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WITHOUT
GLASS: WORKS ON PAPER
In 1986 I began experimenting on a way to produce images
on paper that would withstand the elements, and that
can be displayed without glass. I sought a medium that
was non-yellowing, light fast and non-photo chemically
reactive. I looked for one that would be permanent,
at least to the extent that I could determine. The Sal-Zar
Mixed Media Medium™ seems to accomplish my goals.
In The Music Lesson by Katherine Weber’s her principal
character comments: “I hate glass…No
painter I can think of ever intended his paintings to
be viewed through a sheet of glass mounted a quarter
inch above the paint surface…The public doesn’t
know any better…Well what can I say? It’s
the same public that has come to accept sex with condoms.
The principles are quite similar.”*
Of special interest to artists are
the visual attributes that result. In many ways the
work resembles a print; this is because the edge of
the paper is exposed, since it is masked when doing
the piece. Oil pastels, charcoal, graphite, soft and
hard pastels can be intermixed in the Sal-Zar medium.
When dry they bond in the paper as the medium saturates
the paper. Spray enamels, that usually look harsh and
unattractive when applied, soften in the medium. This
mixture of materials allows the artist to create work
that is truly distinctive. This in no way implies that
the traditional pastel artist should give up the time-tested
manner of traditional application. Sal-Zar is a tool
for the artist to use. But there is more. Sal-Zar Medium
is also a medium when painting in oils, and as a final
varnish. As a non-yellowing complicated new-age resin,
it is a poly-varnish in chemical composition. The medium
works extremely well with wax, and as an encaustic painting
medium.
While you cannot use Sal-Zar with water
media, you can use Sal-Zar to coat the water media and
then apply oil on top. In this way the artist can create
mixed media work that has the advantage of oils as the
final coating.
HEALTH HAZARDS TO
BE CONSIDERED WHEN USING SAL-ZAR
Artists are notoriously careless when
it comes to their use of artist’s materials. Attention
to this problem has only recently occurred. The artist
interested in the steps to take to guard our health
when using pants should read the U.S Guidelines on this
or the steps outlined in technical books on the subject
of painting. Protect yourself if you use Sal-Zar. That
said, I must confess to be a consummate fool with respect
to that rule. But, you will have to forgive me as the
originator of the product and original guinea pig. But
don’t follow my stupidity. Use proper ventilation.
Sal-Zar is a petrol chemical, and contains petroleum
distillates. Poison, over time and guaranteed (so it
is said) to result in brain damage, memory loss, respiratory
problems, and death if abused. Don’t eat or drink
Sal-Zar, or fail to follow the warning on the label,
which confirms with the USA standards for health protection
from possible damage from the use or misuse of a manufacturer
product.
*The Music Lesson by Katherine Weber,
Published by Picador USA, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York,
N.Y. 10010 |
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