Paint and Scan
If you are as messy as we are, you are continually blotting your painting and wiping your brushes and paint spills. Keep a paper towel next to your water bucket to clean your brushes and when the towel becomes loaded with color, scan it and use it in your art. In addition to making a unique art element, you will have a clean studio. Before you scan, try embellishing the towel with the following ideas.
You can also stamp the excess paint from a stencil or stamp onto a paper towel or other surface for more visual interest.
Stamped towel
Stenciled towel
Crumpled towel
MORE IDEAS
• If the paint is still wet, spray or sprinkle some water on it to soften the colors.
• Crumple a paper towel and use it to blot your wet paint for texture, spread out the paper towel and let it dry for a cool pattern to scan.
• Make a laser/toner copy of your paper towel and use it as a gel transfer.
• Cut the paper towel into shapes for a collage; you can also resize it on a copier and alter colors with a photo-editing program.
QUANTUM DANCE
Sandra Duran Wilson
I always keep a panel, paper or canvas around to clean my tools with or to apply leftover paint. I call this my throwaway piece, and it often becomes my favorite piece. For this piece, I scanned my throwaway piece and then made a transfer decal. I applied it over a textured background and completed it with collage elements.