Abstract Landscape watercolor on Mitz Terraskin Stone Paper by Meera Rao
I was given a sample of Mitz Terraskine stone paper by an artist friend and I set out eagerly to experiment on it knowing very little about how paint behaved on the paper and not researching its unique qualities beforehand. I did not sketch anything on it and had a vague idea of a landscape design for composition. I discovered the paint floats on the paper like on Yupo, takes time to dry and is therefore a bit unstable and easy to get mud if I was not careful. The surface is not quite as smooth and slick as Yupo and has a faint tooth to it. Painting wet on wet, tilting paper to blend the colors gave layered effects and some unexpected results when the paint dried. Spritzing with water and alcohol in the sky area brought on wonderful texture. Paint can also be scratched off without ruining the paper. I found the paint texture on the Mitz terraskine stone paper had a bit of matt finish to it on drying.
After completing the piece, I found a great source of information on Cheap Joe's web site on their product information page. In the manufacture of this environmentally friendly paper no water or bleach is used and it is therefore acid free and archival quality. It is made from rock and resin, very tough, cannot be torn or creased and does not damage easily- though I did not test it! It is a multimedia paper and can be used with oil, acrylics or watercolor. The paper can bend nicely and can be stretched like a canvas on stretchers. Pencil and graphite marks do not erase well. Joe Miller used 'paint-erase rejuvinating sponge' to take some paint and watercolor pencil marks off the paper in his video demonstration. In another demonstration by D.D. Gadjanski, granulation medium was used with watercolor paints to get some beautiful texture. So watching those videos, I learned about two products I was not aware of before :) On the whole painting on Mitz Terraskin stone paper was a bit of a fun challenge and I hope to work on it in the future.
Abstract Landscape watercolor on Mitz Terraskin Stone Paper 5x7" by Meera Rao
http://www.cheapjoes.com/mitz-terraskin-multimedia-art-paper.html
