Lesson 1: Media for Walls and Hard Surfaces - Beyond the Usual
Glazes, Extenders and Driers
Glazes have two functions. One is to extend the drying time of ordinary fast drying acrylics so that you can blend them more smoothly. They can also make an opaque paint more transparent, allowing you to achieve some beautiful effects. Since basic clear glaze is available by the bucket (as opposed to the typical 2 oz. paint bottle) this really extends the paint, to the point where you can cover an entire wall using only a tablespoon or more of acrylics mixed with the much less expensive glaze. This stone wall was done almost entirely in glazes, allowing for interesting effects using a minimum of paint.
Glaze is a key ingredient in many faux finish techniques such as faux marble, where the realism of the veins depends on your being able to draw on a feathery vein and then brush back and forth over it to give the vein its characteristic blurred edges that fade to transparent. I also find it useful in creating realistic stone, where layered grays and browns need to blend into each other smoothly to create a realistic look. Ordinary acrylic paint dries far too quickly to accomplish this.
Glaze is also great for shadowing. Add a tiny bit of your shadow color to a larger amount of glaze and you have a transparent paint that can create your shadow lines, even if they fall over another element in the design.
Overall, using a glaze with paint produces a more painterly effect that straight stencil paint; the more realistic a look you want the more you may want to try working with glazes.
Water based glazes such as Plaid's Neutral Wall Glaze are best in stenciling as they are odorless, clean up with soap and water and while they give you time to work, don't remain wet and tacky for hours as do oil based glazes.
Hint! Stencil designer Victoria Larsen swears that liquid starch works as well as commercial glaze and is a whole lot cheaper.
There are also colored glazes available that will wash a tint of transparent color over a surface. These come in many plain colors as well as metallics. Using these glazes eliminates the need to mix acrylics with glaze and are excellent media for faux finish effects.
Many stencil paint companies offer "paint extender" in small bottles compatible with their line of paints. If you are only doing a small project this may be a more practical buy for you than a bucket of glaze - but it essentially is the same thing - a medium that will extend the drying time of the paint so that you can blend or do a bit of faux work.
On the other hand, you can also buy something called Japan drier that will make your paint dry much more quickly. If blending smoothly is not an issue, and especially if you are doing a long border and want to work quickly without fear of smearing just-completed work, this is a valuable medium for you. Japan drier added to acrylics makes the dry time so fast that you can lift an overlay and position a new one over it with no waiting time.
