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For artists and collectors sponsored by Intercal...your mohair supplier and Johnna's Mohair Store
ToadBriarOne of my bear books - Encyclopedia of Bear Making, or ABCs of same -
recommends Dye Na Flow by Jacquard to paint on mohair while retaining
a soft texture. Anyone here used it? Is it as good as it looks? I can order
it for a pretty good price through Amazon.com but I'd rather not do so if
I can get just as good effects from stuff I've already got! But this LOOKS
like neat stuff that gives an effect similar to dye, as opposed to airbrushing,
except it stays where you put it.
Also I am intrigued by the dry-brush oil paint shading technique described here!
I have also seen Shiva oil sticks used for fabric painting on cotton, by Art
Quilters. I have Grumbacher Max water mixable oils, they are great! But I
have only used them for making paintings (so far)
When I was first taught to paint using oils, we were told that we primed the
canvas with gesso partly because oil directly on the canvas fiber would eventually
'eat' & degrade the cotton. (I don't know how long 'eventually' takes - 10 years or
50 years or 400 years?) but this info has made me wary of using oil paint directly
on any unprimed natural surface like cotton, etc. Now I am hearing all these neat
ideas for using oil on textiles, but no one seems to mention the conservation aspect
of it that I was taught in my distant youth. Is it being overlooked, or was my art
teacher wrong all those years ago? :lol:
Anyone who uses this technique, what is the oldest bear or other project you've
used oil on?
thanks!
LuxembearsHi. toadbriar. Welcome to the forum!
I do quite a lot of pianting via airbrushing on my mohair and real fur bears and other critters. I can tell you that airbsuhing with Golden Brand liquid acrylics and Liqutex and Createx acrylic paints work with remarkable results. Great color fastness and they do not feel painted at all. There is more information in the Teddy Talk Library. I'll be abck with the link
Here they are:http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=2197
http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=357
http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=2268
http://www.teddy-talk.com/viewtopic.php?id=611
I hope that you will find these useful.
PLease let us know.
Wild Thyme OriginalsI like to use a water based acrylic.... thinned with water. Acrylic dries through the basic old process of evaporation of the water contained in the paint. I love the whole range of the Jacquard paints... Dye-na-Flow is a very watery liquid, you can use it in very sparing amounts to shade a bear.. both the backing and the mohair.... I let it dry for a while, then brush it through to blend it into the mohair.... then heat set with a nice hot hair dryer. I also love the Lumiere paints by Jacquard, very light bodied with fairly fine pigment particles, so it doesn't "gunk up". Both can be heat set with a hair dryer on high, and I've found them to be quite permanent.
I know that Judi uses lots of different brands of acrylics in her air brush work... which you should absolutely check out... it is blow your mind astounding!!!! So. she may be more familiar with the brands you are thinking about. Go the links that Judi posted above and you'll see what I'm talking about!
If you are interested in the Jacquard products and don't wish to purchase them on line... they are often carried in specialty quilting supply shops, since they do work so incredibly well on cottons and silks.... I know they are in the quilting area of our local craft store, rather than in the area that has painting supplies..... Quilters have done some astonishing things with this stuff.
Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals
Posts: 3,177Hi Toadie - i'm afraid that i can't help you with this as i can't quite get the hang of all the different paints available out there, but........
Hellooo anyway, welcome to Teddy Talk
good luck with the airbrushing
Penny 
LuxembearsKim, You sure have some knowledge in oils paints. I learn something new every day!! Thanks for sharing!!
Donna's Duin BruinsKim,
A friend needs to paint white socks on a black critter. Will your paints give a good coating so it is white rather than just turning the black mohair gray? We played over the weekend with oil and acrylic and were not happy with the results.
Thanks,
Donna
Wild Thyme OriginalsKim, You sure have some knowledge in oils paints. I learn something new every day!! Thanks for sharing!!
Like I said Judi... it's just a bit of knowledge picked up from a part time stint working in a gallery years back... really applies more to the 2-D painting on canvas rather than bear decoration and shading. I am completely hopeless when it comes to traditional painting, or anything else two dimensional..... I have a hard time even sketching out little doodles for my kids that are recognizable as what they are supposed to be.
The gallery had a wonderful conservation/repair department located in the back of the shop, with this little old Belgian man who did the conservation/repair work. He was loads of fun to talk to... I'd just bring him an espresso and while he was drinking it he'd give me all these mini-lectures about art history and various painting techniques, etc.... The coolest guy I ever met! If he'd have been about 40 years younger, I'd have married him... and he still would have been my senior!
Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals
Wild Thyme OriginalsDonna,
Dye-na-flow is really quite transparent, so I'm sure that it wouldn't work on a color as dark as black... It's more like a "tint." Turning black into white with paint acrylic, oil, or otherwise would be really tough. Jacquard also makes an opaque acrylic called Neo-opaque, which is still light bodied, with fine pigment particles, but I think if you used enough to really change the black to white, the mohair would have that bristly, "I've been painted" feel to it. So, I'm afraid that I can't be of much assistance there. Anyone else have any ideas?
Beray truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals
LuxembearsDonna,
I tend to agree with Kim on this one. To go from black to white will require quite a bit of coverage so it may have coated feel to the finished project.
Titanium White is the whitest of whites. This has the best coverage. I would suggest painting in layers , allowing each layer to dry in between and giving the area a good brushing with a wire brush. This may help .
I have airbrushed with Titanium white, acrylic paint, with very good results without stiffness on a denim jacket.
ToadBriarah you guys are great. I am gonna operate on the assumption that the comparatively
tiny amount of oil used for shading would not be in near enough quantity to have a detrimental
effect. Do you use oil after waxing the nose or before? I've tinted after, but I only use fabric
markers & black noses so far. So many options!
I've got an airbrush - double action badger - kickin around, but I never could stand the sound
of a traditional compressor. Like working next to a lawnmower in a small room! Then I saw the
post about using a C02 tank (my Andy is intrigued by this, he does homebrewing too like
Mr Dilu, lol) This is exciting & I may have to reconsider the airbrush! I haven't touched that
thing in 10 years.
I have Much Love for Golden acrylics! they are so fine. Liquitex drives me batty, it's always
CHUNKY. Golden is a dream to work with. I was delighted when Michaels started carrying
the brand. I have found Pebeo to be a good product too.
I do not think there would be a satisfactory result of painting white over black! not with a
nice texture result, anyhow. But I wonder what one might accomplish with a bleach or
hydrogen peroxide solution? Aside from make a mess 
honestly sewing white 'mitten'
paws might be the only way to get satisfying results. it's always easier to go darker over
light - that's why painting a dark room white takes so much primer & coats of paint!
Wild Thyme Kim, you sure absorbed plenty of info in the short time you worked in that
gallery! Thanks so much 
Wild Thyme OriginalsOH MY GOD JUDI! Yes, I think that jacket deserves the screaming capitals!
:clap: :clap: :clap:
Judi, if I belived in past lives, I'd have to say that you must have BEEN one before to be able to capture such elegance and "tigeriness." That truly seems three dimentional to me! And I can just actually feel that soft velvety muzzle!
Beary truly yours,
Kim Basta
Wild Thyme Originals
