Paint like Pollock

Ever since I took my Contemporary Art and Design Class I found that I actually like those abstract expressionism paintings. I used to think that people like Pollock and Rothko were talentless hacks. Anyone can do what they are doing. I never understood why would people want to create or buy art that looked like that. The class helped to expand my horizons. Since then I have come to love abstract expressionism. I have been exploring color field painting and found I really enjoy it. But i wanted to try something Pollock-esque. I finally broke down and bought Liquitex's String Gel.

I played quite a bit with it and created a small painting on a 16" x 20" canvas I had sitting around. I paint with acrylics on a regular basis, and I know my stuff. I typically mix about 50/50 medium/paint when I use gel mediums. That did not work with the string gel. I found that I had to mix about 25% paint and 75% medium. I needed more medium than paint. When mixed equeal parts of the string gel and paint I found that it did not led itself to pouring.  I found that the string gel didn't really lend its self to pouring even when I mixed it properly. Its tar like consistency just didn't lend itself to it. It would either just kinda plop onto the canvas and stay there ir stay on my pallet knife I was using to drizzle it on with. In addition it was also really transparent, which I didn't want. I wanted opaque paint. I found I could pour it but I needed a lot of it mixed up, cause there would still be like 1/2 of the stuff in my little pouring cups. It has a tendency to stick together and stuck to everything, thats why it makes a really nice stringy effect. I found that it worked best when I would fling the paint at the canvas. Of course makes a mess, so I was trying to fling paint and not get it all over my room. If I had access to a studio where it was OK to get paint everywhere and not an apartment, I think this would have worked out great.

Over all I recommend the string gel. However keep in mind, unless you have a really dense opaque acrylic paint to mix with the string gel, your mixture will be transparent. Also it is very glossy, I wish there was a matte version of this. I do not like gloss, it doesn't photograph good. Finally, it doesn't lend itself to pouring but rather being flung or thrown. Having a lot of space that you don't have to worry about getting paint on would be excellent.

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Yum, paper samples

I got home today and found I had a package waiting for me. It was some new paper samples I ordered from Mohawk. As a bookbinder I fell in love with Mohawk Superfine because there is a local supplier that sells it by the sheet and its relativity inexpensive. I ordered four different sample books (Superfine, Via, Loop and Strathmore writing pure cotton) and white and soft white samples to play with. Here are my initial opinions on the papers.



Mohawk Via: it has a bunch of nice pastel color and some very bright and bold colors. I do not however know why I would use the bright bold color, maybe as end papers. It does however offer a lot of different textures and of course weights. The smooth would be nice for pen and ink or any kind of printed project. I like the subtle texture of the vellum finish, I could see using for sketchbooks. You of course have your linen texture, which I am almost never a fan of and there is finally the felt. I really like the high amount of texture the felt has, it could make for some very interesting books. There is also a light cockle which doesn't excite me but the regular cockle seems like fun.

Mohawk Loop: I do not really see myself using these too much. The nice dark bold colors however could be great end papers. It does offer a wide variety of textures. It could be great for a crafty type art book. The silk coated paper is nice and glossy so it would be great for printed projects such as brochures and such. The Inxwell Vertical could also be a nice fun end paper too. It also has a 160 lb. cover weight too in 4 different colors. 

Mohawk Superfine: I use this stuff all the time in my book projects. It is one of my favorite papers. Its really nice because it comes in a 160 lb. smooth cover weight in ultra white, it is nice to find a paper that actually has a weight that heavy. Perfect for all sorts of printed projects that require a card stock. I am a huge fan of the eggshell texture. It has more texture than a vellum finish but not too much. To me its perfect.

Strathmore Writing Pure Collection: I used this one for a project that I wanted to have a high end look for. They offer it in a 100% cotton and a 25% cotton which when combined with the laid texture it has a great feel to it. It is however only offered in a writing weight. They do offer a bristol too in addition to a label stock too which can be used in a laser printer. There are also some really nice pretty pastel colors offered too.

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book press

I love to make books. Its sorta a hobby for me. Plus being a graphic designer Its fun to design them too. While most of the materials for book binding are pretty inexpensive, book presses, sewing frames, and the plough however are not. While I was reading some older books that are out of print now for many decades, I decided I would make my own book press, but I wouldn't just stop there. I would make an all in one press. My press would be a press, a sewing frame and a plough guide.
 
First off strength was important to me. I made sure to choose a hard wood to make my press. You can use pine but it bends too much for my liking. I decided on using Birch plywood and popular. Keep in mind I have already made this press and I will try to show step my step pictures if I can.
 
Materials:

• 3 pieces of 12" by 24", 1/2" thick birch plywood. (I got mine at a local art store, but most craft stores should probably carry it too. You can buy a whole sheet of birch plywood and cut it down, it is cheaper this way.)
• 2" by 2" peice of popular or other hard wood measureing 2' in length.
• 2 peices of 1/2" by 1 popular measuring 1' in length
• binders, davy or thick chip board. I use this just as a mat on the press, I want something that is both strong enough to handle a lot of abuse but cheap enough I can replace it. Self healing mats are too expensive to use for this.
• 2 bolts that measure 1/2" in diameter and are 6" long. Hardened steel should be use for the strength.
• 2 peices of 1' long 1/2" diameter threaded rod.  make sure it has the same thread count as the bolts and it is made of hardened steel too.
• 4 bolts that match the thread count for the bolts/rods.
• 4 wing nuts that also match the thread of the bolts/rods
• 8 large washers. also made of hardened steel.
• 2- 1/2" PVC couplers.
• Small peice of wood dowel. something like 1/4" thick and about 2' in length.
• 1" wide wood chisel. I am not using this to build my press but it will be part of the plough.

