Pebeo Mixed Media paints are an incredibly versatile medium which I love for their abstract nature and the random colour mixing and patterns you can create. Using the Cerne Relief, on the other hand, you can make wells for the paint to collect in, controlling exactly where it settles, producing a stained glass effect. I wanted to use both of the above qualities for this project. I started by creating an abstract shape and then looked for a potential landscape within it, before using more of the paints to add detail and definition.
The first part of this project is what is known as a dirty pour, whereby several colours are poured into a cup before being applied to the support. DON’T mix the colours in the cup as we want any reactions to occur on the canvas. I added the Leaf Prisme, Apple Green Vitrail, Silver Moon, Pearl Moon, Caribbean Blue Prisme, Midnight Blue Prisme and Apricot Moon to the cup. For this size canvas I used about an inch of paint in the bottom of the cup. I slowly and carefully poured the paint in swirls around the canvas, leaving some gaps and spaces. I then used the palette knife to move the paint around, then waited for it to dry.
This waiting stage is important for two reasons; firstly, there is the obvious practicality of being able to work over the dry painting; secondly, we need to see how the image dries, in order to decide how and where to position the landscape. Drying takes around 12 hours. I could see a tree trunk on the right-hand side which gives me something to denote the scale of the painting. Working from this I also saw a bit of a waterfall, and an area where I could add a cottage. You may see something totally different!
Using the Black Cerne Relief, I began drawing into the painting. I started with the tree trunk and worked out from there, adding the waterfall and cottage, followed by the field and a fence. It is hard to see in this photograph, but all will be revealed as I start to add more colour once it has been left to dry for about an hour.
Using a cocktail stick, I carefully added some of the Pearl Moon paint to the house then used the Midnight Blue Prisme to create the shadow on the gable end and Apricot Moon for the roof. I also used these colours together on the tree trunks. Using the Midnight Blue Prisme and the Pearl Moon, I added colour to the waterfall. I used a mix of the Apple Green Vitrail and the Leaf Prisme to add more leaves to the trees.
Having left the painting to dry, I finally added some more blue, using a mixture of the Caribbean Blue and the Midnight Blue Prismes to the sky area, and to an area at the bottom to balance the painting.
If you have never used Pebeo Mixed Media before, the four different types of paint have very different properties:
Moon colours on their own are glossy pearlescent pigments. They have a great shimmer, and mix well together. They come into their own, however, when they are dropped onto the wet Vitrail paints. The Moon paint floats on the surface and craters will appear giving a moon-like surface, with the under-colour showing through. The paint needs a good stir before use as the active ingredients sink to the bottom of the jar in storage.
Prisme paints react in a very different way. As the active ingredient works, the paint separates into a honeycomb pattern. These paints are very exciting on their own, but also create amazing effects when mixed together. They need a good stir to incorporate the active ingredients.