Experimental Drawing and Painting

Making a 1-Sheet Zine

Zines are used to share and combine various techniques including collage, drawing, painting, writing, cartooning, and more.

What you’ll need

• Printer paper
• Scissors
• Drawing tools (like pencils and markers)

Optional

• Scanner or Xerox machine (to make multiples!)
• Adhesives like tape or glue
• Printer paper in white or assortment of colors
• Collage materials

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Making Fiber Paste

What you’ll need

• 2 parts single-ply toilet paper
• Water
• 1 part water-soluble liquid glue (like Modge Podge, Elmers, PVA)
• 1 part gesso, matte medium, or white acrylic
• Handmixer (although you can use a stirring spoon and some elbow grease!)
• Non-stick surface like a sheet of shipping plastic
• Bowl
• Optional: ink, colored acrylic paint, watercolor paint, sand, glitter, etc.

Steps

1. Saturate two parts bathroom tissue shredded with water. Add to bowl with liquid glue and gesso.
2. Stir until smooth and until you see that your stirring has broken down the paper pulp and you’ve achieved a smooth consistency.
3. Store in an airtight container or use right away! If you use right away, spread on a non-stick surface and wait to dry. When dry, the surface of the fiber paste should be cool, but not cold, to touch, and without a feeling of wetness.
4. You can experiment with adding glitter, pigments, or other elements during the stirring process to change the color and texture of your fiber paste.

Experimental Approaches with Ink and Other Water-Based Paints

What you’ll need

• Different types of paper (watercolor paper, mixed media paper, variety of thicknesses and brands in order to experiment with!

• Water
• Containers
• Brushes
• Tape (the best tape that won’t rip your paper is low-tack Frog Tape)
• 1 part water-soluble liquid glue (like Modge Podge, Elmers, PVA)
• Hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol
• Paper towels
• Saran wrap or plastic wrap
• Salt and Sugar
• Different types of water-based paints to experiment with including watercolor, gouache, acrylic, ink
• Experiment with other non-toxic and available materials including food coloring, coffee, tea, stencils, mediums, cutting tools, drawing supplies, and more.

Note: All materials are optional except for paper, water-based paints, water, brushes, and containers.

These experiments involve ink or another water-based material (like watercolor paint, thinned-down acrylic, or gouache) in combination with another material. This is called a wash.

Introducing ink into pre-drawn or pre-pooled shapes of water on your paper allows you to experiment with different “blooming” effects of the ink wash. Using materials like salt and sugar in your wash disrupts the absorption of the ink wash into the paper, thereby creating unique patterns.  Experiment with the types of paper you use, too. Watercolor, bristol, Yupo, and other papers, for example, all react very differently!

Combining Approaches to Make Works on Paper

Now let’s try putting all these approaches together! Use any combination of the above materials, or try out totally new materials. Get creative.

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Inspiration

Here are a few artists to help you think about ways to experiment with your approaches. Many of them use variations on the exact same techinques we just learned.

A teacher’s supplement is also available here.