Firecolour - A new art medium

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Firecolour - A new art medium

Heather's portrait - heat , patinas on copper sheet

Process:
1. Anneal to dark gray / black
2. Erase back to copper with torch and etching.
3. 'Bloom' exposed areas with torch to desired colour
4. Refine blacks with chemical patinas & water resists.


Paula's picture

do you put a finish on this

do you put a finish on this technique?
Paula
Guthrie, MN


visitor's picture

Qualities of preservation :

No finish necessary . Chemical layers interfere with the refraction (colours) . I have some sealed plexiglass frames to completely isolate the copper from oxygen , but haven't found them necessary after 6 years of careless storage , still vibrant as ever !.


NELSON's picture

Hi Colina, and welcome to

Hi Colina,
and welcome to the Artmetal family. Your heat painting is amazing indeed. The details, tones, designs, show a depurated technique. The furthest I`ve got with some copper heat tinting, turned dull in a few weeks. I do a bit of Cu sculpture and would like to give it some tint highlights. As I`ve checked the internet to find out what to apply to preserve beautiful rainbow tones, nothing is really said. Another thing that surprises me a lot, is your generosity openly showing how people could apply techniques that might have taken you so long to discover and learn well. I`m sure your kindness will be well retributed wherever you stand. Nelson.


visitor's picture

Hi Nelson , name's Colin ,

Hi Nelson ,
name's Colin , and thank you , It's nice to be among artists of such high caliber here. Re ; heat tinting , the flatness of the sheet is essential for lasting and varied ' rainbow colours ' , just as the flatness of puddle water with oil on it will produce beautiful light refractions .
As I was saying in the above comment , exposure to oxygen is the key factor , "greening" copper is a very slow process even in outdoor conditions as you probably know . Anneal and "fire paint " your sheet , keep it indoors and it will preserve as long as any comparable medium under similar circumstances .
As far as sharing the techniques I don't mind because A) There is so little real interest in what I do that it's not a danger ;) B) I challenge people to take it further than me! Show me something new I can add to my repertoire . C) that's what I figured this site was about , exchange .
I appreciate your sound questions and hope I answered them clearly , thank you ,
Colin


SteelyJan's picture

Welcome Colin!!

wow...and thanks for sharing this with us. I've never seen anything like it before. Your "painting" is amazing!!!
beautiful colors...I don't work with copper but would like to experiment with this someday!!!!SteelyJan


colinalexander777's picture

Experiment today !!!

I hope you do try this out , all you need is

1. copper sheet 12oz
2. propane torch
3. conventional oven .