I bought this handy tool years ago; want to know what is and how it helps me paint? You can find out next month if you’ve signed up for email updates!

ANSWER TO MYSTERY TECHNIQUE #63:

Both #62 and #63 use white fluid acrylic paint and part of a thin plastic bag to create texture. Last time, I put the white layer down first; this time, I started with a wet-in-wet layer of blue-gray with a little magenta. After it dried, I got the paper wet again and applied the diluted white on top of the dark layer. I then pressed part of a thin plastic bag onto the wet paint and manipulated the wrinkles in the plastic to vary the shapes. After the paint dried, I peeled off the plastic.

What’s the connection between this month’s technique and Mystery Technique #62? You can find out next month if you’ve signed up for email updates!

ANSWER TO MYSTERY TECHNIQUE #62:

 
I started by applying white fluid acrylic paint to wet watercolor paper. Next I pressed part of a thin plastic bag onto the wet surface, manipulating the wrinkles in the plastic to make varied shapes. After the paint dried, I peeled off the plastic and glazed it with thin wet-in-wet watercolor washes. While the watercolor soaked into the white paper, it only stained the top of the white acrylic shapes, making it easy to lift and manipulate with a wet brush.

Curious to know how this was done? You can find out about the special techniques I used if you’ve signed up for email updates; I’ll reveal the details next month!

ANSWER TO MYSTERY TECHNIQUE #61:

These are 4 different views of a volvelle demo I made for a workshop I taught last month. A volvelle allows you to add a surprise twist to your story by slowly dissolving one picture into another, and it’s all made out of paper! Interested in making your own? Helen Hiebert’s Playing with Pop-Ups has templates and excellent directions. You can find animated versions of 2 volvelles from a wonderful pop-up book about Leonardo da Vinci here:

https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/06/18/leonardo-da-vinci-provensen-pop-up-book/ read more »