Sonriseartists Co / Techniques
I often encounter collage works with delicate, lifting edges — those tiny curls of paper that threaten to catch, tear or attract dirt. Leaving them alone risks further loss; rushing in with too much adhesive or the wrong technique can change the look and flexibility of the piece. Over the years...
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I often photograph my own paintings and mixed-media pieces for Sonriseartists — portfolio shots, Instagram posts, and process documentation. When I started working with metallic and interference paints, I quickly learned that what looks stunning in the studio can turn into an unhelpful glare or...
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I’ve spent many summers painting outdoors at busy arts festivals, learning quickly that a studio wet palette simply doesn’t cut it when there’s dust, wind and a queue of curious visitors. Over time I developed a compact, festival-proof wet-mixing palette setup that keeps paints workable for...
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I often think of iridescent gouache as a material that lives in two worlds: the pigment is at once paint and light, and that makes photographing it for giclée proofs a small act of translation. When I prepare work for reproduction I want the print to carry not just colour but a sense of depth,...
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I’m often asked how I send fragile mixed-media pieces to galleries, buyers or events without returning to my studio with a heart in my mouth. Over the years I’ve developed a repeatable method for building a transport-safe portfolio that protects delicate surfaces and layered edges using...
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Why I wanted to test gouache with soft-body acrylicsI've long loved the matt, opaque quality of Schmincke Horadam Gouache for figure work and layered illustration. At the same time, Liquitex Soft Body Acrylics are a staple in my studio for their flow and permanence. Recently I found myself...
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I once rescued a small pile of collage works that had been exposed to a leaking roof after a storm. They were damp, cockled and stained with a faint ring of salty residue where contaminated rainwater had evaporated. I didn’t have access to a conservation lab, but I wanted to stabilise them so I...
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I keep my brush-cleaning setup intentionally small and solvent-free — partly because my studio is compact, partly because I like rituals that are slow and sensory, and partly because I want to protect my natural-hair brushes from harsh chemicals. Over the years I’ve refined a kit and a routine...
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I spent a rainy afternoon last week photographing a new series that uses iridescent powders and interference pigments layered across gouache and collage. The shimmer was beautiful in person, but on my phone screen the highlights turned into blown-out white patches that flattened all the colour...
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I remember the first time I decided to use gouache as an underpainting in a mixed‑media piece: I wanted the tonal clarity of a waterbased wash but also the ability to repaint and layer without muddying. The result taught me a lot about the differences between student and artist‑grade gouaches...
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