Hey Carole, 

Happy Thursday! It's a busy time as we move into July. I've got lots of filming to do for my new program coming out in September.

I'm super excited about it. It's going to be jam packed full of mixed media collage and of course, resin! 

This is a favourite process of mine and one I've used for over a decade in my art.

Today I thought I'd share a few tips and answers to some commonly asked questions.

Resin is a hot topic of debate. People are generally in one of two camps - Love it or hate it.

It's my hope that after today, you'll feel inspired to try (or retry) it in your artwork.

I’ll first address the elephant in the room.

Yes, ALL resins yellow.

It doesn’t matter the brand, eventually you’ll notice a yellow tint. Some brands yellow faster than others.

Knowing this, there are ways to reduce the effects. First is to choose a good quality resin that contains zero VOC’s and HALS.

Working with products that have been approved for use without harsh chemicals should be a top priority.

My resin of choice is ArtResin. (No, I’m not paid to say this) By no means am I saying you have to use it. If you’ve been using a brand that works well for you, then continue with what you love.

However, ArtResin contains HALS (Hindered Amine Light Stabilizers) which helps to delay the yellowing process.

Knowing that ALL resins yellow over time, it's important to think about WHAT you're putting UNDER it.

While you can pretty much resin over anything, certain paints, papers and other products will impact your results.

My first TIP: NEVER resin over a large amount of white or negative space in your work. The reason is simple. The yellowing will be more noticeable.

You can see in this 12"x24" example of my work, I don’t have much white in the overall design. The whites that are present, are softer.

Now if you choose to use resin as a medium you pour into your work, I have some absolute FAVES for colouring. 

Again, these products create different results so some you may like and others, not so much. You only need a very little amount to colour your resin.

For a truly opaque and silky colourant that's easy to mix, my go-to is Eli-Chem. When mixed, they don't create bubbles which allows the resin to set and cure nicely.

Here's another example of work I created, with metal, in my Fused Harmony Program using Eli-Chem in the top and bottom left pieces.

The apple green one was created using a mix of GOLDEN high flow acrylics. These are also great to use as colourants because they start by just tinting your resin, so you can get more of a translucent effect. Keep adding more until it turns opaque. 

If you're into neon colours, I suggest giving ArtResins own brand of tints a try. I don't have any examples to show at the moment, but they are FUN! 

Another fave is by Jaquard Products. If you've followed me for a while then you know I love everything from this company, including their coloured mica powders called Pearl Ex. 

Mica's produce a shimmery effect in your resin. Their GOLD colours are really nice!

Remember to keep your colourant ratio to resin less than 10% or you can run into curing issues. 

TIP: Mixing different brands of colourants can create some cool effects in your resin.

The image below is a mixture of all of the above. I spread a thin mixture over yupo paper and allowed it to cure before cutting it up into shapes for future collage work :)

Now that I've shared my favourite resin and colourants, you may be in need of some extra tips for preparing to use it. 

I've created a new Resin Tools & Tips Guide for you in the form of a PDF. You can also click on the image below to download it. 

Alright my friend, that is it for this week. I can't wait to see your resin creations.

If you have a question about resin I didn't cover here, or in the downloadable guide, just shoot me an email and I'll be happy to help.

Chat soon.

xo Jane. 

P.S. Standard Newbie Message: If you're new to my community within the last few days, you'll receive a handful more emails. This is due to my excitement of welcoming you to my world and getting to know you better. After that it's just once a week. Promise! 

P.P.S. Please add my email address to your contact list. This prevents them from being blocked by your provider and allows you to see all images.