy discovery for me was
based paint. Like water-color, it can A whole new world of “collage fodder” opened Crescent matboard pre-cut without
be softened with water once dry. up to me eight or ten years ago when I started
printing out curated photographs on plain openings in an11 x 14” size. I order
Acrylic paint, on the other hand, printer paper with my Epson inkjet. These packages of 25 sheets from a company
called Clear Bags for less than $10 for the
cannot be removed or manipulated images absorb beeswax wonderfully, and also whole package.
once dry. The advantage of this is support tempera paint for “veiling.”
that you can add layers without These matboards can be painted, gessoed,
disturbing the layer beneath. Acrylic, k and used for substrates in all kinds of
applied straight from the tube, dries projects. The boards come in other sizes,
rather like plastic so is very different as well. When you order an assorted pack,
from poster paint and the two you may get a bunch of different colors,
should not be mixed. but that’s kind of fun. You can paint them
white or back and start from there, or just
Poster paint is an inexpensive leave the original color and work with that.
version of tempera paint. It is water Or you can turn them over and use the
based, dries to chalky rather than a back, which is almost always white.
glossy finish, and is impermanent. it
remains soluble in water even after These 11 x 14” matboards are the bases
it has dried. for the workboards used in this eBook. And
you can actually use them to cut mats!
I love both kinds of paint for I love the velvety feel of regular old printer
different uses. And they can be paper. It is sturdy enough to stand up to a
used together - but separately. For certain amount of watermedia on the suface,
example, if you are working on a and it tears beautifully. Inkjet printing makes it
collage that is veiled with tempera easy to use your personal photos in your work.
paint and you want to make it more
permanent after it is complete, you Pigment inkjet prints on archival quality paper
can put a thin layer of matte acrylic could last with no visible fading for 75 - 400+
medium over it to seal it. years, depending on quality of framing and
display conditions. Espon Bright White Paper is
My favorite use of tempera paint is about $9 a ream (500 sheets). You can create a
as a base for beeswax - they work lot of custom collage fodder for that price!
beautifully together.
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