Things I’ve learned (Clorox 2)

(This post by Neda)
Having had a quite successful first experiment with the Clorox Bleach pen, I got hooked on the process. OCD aside, I could not resist experimenting more. Well, the results were less than satisfactory.
Before I talk about the experiments, let me remind you of the following safety guidelines (I know it is a bore but you really have to stick to these recommendations)

1. Be sure to work in a well-ventilated area even if using you are using just a drop of bleach.

2. Do not wear anything you care about, a drop of bleach could ruin your favorite Gap tee-shirt (unless this is the look you are aiming for).

3. Do not, I repeat, do not smoke/eat/drink/multitask when you are working with bleach.

4.If you get any bleach on your skin or into your eyes, follow the manufacturer’s recommended guidelines immediately!

Okay, now for the humbling stuff:
1. Bleach can ruin a perfectly nice drawing if you overdo it (see exhibit A - above). Be careful where you “draw” with your bleach pen.
2. Bleach does not work very well on pastels, at least on the Neocolor II I used (see exhibit B - left)
3. Bleach once, okay. Bleach twice, not okay (see exhibit C - below)
4. If you want to experiment, dip an old inexpensive brush in the bleach and “paint.” However, as soon as you are done, kiss the brush goodbye …uh..no, no, do not kiss it, just throw it out.
5. TIMING is of the essence. Within second, you will notice the effects of the bleach on your drawing. Rinse it under running water immediately and blot it between 2 pieces of paper towels. Let it dry BEFORE you attempt any additional work.
6. I have not tried spraying my bleached experiment with any kind of varnish yet. I am afraid a) to engage in some chemical experimentation which I might regret, and 2) I am at loss as how to preserve the bleached drawing without ruining it. Any suggestions???

Keeping all this in mind, have fun experimenting and please share your ideas with us!

Clorox anyone?

(This post by Neda)

I am notoriously impatient especially when it comes to following lengthy artistic instructions. Once, I even ran away in tears from a so-called “collage class” with a renowned collagist in Austin. In brief, I perceive myself as a spur-of-the-moment artist, which is why I love collage (instant gratification) and experimenting with whatever is available to me at the moment.

(Aqua-N.Doany ©2007)

Here is an example of such whimsy, aka a fun idea born out of almost nowhere (pictured here). It started when my 15-year old son accidentally spilled water on a photocopied color drawing he was working on. Having inherited a good eye and an adventurous spirit from his mom (of course), he came over to my studio to show me the interesting splashes of color the water had done to his design. He asked me if we could experiment with one of my photocopied color sketches. We then proceeded to the kitchen faucet where we experimented further. In the background, the washing machine was churning about and I came up with the idea of adding bleach to our experiments. I reached for the bleach bottle but something cleverer caught my eye: the Clorox Bleach Pen. Aha! Why did I not think about that earlier? A pen, I can handle. A bleach pen, I can experiment!

I took a small painting which I was just about to discard to oblivion and copied it using a regular ink-jet printer and photocopying paper. I then proceeded to draw squigglies over the photocopied image and to my surprise, the results were quite interesting. Wherever the bleach pen touched the colors, the latter seemed to fade instantly. I was afraid the bleach might ruin the paper entirely so I ran the photocopy under water and blotted it between two pieces of paper towels. Keeping with the laundry day theme, I let the photocopy dry over the dryer. Once set, I then re-colored the photocopy, making sure to leave the bleached parts blank. Et voilà…