Tools

• Clamps
• Drill with a bit a little larger than 1/2" and another bit that is 1/4"
• Wood Glue
• possibly a saw to cut wood if you got wood that was too large.

The Press

Step 1

• Glue together 2 of the birch plywood planks using the wood glue. Clamp them together and let it dry for a few hours. I would personally wait over night to play it safe but a few hours should be good.

Step 2

• Set up the 3rd piece of plywood on top the other 2 and clamp them all together. DO NOT GLUE THEM TOGETHER. Measure 2, 1/2 inches in, on the short edge and draw a line runnign parrell to the edge. right in the middle of the line make a mark at about 6 inches. Go down to the corrner and make a mark along the line 1" form the edge. Do this for both sides. Finally drill through all 3 peices. You want the holes to all line up.

 
 
Step 3

• Remove the 3rd plank and then on the peice of popular drill a hole in the middle exactly 2-1/2" from the edge. The holes should line up the holes in the plywood.

Step 4

• Next glue the small 1/2" by 2" by 1' popular along the edge of the 2 plywood sheets that you glued together earlier. Clam them together and let them dry.

note on the left there are notches in the wood that I carved out. I made a mistake in measuring. yours should not look like that

 

Step 5

• Put the 6 inch bolts through the bottom of the press with a washer.

 

Step 6

• Cut a peice of binders / davy / chip board that is about 12" by 18". This will serve as a cutting mat

 

Step 7

• Set the 3rd piece of plywood on top through the bolts along with the poplar bar. Put 2 washers on top the the bar and finish it off with the wing nuts.

 

 

The press part of the Pernack All on One press is done. You can now start pressing books.

 

 

The Plough

Step 1

• This part is pretty easy. You need to remove the top plank and only keep the poplar bar in place.

Step 2

• What you would do is line up the pages of your book with the edge of the poplar bar. The bar acts as a guide for the chisel for the plough. Remember to keep the chisel sharp at all times.

Step 3

• The chisel will be our plough, you want to keep the flat side of the chisel against the poplar bar at all times. You will basically pull the the chisel towards you at an angle so only one corner is trimming the paper. This will prevent the chisel from pulling the paper and can causing an uneven cut. You keep pulling the chisel towards you, and with each pass the paper will be trimmed. When you are done your book with have nice even pages.

 

 

The Sewing Frame

 

Step 1

• You are going to start with just the base of the press.

Step 2

• Drill 1/4" hole in one side of the PVC coupling. You will do this for both couplings.

Step 3

• Look at the picture below, take your threaded rod, washers, nuts, wing nuts, and couplings and assemble them according to the picture.

Step 4

• Put the rods in the holes that are closest to the long edge of the press. from the understide add another washer and nut and tighten them. Make sure the holes in the couplers are facing each other.

Step 5

• Put the wood dowel into the hole on one of the couplers then slip the dowl into the hole in the other coupler. Then tighten up the wing nuts to keep it all in place.

Now the sewing frame is done. All you need to do is now is sew your book.

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Lets Talk Paper and Printing

Since I am known as the paper expert at work, I get asked all the time at my art store job, how is it that there are two papers that have the same weight but have different thicknesses.

First. Paper weight is determined by weighting 500 sheets of paper. A ream of paper is 500 sheets of paper. If a ream of paper weight 60lbs then that sheet of paper is known as 60lb paper.

Second. When the paper is weighed, it is weighed in its original parent sheet size. The paper may then be cut down into smaller sizes and sold in reams. This is why a ream of 8 1/2" by 11" copy paper does not weight 32lbs.

Third. Different papers have different parent sheet sizes. This is why two papers that have the same weight have different thicknesses. Two different reams are being weighed but the paper sizes are not the same size.

• Bond / Writing weight is 17" by 22"
• Book / Text weight is 25" by 38"
• Cover weight is 20" by 26" sometimes you see it as 26" by 40"
• Bristol 22.5" by 28.5" (while Bristol may have a weight to it, it is typically measured in ply. 1 ply, 2 ply, 3 ply, 4ply, etc.)
• Index 25.5" by 30.5"
• Newsprint is about 24" by 36"
• Art paper is normally 22" by 30". Some times you see it 30" by 44" this includes print making and watercolor paper by Rives, Arches, Magnani, Fabiano, Rising.

Another question I get asked a lot is what is the difference or the use for the different papers?

I usually answer this by what the paper's intended purpose is.

• Bond / writing paper is your typical printer paper. It is good for printing on with your home printer or writing on.
• Text / Book is what is commonly used by offset printers for the pages of a book, magazine, catalogs or etc. It is heaver, more opaque than bond paper. There is often a cover weight paper that matches.
• Cover is commonly used for things such as business cards, brochures or anything requiring a little bit heaver or stiffer paper. Cover weight normally has a matching book / text weight.
• Index is like Bristol except that it is not as stiff or thick. and it can be used for really stiff business cards, postcards and pretty much anything Bristol is used for.
• Bristol its great for covers for paperback books, cards, etc. It is a really stiff paper that gets it strength from having multiple sheets laminated together.
• Newsprint - this one is pretty self explanatory but newspapers.

Since I work part time in an Art Store I always get people asking why when they use a paper in their home ink jet printer it always comes out blurry.

Ink jet printers are basically water based printers and paper like to suck up water. So it tends to bleed and cause fuzzy edges. Some papers are meant to be used with injet printers and this includes gilcee, they have special coatings applied to them or even special stuff mixed into them to prevent injet bleeding. Now I do have a solution for people wanting to print on nontraditional media. Golden the company that makes high end acrylic paints makes a special medium that you can apply to paper to allow it to print in an ink jet printer. They also make a version that you can apply to non paper products that are non-porous such as plastics or metals.

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