How to distress leaf ?

[Katie Fitz]

I’m working kinks out on a piece I eventually want to do on canvas with distressed leaf. I’m trying to figure out the best way to take leaf off and make it look like it’s rubbed off or flaked off.

On the sample board on the gird lines and intersections, I didn’t put any size on at all, lightly sized it, or put it on blotchy so that the leaf would come off during burnishing. Well, that was the plan. The leaf really stuck on the latex background paint even where there was no size. Some places flaked off reasonably well, but the rest stuck where it wasn’t supposed to.

I took 600 grit sandpaper and worked on the seams to get some of the leaf off, but it just looks like someone sanded the leaf down, even with a light sanding of the entire surface.

Anyone have suggestions for the best way to make leaf look distressed (worn and flaked – I’m not talking patina). Thanks!

[lynne]

what kind of leaf? what kind of size?

karat leaf distresses easily and beautifully if you use oil size.
it's difficult to make a nice distressed look with composition gold, especially with wunda or aquasize. you can try steel wool 0000 but becareful not to rub so hard as to tarnish it. and you do still have to seal it when finished.

[KathyFakesIt]

You have the right idea - I have found that putting it on with a sea sponge gives you a very distressed, but clean look.

Normally people use 0000 steel wool to distress, but there have been recent discussions on FF that the steel wool bits left over will tarnish.

Here's a pic with the seasponge application

[KathyFakesIt]

oops, Lynne and I were posting at the same time.

BTW - this is compo leaf

[Katie Fitz]

I’ll use gold leaf later, but while I’m working out the kinks and technique, I’m just using some cheap composite leaf I picked up at a craft store years ago called “Magic Leaf!”. Off-brand at 5.5”, which I didn’t discover until after I marked in the grid at 5” and sized. And that’s what test boards are for. The size is Aquasize.

Thank you both for the input.

Kathy, your sea-sponge example looks good – I just need to localize that affect along seams and intersections. It will be an interesting exercise in solid vs spotty size.

[KathyFakesIt]

Just tape out the areas where you want the distressed look, then apply size by tapping lightly with the points of the seasponge. Gild, seal, then move on to the rest of the surface. You might want to tape off the completed arears because if you get size on the gild it makes it dull.

Tip: - remove the tape for gilding, then reapply the tape to seal.

Or roll on the size up to the areas you want to distress, then apply the size with the seasponge at the seams or what have you. If the seasponge size application overlaps the rolled on so what?

Now having said that - you might create a texture for the gild with size applied with the seasponge - not sure if that's desirable or not.

[Katie Fitz]

Hmmm . . . You've got me thinking. I wonder if a removal technique with size would work. Roll size on everywhere, then use the sea-sponge and dab in areas where I want to distress to remove size. Could be easier, could be a wash. But perhaps something to test . . .

[sonol'artista]

Katie....nice to see you are up to something interesting! I would also use the sea sponge to dab on the size. Hard to beat the random look it gives. Good luck!

Theresa

[Katie Fitz]

Thanks, Theresa. Yeah, interesting. It's a gilding/painting thing that is definitely stretching my skill set. But what's the point of taking classes if you don't try to use all that knew knowledge.

[KathyFakesIt]

I've never tried that - let us know if it works. What's the solvent for size?

[Katie Fitz]

Kathy, right now I'm using Aquasize, water based, so the solvent is, uh . . . water.

[lynne]

the solvent that will take off aquasize is denatured alcohol.

frankly i think if you are willing to do this in real gold leaf, practicing with compo leaf will not help you much. it's a different material that requires much different handling.

[KathyFakesIt]

[msarts]

I was gonna say what Lynne already said...your dutch metal will act very differently than real gold leaf, and your size application for each is different, so once you've got your technique down, hone it with real gold before you do the job.

[Katie Fitz]

Actually, I’ve compiled a neat list of factoids from this so far:

Don’t assume you have standard sized leaf if it’s been sitting in your garage for 5 years.
Do measure.
Don’t use sand paper on leaf.
Do use 0000 steel wool.
Don’t use a chip brush on size for a flakey looking leaf.
Do use a sea sponge.
Aquasize, despite it’s name and no cleanup instructions on the bottle, is denatured alcohol solvent.

Yeah, will definitely play with the gold leaf on sample board before going for the canvas. But . . . this is one of those projects in between other project sort of things, so slow going.

[lynne]

there is no alcohol in aquasize. but you may use alcohol to remove it or clean it up. you may also use denatured alcohol to clean or remove acrylic paint, but not necessarily to thin it.
aquasize is acrylic and may be thinned with water.
it is still mordant (oil) gilding, not water gilding.

a solvent is not necessarily what is in the paint/size/varnish, but what cleans or removes it.


i would NOT recommend putting alcohol on your sponge or sponging your size on for the finish you are trying to achieve. a sponged size job will give a nice flakey-broken leaf finish but will certainly not replicate "distressed" gilding.

sponging on alcohol will likewise do nothing to create a distressed effect like the one you are asking to do. to get that effect you are going to have to gild a nice grid, then rub some of it back along the edges of the leaf.

[Katie Fitz]

Lynne,

Much thanks for having me up to your studio yesterday. You're a generous font of information and so generous with your time! (And I would kill to have all that natural light coming in your windows.

After leaving your place, I drove up the street to have a cup of coffee with my brother. His comment: "Boy, that's an expensive piece of paper." But then, he's a sound guy.

See you next month for class.

[lynne]

my pleasure, katie
see you in class next month!!

[strongv]

you're smart to take a class to understand what you are working with.

what you posted is very misleading.

Don’t assume you have standard sized leaf if it’s been sitting in your garage for 5 years.

I'm not sure what sitting in your garage for a time has to do with it except that you may have forgotten what you bought... It is good to not assume that comp leaf that has been sitting for five years is still perfect or usable to the edges, however. It can tarnish in the package if the conditions are right.

The smaller leaf is usually the real stuff, but people have been known to cut comp down to make it look like real. Keep your labels on your product.


Do measure.
good one...

Don’t use sand paper on leaf.
You CAN, it just scratches it. If scratched is what you're looking for, you're there.... double leafed and then lightly scratched can mimic a brushed finish.... so think about what you want to do.

Do use 0000 steel wool.
not so much, see above about scratched... but if you need to remove it, nylon scrubby should work just as well and won't leave shreds of iron/steel to rust.

Don’t use a chip brush on size for a flaky looking leaf.
Depends on how you use it. The mark makes the look. Think about it... the gold should ONLY stick to the sized area (there are exceptions but not to bother here)... if you stipple the size, you get little flicks and flakes of leaf sticking. This is one of the really cool things about gilding.

Do use a sea sponge.
If that's the look you want.... go for it.

Aquasize, despite it’s name and no cleanup instructions on the bottle, is denatured alcohol solvent.
Aquasize's solvent is water, but it is a polymer and will resolve with a more aggressive polar solvent like alcohol. Water and alcohol are missible, but alcohol is more 'active' in the short run, than water. (water is actually the 'universal solvent', but that factors in time)

this is on the fly... but you see my drift?

I envy you going to the class... there is a world to learn!

[strongv]

I forgot to add.... Marlow distressed with a leaf blower???? He said that at the wrong angle it removed the leaf (I'm guessing from the edges of each square) and at the right angle it pushed it nicely down and removed the skewings.