A Shiny Affair
Resin. You gotta love it.
Unless you hate it.
I have a conflicted relationship with epoxy resin.
Artists use epoxy resin to create a thick, clear, typically high gloss finish or layer. Think gel medium on steroids. Some artists tint their resin to create highly fluid, flow paintings, like Bruce Riley, Mitch Gobel and Bree Ramirez.
I first started using resin when I was exploring alternatives to encaustic paint. Encaustic paint is wax based and creates amazing translucent layers that literally create a physical depth to the artwork. I love the depth but found encaustic paint (which must be applied with heat) was not always compatible with the vintage papers I tend to use in my work. I wanted a material that would help provide archival protection to the papers and create a barrier so that I could aggressively sand, scrape and weather the layers of paint that I add to the artwork. So I began flirting with resin.
Resin can be a fickle partner. It requires good ventilation and even before COVID days, it required wearing a mask or preferably a respirator. (I am kicking myself for letting my studio supply of N-95 masks dwindle down to one measly little mask last February.) Resin requires space, lots of floor or table covering, a dust free environment and my arch nemesis—patience.
After prepping your piece (free of any dust or residue), you mix equal parts of the resin and hardener for three minutes (it seems so much longer when you are stirring). Next, you pour the mixture on your piece and start spreading the goo around evenly. You definitely want gloves for this part and I swear the stuff just seems to get on everything. Definitely move anything you love or might be tempted to grab during this phase (i.e, your cellphone) unless you want to sacrifice it to the resin gods.
The next step is key: use a torch to eliminate the air bubbles which will continue to appear and disappear over the next hour or so. It’s a little like a game of Whack-A-Mole played with a crème brulee torch. This is the part that takes a bit of patience. You want to keep checking on it and eliminating those bubbles as much as possible to ensure a smooth finish. Ideally, you would cover the piece (without touching it) to prevent any dust or small particles from settling on the resin. If anything settles onto the resin, it is going to stay there unless you sand it out.
Once it is fully baked (full cure is 72 hours), the resin becomes a clear layer that is almost impossible to remove. Many artists love the high gloss look and leave it at that. I prefer something a bit less shiny and often add another layer of paint in some or all areas of the artwork.
Resin is not super environmentally-friendly, although my favorite brand Art Resin has virtually no fumes and stays very clear (unlike some brands that yellow over time). Once it sets, it is going to be here until the next Ice Age. The process is messy, gross and smelly. Pretty much each time I do a resin pour I swear I will never do it again.
And then one day, one of my prior resin pieces will bat its eyelashes and whisper, “I can’t stop thinking about you,” and there we go again.
To be sure, resin artwork is seductive, a bit mysterious and a real crowd pleaser.
If you want to see how I use resin, take a closer look at “Congealed” which incorporates vintage Jell-O advertisements. Did I really have any other choice but to use resin to to capture that Jell-O jiggle?