On The Outskirts of Tokyo, Mixed Media, 17 x 21 x 2.5 in.
After altering several lines then, altering them several times again, I eventually arrived at a finalized design. This is the first step in all of my projects.
Once I finalized the design, I had to decide which materials to use. Once I had done that, I was ready to start building the piece.
I worked on the back panel first as it was the easiest part of the project. It consisted of a gesso board painted with an iridescent pearl wash.
Next, I set to work on the middle panel. First, I taped off the edges of a 16 x 20 inch sheet of plexi-glass with painters tape then, I applied a thick layer of mica paste with a palette knife.
Once I had finished applying the pearl mica, I removed the painters tape and put the panel aside to dry.
Three coats of mica were needed to complete the middle panel.
Once I had received the mirror paint in the mail, I taped a mirror imaged version of the design to a 16 x 20 inch sheet of tempered glass and began applying the paint.
It took four coats of paint to complete the mirror effect. Once the paint had been added, I tightened up all edges with an x-acto knife. Then, in order to make the tree stand out, I put a thin black outline around all the edges with a marker.
Once again, here is the completed piece.
