Art Class: Petroleum Resist Technique

 

This week we’re going to learn a really fun, and easy acrylic resist technique using – what else – petroleum jelly!

Materials needed:

• Acrylic paint
• Petroleum Jelly
• Cleansing clothes

Here’s the general idea of the application: you will apply petroleum jelly with your fingers (since it’s hard to clean from brushes) to the areas that you do not want paint applied to. Next, you will paint all over everything. Once dry – and it’s very important that it’s completely dry you can wipe away the jelly using some sort of cleansing cloth: baby wipes, face wipes, ect. And – tadda! That’s it! Simple! Right?

Now for the demo :) I am starting with an ‘already-in-progress’ piece.

I’ll start with some progress pictures, and then show you the resist demo. There are collage and mixed media elements to this painting.

As you can see, I’ve already applied two layers of resist. We are going to now add the third and final layer.

1. Apply the petroleum jelly to the areas that you would like preserved. Thicker the better, you don’t want any paint to get through.
2. Apply paint to your piece. Wait until dry
3. Wipe off and enjoy!

Golden Aspiration – Mixed Media on 5x7” canvas board.

As you can see, you can layer the resists to create neat effects.