Resin Art Introduction for Beginners

Resin Art Set up Advice

-It is advisable to work at temperatures between 20°C and 30°C and to avoid high humidity days.

-Protect your work surface with a plastic sheet at least 30cm all around larger than your art piece.

Equipment List

• Spirit level for levelling the artwork.
• Disposable paint brush plus a rectangular plastic applicator, cardboard or something similar for spreading around resin.
• Safety googles, disposable gloves and an apron.
• Mixing jug or two, of 500ml capacity or more.
• Disposable mixing containers, round takeaway food variety.
• Clean-up fluid such as orange citrus-solvent, methylated spirits or other solvent.
• A Workspace that is well ventilated and dust free. A fan blowing from behind, diagonally across the work surface, away to an open door or window, greatly assists good ventilation.
• Four, 1cm high or more lifting spacers such as caps or wooden blocks, to elevate the artwork above the surface.
• Flat mixing sticks, such as a ruler or tongue depressor plus icy pole sticks for small batch mixes.

Scissors to cut one curved end off tongue depressors and icy pole sticks

Preparing The Art Work Space

Resin Art 609 as a coloured art medium.

Canvas, Fiber Board (MDF) or plywood, pre seal with gesso or acrylic undercoat, this assists resin flow. Surfaces larger than A4 in size will need a stiffening with a timber frame on the back.

Resin Art 609 as a clear glazing coat.

Ensure the artwork surface is dry, clean and free of finger prints before coating in resin, See below for various types of art:

• Oil painting - allow the recommended full oil paint drying time before resin coating.
• Acrylic Art - allow the recommended full acrylic art drying time before resin coating.
• Pastels – lightly spray several seal coats of a suitable craft sealer or varnish.
• Photos or paper collage work – seal with appropriate decoupage PVA type sealer.

Be aware epoxy resin will unavoidably run off over the edges of the artwork. Consider pre masking all edges with a low tac masking tape. The tape is removed when resin run-off has stopped, but before the resin has hardened.

We Recommend

Prior to creating a resin art piece, consider getting familiar with the processes by experimenting on a few scrap pieces of MDF wood.

Resin Artwork Set Up

Elevate the canvas artwork up off a plastic drop sheet covered work surface. Using bottle caps or wooden blocks risers. Tuck the risers in under the piece to avoid contact with any resin overflow.

Levelling is critical to avoid excess run off which can leave areas drained of resin. Set the artwork level using a spirit level, adjust the level using bits of icy pole stick or cardboard. Hide the pieces under the artwork away from resin run off.

Measuring Epoxy Resin (example)

Measuring Resin Art 609 using a jug. Measure in the jug 200mls of Art Resin 609 Part A (Resin) then 200mls of Art Resin 609 Part B (Hardener) on top. Next pour the 400mls into a suitable round mixing vessel that has straight sides and a flat bottom. Mix thoroughly with a broad flat stirrer.

Mixing Epoxy Resin

Mixing should be very thorough with a smooth mechanical motion, regularly scraping around the sides and across of the mixing container. Do not mix rapidly as this will create many bubbles in the mix. Ensure to blend in all the material adhering to the sides and bottom; this is most important. Mix for 2 to 3 minutes. Both the resin and hardener are clear initially but once the mixing commences the mixture will become cloudy or streaky, however, after proper mixing for a couple of minutes the mixture will then become clear and finally go streak free.

Next pour the mix out into several cups ready for colouring.

Tinting Epoxy Resin

Choose from Solid Solutions epoxy pigment pastes or Mica Powder and add the equivalent of one to several teaspoons of your selected colour into one of the cups with resin. Test the intensity of the colour when stirring it in with an icy pole stick and add more accordingly to achieve the colour you desire. Epoxy Pigment Pastes are very strong.

POURING - THE CREATIVE PART!

Pouring techniques vary but the following is just one popular method.

Pour out coloured resin over most of the surface leaving gaps for pouring in extra colours. Next introduce other colours. Colours can be spread about or blended by paddling them together using either a foam spreader, disposable brush, plastic putty applicator or a small square of cardboard. A variety of effects can be achieved by introducing other materials.

• Inks, dyes, pearl colours and metal powders, all for adding more colouring effects.
• Oil solvents and hand sanitiser liquids, cause cellular dispersion patterns.
• Solid Solutions’ new 3D Impact, creates amazing tactile vertical growth patterns.
• Solid Solutions’ new Free Flow Dyes applied over the top of wet resin creates organic like lacey patterns.

Individual artist techniques can also create effects;

Circular patterns can be achieved by squeezing liquids from a pipette.

Swirl colours by blowing through a straw which is effective where two or more colours meet.

Create patterns and fine lines by moving liquids and colours across the surface using a large nail or satay stick point.

Wash effects can be achieved by sweeping over wide areas using a flat edge blade or ruler.

Finishing off your Resin Art

Add extra resin if needed until the entire surface is covered with resin and there is overflow occurring at the edges. It is optional to sweep over the wet surface with a propane flame torch, releasing all air bubbles for the ultimate glass like professional finish. Sweep the flame 5cm above the surface, pass over at a rate of one second per 30 cm. Don’t dwell on any spot as too much heat can scorch the resin. Stubborn bubbles and any specks can be removed using a needle point.

The surface will slowly move and change appearance over the next hour until the resin starts to set. This is the time to slowly remove the masking tape from the edges. Subtle changes may still appear as the resin hardens over the next few hours as mother nature goes to work in having a hand in the final spectacular outcome.

Curing Epoxy Resin Art

Leave the painting to cure in a sealed room. The temperature must be a constant 20 degrees’ Celsius minimum. A very effective dust protection method is to set up a large panel of plywood or stiff cardboard 10 cm above the artwork to keep any insect or settling dust off the tacky surface.

Clean up 

Clean up any experiments with orange citrus-solvent, methylated spirits or similar material. Discard any paint brushes.

24 HOURS LATER, RETURN TO –

 A GREAT ART PIECE!