Budget Friendly Ways to Add Age to Art
Use Household Supplies to Give Art a Vintage Appearance
Sep 9, 2009
The mixed media artist has lots of options when it comes to tools for aging artwork. There are many wonderful products that are specifically made to give art that vintage look, but what should the artist on a budget do? Artists who want to save some money can get creative with supplies that they may have on hand already.
Sandpaper
The best and most obvious starting point is sandpaper. Fine grit sandpaper works on all kinds of art, whether it's on canvas, wood or metal. Use it to lightly sand away layers of paint in certain areas of the canvas to reveal what's underneath. Sand the edges of a canvas or block of wood to make it look old and worn. Brand new decorative paper can be sanded before use to take away that crisp, just-bought appearance.
Coffee and Tea
Artists may love the look and feel of old, yellowed paper, but not always have access to it. Brewed tea or coffee can be used to give paper a similar appearance. If the paper is sturdy enough, soak it in coffee or tea for an hour or so. If it's possible, let the paper dry in the sun. However, it's fine to let it dry indoors. This technique will give paper a uniformly aged appearance. For a more splotchy look, use a dropper or fingertips to "fling" or drip coffee onto the paper. Concentrate more around the edges and let it dry.
Used coffee filters that have been dried out already look like they've been around forever. Coffee filters are great for artists because they are sturdy enough to be painted, stamped or sewn on. Save some to either use whole or to cut or tear into small pieces to be used in future artwork.
Shoe Polish
Shoe polish works wonderfully as an aging tool when rubbed onto mixed media art. Brown or black shoe polish will work, but go with the brown if a more subtle look is what you want. Use a paper towel and a light touch. If the artwork has any raised designs, rough areas, or etched in drawings, the shoe polish will highlight them. Shoe polish can also be applied to the corners and edges of canvas or wood projects.
Brown Acrylic Paint
There's no need to purchase fancy inks and special paint if you have brown acrylic paint on hand. For a quick and easy aging finish, make sure the artwork has been sealed with Mod Podge or a similar sealer. Have a damp paper towel on hand and load a medium sized paintbrush with water and some brown paint. Give the whole surface of the artwork a quick layer of the watered down brown paint, then wipe most of it off with the damp paper towel. The brown paint will sink into some areas and not others. More paint can be added to intensify the effect.
Elmer's Glue
There are kits available that give painted surfaces a nice, crackled finish, but they can be pricey. Before running to the craft store to purchase a kit, look for plain old Elmer's glue. To achieve a crackle effect, let the base coat of paint dry thoroughly. Use a paint brush to "paint" glue over the surface of artwork and let it dry until it's just a little bit tacky. Next get lots of paint on the brush and quickly paint over the glue, being careful not to brush over any area more than once. If you overlap strokes, the cracking process won't work. Thick coats of glue yield larger cracks. For delicate crackling, try a very thin coat of glue. It's a good idea to practice in something first. Seal the finished project with either a brush on or spray water based sealer. Easy and inexpensive!
If you have the ability to splurge on fun, new tools and supplies, enjoy! But those who are trying to stick to a budget needn't sacrifice their artistic techniques just because they can't purchase special equipment. Get creative with things that are already in your possession and have fun experimenting.
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