Pete got leafed

Rocky Shores   Kathryn Hansen  7.5x10.5  (c) 2013

many years ago i attended an art exhibit at a local gallery and saw the coolest thing ever! it was a pencil drawing with gold leafing accenting a male figure. ever since then i have been dying to try this technique...well 8 years later i finally did it!!!

sarah petruziello from cheaper than therapy posted information on how she gold leafed one of her drawings, so i followed her directions to a t! 

here are some of my observations about gold leafing a drawing: it's a REALLY messy process!! i had little bits of silver paper every where...i even found one inside my computer this morning! also i didn't have enough brushes...i need at least two more larger, very soft round brushes for sweeping away the paper that's not glued down (the little brush i had didn't cut it!). apply a thicker coat of adhesive...i went too thin on the application. only do this process during daylight hours as it's really hard to see where the silver leaf ended and the graphite started even tho i had plenty of lights on! and most of all, which sarah points out, embrace the flaws...in fact i actually really liked that it wasn't perfect (unusual for me!)!

supplies: silver leaf, brushes,  razor blade for scraping the paper off the bird and rocks, matte medium, adhesive and sealant

after i sprayed fixative on Pete, i applied a thin layer of matte medium

next came the adhesive, layering the sheets on top, then gently brushing away the leafing that wasn't glued down. 

most of the extra silver leaf is brushed off

fixed areas that didn't attach by adding more adhesive and silver leaf

and voila!! a silver leafed pelican! 

i wish you could see pete in person...it really does look pretty cool! i can hardly wait to see him framed up in a silver frame to accent the background!!

i will be trying my hand at this technique again with the next few drawings and hopefully perfect the process!