So I go to the art supply store this morning on the way back from dropping off Nefarious at school to pick up some top coat polymer because I used it all up. They didn't have it out, so I asked for a jug of it to be brought from the back (there was a small bottle on the counter but not a big 4L jug). When the girl that works there returned from the back room, she had a bottle of gloss clear acrylic gel (basically acrylic paint without the pigment, so it has the same chemical properties and is very compatible).
“No, I don't think that's what I need,” I say. “I mean the gloss polymer, like those”, and indicate the bottles on the counter.
“I was afraid you were going to say that,” she said. “We stopped keeping that out here because it was destroying people's paintings.”
“I know, that's why I buy it!”
I explained that I understand that it dries differently and has different — and partially incompatible — chemical properties, and that's what I'm looking for, because by changing the way I mix that, I can change the shape of the painting as it dries, and the painting actually scars and “keloids” — it becomes a very organic process, because it's not like normal painting where you create something and walk away. This is almost more like developing a photo (or growing a plant), because it continues to change after you're done.
[Edit: I'm sorry for repeating myself... I realize I just wrote this in the previous entry as well]
