| If you're just getting started with fabric painting, you | | | | directly to fabric to blend colors. |
| may not have heard of these two handy aids that | | | | To minimize color bleeding when you use |
| experienced artists rely on to make painting easier and | | | | water-thinned paints, mix fabric medium 5:1 with fabric |
| create better-looking painted pieces. They're called | | | | paint. |
| fabric medium and gel medium, and you'll be glad when | | | | What is gel medium, and how does it help with fabric |
| you've gotten to know them. | | | | painting? |
| What are acrylic mediums? | | | | Gel medium does some of the same things fabric |
| Fabric medium and gel medium are thick fluids made | | | | medium does: like fabric medium, it extends the drying |
| of the same kind of acrylic polymers that go into | | | | time of acrylic paints or inks, giving you a longer time to |
| acrylic paints, but without the pigments that give paints | | | | work on a painting and perfect your color blends. Gel |
| their colors. They look opaque when wet but are | | | | medium also serves several other useful purposes in |
| colorless when dry. Each one has a different role to | | | | fabric painting and textile arts. Gel medium comes in |
| play in enhancing your fabric painting. | | | | several different thicknesses and gloss or matte |
| What is fabric medium, and how can I use it for | | | | finishes. Use gel medium to: |
| painting? | | | | - Glue paper or objects to fabric for collages. |
| Fabric medium serves a number of useful purposes in | | | | - Create a permanent protective coating for collages |
| fabric painting: | | | | or paintings that is UV-resistant, water-resistant, and |
| - Dilutes or thickens acrylic fabric paints without | | | | non-yellowing. |
| affecting their color. | | | | - Seal porous surfaces before painting them. |
| - Slows down drying time so you can blend colors | | | | - Make any fabric into a do-it-yourself fusible. Just coat |
| without having to worry that they'll dry before you | | | | the back of the fabric with a thin, even coat of gel |
| finish. | | | | medium, let the it dry, cut the fabric to the desired |
| - Keeps fabric from stiffening as the paint or ink dries. | | | | shape, then use a press cloth to iron the gel-coated |
| - When colors are thinned with water, adding fabric | | | | fabric to the background fabric. |
| medium minimizes color bleeding. | | | | - Use as a substitute for gesso for painting with acrylic |
| - When you paint rough or heavy fabrics such as | | | | paints on canvas. Thicker gel mediums will show your |
| canvas, fabric medium helps the paint penetrate the | | | | brush strokes and help create a 3-D impasto |
| surface so you get good coverage without having to | | | | (dimensional) effect in your painting. |
| scrub the surface first. | | | | - Transfer images from paper or transparencies onto |
| How much fabric medium should I use? | | | | fabric. |
| For blending colors or extending wet time, mix the | | | | Where can I buy fabric medium and gel medium? |
| medium 1:1 with acrylic paint. Add more paint to get a | | | | Acrylic mediums mediums are available at art supply |
| more opaque look, and use more medium to achieve a | | | | or crafts stores anywhere. |
| more translucent effect. You can apply medium | | | | |