Liquitex Medium W/ Keda Dye For Interesting Results

[Jimdad]

Hey folks, I'm new to all this-- a small project that suffered from "scope creep" has now resulted in a new hobby. Anyway, I bought a set of Keda aniline dyes, and have not been at all happy with the results: with either water or isopropyl the color has lacked any vibrancy unless completely submerged long enough to soak the piece, which then severely degraded any stamping. But, while I wait for some fiebings to arrive, I have tested a bit more, and last night remembered that I had a bottle of Liquitex medium & varnish (details on the product: http://www.liquitex.com/glossmediumvarnish)

In the paint world, this is pretty versatile stuff, suitable for use as a sort of thinner or "extender", a binder, a varnish, and yes, as medium for powder-based pigments as well. So, I took a bit of keda I'd already made up and added an equal amount of the liquitex, with some very interesting results. The keda portion was about 1 part hot water to 3 parts 90% isopropyl. The pigment was roughly 1 part blue to 15 parts red, and a very small amount of yellow.

Here are the results on two short 1.75" strips of veg tan that was not prepped in any way prior to application, and left to dry overnight:

The mixture was highly viscous, but with the high isopropyl content it also dried quickly-- touch-dry inside of a few minutes, so it might be difficult to cover larger areas evenly without an equally large applicator. I don't know how this will fare in terms of longevity, but a scratch test showed color penetration beyond sitting on the surface. As such, if the gloss dulls or wears off in time, the color should still be there, and allow for refreshing with a light coat of liquitex varnish by itself, or simple waxing.

Another consideration is that liquitex makes a very wide variety of medium of this sort with different finishes and consistencies, and is readily available, and inexpensive. (often or 50% off retail from AC Moore with their single-item coupons). For now I'll probably stick mostly to fiebings, but this versatile option will be nice to keep in my back pocket, and once the fiebings arrives I'll also be very interested to see how the liquitex might be used with that as well.