Adding Gold Leaf to my Mediums

One of my favourite parts about being an artist is the ability to experiment and I’ve decided to pick up gold leaf as a part of that process. So far, I am in very early stages of gold leaf usage and I’m still learning what the best way to apply it to my artwork is. Obviously, I am not using actual 24K gold leaf as it costs around $90 in Canadian for 20 sheets of it, and that’s an expensive experiment, but I am using another composition of metallic leaf that looks gold.

So far, I’ve fallen in love with the process, despite the fact that it takes a day of waiting in between each step for the adhesive to dry and then to put on the metal varnish is another day of waiting before the final varnish. So far, I’ve made a few abstract pieces (which will be sold for a cheap price) as an experiment to see what the process of gold leaf is like and if I like the results.

The abstract pieces I’ve managed to create with the gold leaf so far turned out absolutely amazing so I’ve decided to make gold leaf a part of my abundance of mediums. However, I’ve also noticed that gold leaf is not a neat process.

Gold leaf sticks to any form of moisture as I’ve learned and it is VERY difficult to remove from smooth flat surfaces once it does stick. This means I now permanently have gold leaf stuck to the laminate flooring in my bedroom / current studio. Since the floor needs to be replaced anyways, I’ve decided that I’m okay with that and that my floors get to be ‘bedazzled’.

The use of gold leaf has also made me decide to start a new art series where gold leaf will specifically be a key component of the pieces I make. I am looking at making about 20 pieces over the next few months for this series. I still do want to do one last experiment with the gold leaf, but soon, the art series will begin.

I simply just need to purchase the canvasing and finish my final experiment and then, I will begin the process.

For updates on the art series, please follow my Instagram or Facebook.