Paint Without Boundaries

Pebeo... I'm not sure where to give credit here but Pebeo is a French company.  When going to their website you will want to investigate their Creative Leisure tab and look at glass painting and multi surface reactive paint. I have been able to buy this paint at my local Michaels. So this is where I begin.

There are no limits with this paint so get out the acrylics, squirt top fabric paints, gesso, Dimensional Magic Mod Podge, Clear Tacky Glue, alcohol, Goo Gone, old paint brushes, plastic palette knives, painters tape and don't forget the canvases. You'll want several on hand because once you start you won't want to stop!!!

My first piece of Pebeo art was in the original controlled style. You would use Pebeo's Cerne Relief to make outlines in which to pour your glass paint into. The paint runs and needs an edge. I traced my design onto my canvas and traced that line with Cerne Relief. I have discovered since then that you can simply use squirt top fabric paints for this in a matching or complimentary color and save a lot of money!

I used many other techniques with this painting but this was my first experience using Vitrail & Fantasy by Pebeo. The wonderful thing about this paint is how it reacts when combined. Honestly the website will tell you exactly what the individual paints do but I'd like to focus on the end results. Two types of reds are filling the letters and two blues, one Vitrail and one Fantasy. I will say that the Fantasy, Prisme & Moon have minerals inside that move the paint around in unique ways. The Vitrail does not but reacts uniquely also.

My next painting was similar, a combination of Pebeo's used over dry acrylics.

Next I used a technique I like, to get canvas texture. I run tape around the outside of my canvas to form a high edge. This keeps paint from running off the edge. I use this technique a lot with the Pebeo paints. For this one though I used it to prepare my canvas ahead of time. I poured a thick layer of gesso on the canvas and allowed it to dry. (This takes several days and it helps if it's in front of a heater.) The thick gesso cracks when it drys which is what I want.

Once the gesso was dry I went to work painting, splashing and blobbing Pebeo paint all over my canvas.

Here are two more examples of the gesso and painting techniques...

If that seems too complicated for you but you still would like to try the Pebeo paints, this may be for you. Start with a small canvas, tape the edges (run your finger around to make sure it's sealed) and pour on your Pebeo. I always work over coated craft paper or a plastic table cloth. White, blue, red and yellow will swirl into every color. It's best to put a layer of white on first and then your other colors because using dark colors gives very dark results. Now pick up your canvas and tilt, swirl and go side to side. When you get the look that you want, set it down on a level surface and it should be mostly dry by the next day. Carefully take the tape off and allow to dry for a couple more days.

These pieces come out smooth as glass and always amazing.

Pebeo is an oil based paint that I have discovered cleans up great with Goo Gone. (Make sure you clean up with soap and water after because Goo Gone will ruin your Pebeo.)

Ok, this next technique is even easier than the last. You shouldn't need to tape your edges for this. Get your white acrylic paint out, we are painting impasto! Pebeo reacts great with acrylic paint when it is applied together with a palette knife. Use a piece of coated craft paper or tin foil as your paint palette.

I love using this technique to paint waves.

This last one is using the thick gesso technique of making canvas texture, then wiping on Vitrail by Pebeo and once that's dry, pouring on a thick layer of Clear Tacky Glue. Smaller canvases make very unique patterns of shrunken gesso!

 I mix Pebeo paints with Dimensional Magic Mod Podge and Clear Tacky Glue to get different reactions. I pull out the spray bottle with water or alcohol to open tiny holes in my paintings. So hopefully you see that you should feel free to experiment in any and all ways with this extraordinary paint!