Artistic Polar Bear Challenge: 100 Ways in 100 Days. #92 - Metallics

Shimmery things generally don't thrill me.  I have never put glitter anywhere on my person, have never owned any gold lamé clothing, I'm not into 'bling' or anything that 'sparkles' (vampires included).  But I have seen artists who incorporate glimmer and metals into their work with interesting and effective results. 

I found myself particularly enthralled by the possibilities that something like an iron oxide could produce, so off to the art supply store I went in hopes of mining some metals.

I picked up small bottles of Golden's Micacious Iron Oxide, Iridescent Bronze and Iridescent Copper.  To keep the glitz from overwhelming the bear, the metallic paints were brushed on thinly with lots of water added.

Metallic Bear

The bronze was quite the pleasant surprise, as when it was watered down, it separated into the bronze mica flakes, and an unexpected greenish-blue binder.  That allowed me to float the greenish color around without overdoing the bronze.  The copper and iron oxide didn't contain any surprise undertones, but were still fun to swirl around on the paper.