Malachite By Veronique Rigaud
Malachite : Very easy :

you need :

  • - medium
  • - lavender oil
  • - different kinds of green-colored paints
  • - sponges (pink round ones)
  • - a ticket for the Parisian underground ! (Did you not want a French recipe ? if not : take a business card, but I'm not sure about the result... No, I am joking, it will work too)
1. Sponge the whole background with a somewhat "flashy" green color (ex : malachite green or Veronese from Schjerning or Palissy from Ceradel or... whatever you want). It has to be uniform. Mix your paint with the medium MX 54. The layer has to be thin but it doesn't matter if it is not perfectly sponged.
Fire at 820°C
2. Paint the whole surface with a thin layer of three-colored patches : mostly dark green, some very dark green and a few black ones. (paints + medium + lavender oil which prevents the mix from drying). Soften the whole lot with a sponge but be careful not to unify too much. The three different colors should still be visible.
Now : take several tickets (or cut rectangles of different sizes in your business card) and prepare them :

- fold some of them in two and cut the fold with a knife. Not with scissors : it would be too cleanly cut and it is the mini-irregularities that will do the trick.

- on other ones cut little nicks very close to each other.

Apply the cut side of anyone of them on your paint and spin it on itself to draw a circle. Most of the time, you won't be able to make a whole circle twisting your hand. It does not matter : stop when you cannot turn anymore.

Clean the extra paint from the ticket on a cloth and start again where you last stopped. It gives a kind of "breaky" effect to your drawing as malachite is full of fractures.

Circles can overlap each other, be separated, have different sizes (according to the size of the scrap of card). Just play with the circles, warp them. If you do not like it : sponge it and try again.

The big problem : is thickness. And you have to be very careful about that. If you see thicknesses you have to sponge them very gently. They may appear even if you think you have cleaned your card very often and you do have to soften them.

Second and last fire : 800° C

I hope it is understandable in English. Up to now I have always shown it and never explained it. So, in English in addition... But it is a try ! And GOOD LUCK !

Veronique

Note from Marci: you can use any medium you are used to and to translate the Centigrade temperatures into cones, visit our PPIO website...LIBRARY page. There is a cone chart there. )