How I Work
My Panting Techniques.
My acrylic painting techniques include layering, where thin dry layers build up depth and opacity. Glazing, which uses thin transparent layers with a glazing medium to create depth; blending, gradually mixing colours for smooth gradients and impasto, applying thick textured paint with brushes or palette knives.
One main method includes extruding acrylic paint using recycled plastic bottles with different shaped nozzles to create string like lines and shapes. Other methods involve washes and drips with diluted paint for watercolour-like effects, stencilling for defined shapes, and dry brushing for soft, atmospheric textures like mist or clouds.
The Printmaking Techniques used:.
Hard and soft ground etching are intaglio printmaking techniques that use an acid-resistant "ground" to protect a metal plate from etching, with the differences in their application leading to different visual effects. Hard ground is a brittle wax-based substance applied by rolling, and artists scratch or draw into it with a needle to create fine, crisp lines that expose the metal for a clean, defined image. Soft ground, a more pliable wax and oil mixture, is applied to the plate and then covered with paper or objects, which are pressed down to create tonal areas or textured marks, resulting in a painterly effect reminiscent of soft pencil or crayon.
Intaglio is a printmaking method where ink is held in incised, or sunken, areas of a plate, creating the image when pressed onto paper. Common intaglio techniques include engraving, etching, drypoint, aquatint, and mezzotint, all of which involve creating grooves or marks on a surface (like metal) that retain ink while the raised surfaces are wiped clean. The process is the opposite of relief printing, where the ink is held on the raised parts of the matrix.
Aquatint is an intaglio printmaking technique that creates tonal effects on a printing plate, similar to watercolor or ink washes, by etching an acid-resistant material that is adhered to the plate in particles. By controlling the depth of the etch, printers can produce varying shades from light to dark, which is then combined with etched lines to create rich, shaded images. The technique involves a grain of rosin or other powdered acid-resistant material that is heated onto the plate, creating a porous surface that holds ink in a textured way to create tone.
Pastel drawing uses pure pigment mixed with a minimal binder providing a wide range coloured sticks or pencils. This versatile medium allows Kristina to apply effects by blending and layering colours onto the paper's surface, and utilizing techniques like hatching and shading. She can use the broad side of the stick for large blocks of colour and the tip for detailed lines and marks, so building up colour and value to create vibrant expressive images.