I get asked alot about my concern for the environment with spray painting. I do protect myself by wearing a mask (especially indoors). An alternative to paint is ink. There are several colors available through Ranger. I call them spray ink but it's really named Color Wash, and is a water based dye in a spritz bottle. They can give you some cool effects, but don't work in the same way as paint. After alot of experimenting I choose to mostly use them for backgrounds. Above is an example of a full sheet that I enjoy making and will cut down for various end uses.
Notice the alphabet (on the right), monoprinted like we talked about earlier this month.
If you use stencils the way I do with paint, then you know you can work fast because of the way the paint dries on the surface and the stencil. If you try to work the same way with ink you will bum out because the ink puddles on the plastic stencils and will drip off as you try to move it. Bleh! You could be prepared for a quick monoprint with another sheet of paper....that would sop up alot of the ink from the stencl before you move it.
It helps to know that sprayed ink will smear as it's water based. Use that information wisely. Be careful when using a glue to attach something over it...the gooby edges could get all weird and if your layered image is too thin the color might bleed through. Might be cool, but might be heartbreaking. The smear factor is cool if you want another look, spritz with water and pull a paper towel across it. Or be lazy like me and try spitting and smearing with your hand. Some smears below.
Stencilled or stenciled? Had to look it up. Now we know.
Lots of love being spread over on the Street Team. I'll post some of the cool arrivals to my own mailbox and front step in the next few days.
