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3D Acrylic Painting Techniques Blog

Blog > What is Gel Medium?

September 13, 2016 - by Ruth Collis

What is Gel Medium?


Gel Medium is a clear thicker medium that you mix paint in to make the paint thicker, that enables more textured impasto strokes in a painting. It dries flexible, clear, shiny, smooth, and has glue-like properties, which enables a gel medium transfer to a printed image or photograph; and adhering a watercolor paper to a firmer panel support for better quality.

Gel Medium Uses:

  • Transfer image to canvas

  • Transfer watercolor to panel

Gel medium transfer
Transfer watercolor to panel
  • Light Impasto

Impasto painting
  • Glue

Gel medium glues broken paintbrushes

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Simple Sculptural Rose

Some gel medium techniques you can do is a gel medium transfer of a print or photo on to canvas, or transfer a whole watercolor painting on paper to a firmer panel for support , to raise the quality, and maybe sell for more money.

If you use the gel medium on canvas method, you can take the Golden Gel Medium, or Liquitex Gel Medium brand and brush it on to your canvas, put the print down, wait a few minutes to pull off the main paper backing, then wait for it to fully cure for 30-45 min before rubbing off final thickness of paper. Moisten with a soft sponge and mister (not pour water on to drench) and use a scotch brite on sponge with circular motion to get the paper off. Don't press too hard to not take image away.

You can get Gloss Gel Medium or Matte Gel Medium depending on whether you want a shiny or flat look. This is Gel Medium acrylic that does all these wonders, including extend paint..

What is Super Heavy Gel Medium?

See how the heavier gel medium can do a whole lot more.

Ruth Collis, Sculptural Painting Instructor

Ruth Collis

Sculptural Painting Instructor

www.ThickPainting.com

To learn more, get this free mini video course here that tells how to get double the Gel for half the proce of what you would find in the stores, and learn how to make this Simple Sculptural Rose.

Simple Sculptural Rose online course
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