You need to use Size to apply gold or metal leaf, and for the novice gold leaf student I recommend using a water-based size. It pours out white and can be applied with an inexpensive foam brush. Your goal is to brush on a thin but even layer of the size.
Notice the drips on the bottom right pear. Those are not good. Drips or puddles of size tend to encourage tarnish on your gold leaf. So, keep your eye on your pears and use the foam brush to battle the drips. Use the brush very lightly, feather-like, to take care of the drips as the size is setting to its tack.
Tack is very important to know about when you are applying any metal leaf. Tack is when the size is sticky and ready for metal leaf application. When the white size has dried to its tack it will be clear. This happens in 15-20 minutes with water-based sizing. Touch your first pear to understand what it feels like but try not to touch the tacky size on all your future projects. Any sort of contamination from your hands can also encourage tarnishing.
You may ask why is the gold leaf tarnishing??? Well, in fact we are using composition gold leaf. Real gold leaf won't tarnish but the composition leaf, not being true gold, is prone to tarnishing. Our goal is to minimize the tarnish effects.
And another great thing about water-based sizing is the tack stays tacky for a very long time and that means not so much stress about your gilding projects!
0 comments:
Post a Comment