November 25, 2012

Making Hand-Toned Paper




With a hand-toned paper, using pigments and a glue size such as gelatin, we can have the most beautiful range of hue and value as background for painting or drawing. The irregularities of color and finish add character to the paper, just as hand dyed wool is more interesting than wool that is commercially vat dyed. I have a drawing project in mind (more on that soon) for these intensely colored papers. I will be using egg tempera, but I've used ink and gouache in the past.




I was thinking of Indian miniature painting while making these, and though I wasn't trying to copy their colors, they influenced me a great deal.




A glue is mixed with the pigment in order to fix it to the paper. I use ordinary food-grade gelatin, available in any supermarket. A small box of Knox gelatin contains 4 paper packets, each 1/4 oz. For this project I dissolve 1/2 oz gelatin, which is two little packets, in 18 ounces of water. So that it dissolves completely evenly, I heat the mixture gently over steam in a double boiler. It's useful to have some steam handy if the gelatin/pigment mixture starts to congeal, as it did several times during my work session. I just put the mixture over steam for a few moments and it liquified again. You don't want it steaming hot though.




My small enamel dye pots are perfect for this project, since I don't want to use anything that would later have food in it, which would not be a good idea. I put some pigment paste, here Caput Mortuum, into the pot; you can also use powdered pigments. I get all my pigments from a great supplier, Kremer Pigments; they have a store in NYC and also an online store here. For brushing the color onto the paper I have a couple of soft, synthetic hair 2 inch brushes. You can mix any color you'd like, dark or light in value. Many people like subtle grays, or light tones, which also look beautiful.




I add enough of the dissolved gelatin to make a fairly liquid paint, since it's easier to get an even tone with several thin layers than one or two thick ones. This is the paper with one layer of color.




And here it is with one and a half. I used some gorgeous handmade watercolor paper, with a rough surface, by Twinrocker, which I've had in my flat files for years. The paper curves while it's wet, but flattens quite well once it is dry, so there's no need to stretch it; that way you can paint clear to the edge, with no white border.




Here is one of my finished sheets, 15 inches square, made by painting 5 or 6 layers of the pigment/size mixture. Its imperfections and variations breathe life and air into the color, and make it a very enticing surface to work on.


12 comments:

  1. Pretty deep and rich...great saturation of the color, it seems, from the images here. Bravo.

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    1. I was in the mood for saturated colors that day; I may try some tints in future, as I did when I used this method years ago. I'm glad you like them.

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  2. Thanks Altoon. i have to get your book. I have seen artists add gesso to tint paper but that dulls the rich color so much. That is used for silverpoint. they also added coffee, tea and cumin to get colors. i do not know how stable those are.

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    1. Alicia, my book is available online (see the link on the right sidebar) and you can download an excellent pdf using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page on the google books website. As for using odd materials, I don't think that they are permanent; I think it's better to stick with pigments.

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  3. Yes, I have been looking online at your book which is very helpful. No mystery. I agree, stay with pigments. I did a workshop at the Art Students League once and they were coming in with blueberry, coffee and turmeric paper and I only demonstrated using pigments!!
    Thats all I would use any way. OH thanks again for that Mantegna, unforgettable. Now I want to use pigments and gelatin, I havent done it yet.

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    1. I"ve never tried distemper; let me know how you like it if you give it a try.

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  4. inspiring and beautiful, looking forward to the drawings! thank you once again for sharing your processes and various inspirations.

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    1. Thanks, willemien. I'll post the drawings in a few days or so. I think they'll be a surprise.

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  5. I love the saturation of color here that you've achieved with the gelatin + pigments. I've been painting a lot of paper with watercolor and ink, but don't get that deep rich, velvety quality. Time to hit goodwill for some enamel pots! Thanks--

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    1. I've been happy with the color, Hannah. I imagine it would be hard to achieve saturation with watercolor, being that it's such a transparent medium. Good luck if you try this.

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  6. Hi Altoon, I have been like a mad chemist this summer, painting papers for collages - so I was glad to be reminded of your toned paper process, thank you! I have used matte medium and mixed in pigments, also tried some ground spice powders - cinnamon and curry - they add a lovely fragrance, but I also wonder how permanent they would be. I'm going to cut a piece of each spice sheet and leave them on a sunny window sill for 6 months or so, and see what happens.

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    1. Suzanne, good luck with your experiments. I think that some natural colors are quite fugitive, while others might last. Several years ago I dyed some wool for a textile using onion skins, and the color hasn't faded.

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