OUGD603 EXTENDED PRACTICE - THEORETICAL RESEARCH

Florence Blanchard

Florence Blanchard is a French muralist based in Sheffield . She has a PhD in Biology which is a huge influence on her work, which often feature views from under a microscope. One of her most challenging projects to work on was the Sheffield University challenge for Festival of the Mind 2016, where the wall wasn’t primed and she wasn’t allowed to use a ladder. This is something to consider when painting the box, what will the access be like, and will it already be primed and ready to go? This will all add extra time onto the production if not. Her murals are also painted with minimal planning in order to make them look as natural as possible. This is something to consider, to just let the design be rather than planning out every millimetre.

Stencilling
Stencilling is a relatively simple method of adding designs to walls or large scale objects, and anyone can do it, you don’t need a special creative skill set. Art-Is-Fun advise attaching to stencil to the wall using painters tape to ensure it doesn’t move half way through applying the paint. They also suggest to be careful with the amount of paint you apply to ensure it doesn’t build up around the edges of the design. They advise using a sweeping circular motion around the edges of the stencil to avoid this.
Stencil Archive recommend using stencil paper as the material to make the stencils out of, as it is sturdy and allows for multiple times uses. It is also soaked in oil which means the paint is never absorbed into the paper. However, Spray Paint Stencils recommends using clear acetate, which is durable, easy to cut, and is reusable, simply by wiping clean after it’s use.

Stencilling tools/brushes
The stencil brush looks like a regular round paint brush, however it has a flat top making it ideal for dabbing on paint. In the name, this paintbrush was designed specifically for stencilling, so would be the brush of choice. According to Cutting Edge Stencils, the perfect stencil brush will be soft, flexible, but densely packed with natural bristles, and minimal shedding. They advice to not use a stiff brush as this will create bristle marks when you are painting. This is great to know, so that the appropriate brush can be chosen for the right elements of the design. These stencil brushes are best used for detailed stencils as opposed to large expanses of colour, to get in the corners and evenly distribute the paint without causing a build up.
The best tool to use for large areas of colour is a stencil roller, as this is a quick and effective method which saves a lot of time compared to the stencil brush. It is recommended to use a dense foam roller with rounded edges. If the roller is too soft and not dense enough it will absorb too much paint and cause an uneven effect. The best kind of stencil roller will be fine, dense and firm according to Cutting Edge Stencils. This is really interesting to know that there is a specific kind of roller available for stencilling, as this will prove really useful if there are any large expanses of colour on the design, to create an even appearance really quickly.
This research into different objects to use for stencilling has been really useful as it will ensure the design is painted on the best possible manner, to ensure the most perfect painted finish.