Techniques & videos.

Colour mixing

A wonderful way to teach young children how colours work.

1. Blend two colours together with your fingers.
2. Wipe your hands clean before the next colour, just like a brush.
3. Build colour charts: a primary, then a second colour worked into it, then secondary and tertiary mixes.

Impasto

Soft enough to build a thick, vibrant, textured painting on canvas or canvas board, without the bulk or drying time of oil paint.

Shading

1. Fix a graphite drawing with Non-Drip Varnish and let it dry.
2. Add a few marks of pastel.
3. Rub them out with paper towel for soft, watercolour-like shading.

Layering & collage

1. Pre-mix colours in small squeeze bottles.
2. Apply over a drawn design, letting each layer dry.
3. Pour or drip enamel, then cut the dried skins into shapes and collage them back in with clear enamel.

Painting

Transparent and self-levelling, so it makes a brilliant glaze. Work wet-into-wet over charcoal or pastel, or over acrylic. It re-wets with water, so you can come back to a piece later.

Tip: it will run on a vertical surface.

Stained glass effect

1. Outline your design on an acrylic or perspex sheet with PVA glue thickened with pigment.
2. Fill each shape with enamel from a squeeze bottle.
3. Once dry, peel it off and hang it where light shines through.

3D collage

The clear enamel doubles as a strong glue and seal. Set found objects, minerals, bronze powders or interference pigments in place, then encase them in enamel.

Plastic casting

1. Fill an open mould with enamel, then pour it out, leaving a thin skin.
2. Dry it with a heat gun or hair dryer.
3. Repeat to thicken, then back-fill with plaster or resin to finish the form.

Relief rubbing

Lay paper over a leaf, corrugated cardboard or a textured rock, then drag the broad edge of the block across it. Layer several colours and try different papers.

Drawing

The hard, domino shape makes lines, hatching and broad shading easy. Try working on a pre-coloured surface and draw quickly and confidently.

Blending

Blend with a cloth, tissue or strong paper towel. Used with great results by everyone from preschoolers to professional artists.

Drawing & painting

Draw with it like an oil pastel, then extend the drawing with a water-loaded brush.

Gouache & impasto

Rich pigment lets you move from delicate washes to strong colour, contrasting transparent and opaque areas like gouache.

Water colour washes

Because it dissolves in water, you can bring in brushwork for both broad gestures and fine detail.