Sticky, Delicious Golden Graphite Gray

Ah Golden's.....my love, my weakness!

Yes, I am entirely too mushy about my art supplies. But I love Golden's products. They just make the coolest things! (and I'm pretty sure I have made a significant contribution to their retirement plans....)
Okay, so you ask, "Anne, why is a tube of Gray Paint so exciting???"
(I see you nay-sayers out there...)
Well, because of the word *graphite* being included with it. This is a paint with some properties of a pencil, and the ability to transform into something spectacular. 
Hey, trust me. Don't burst my bubble...

Sticky, ooey, gooey....

First off, one thing you'll notice is the consistency of Graphite Gray. It is, well, dense and sticky. I am not sure how well it would handle in fine application, but the way I've used it (and a few other ways I plan to try) have lead to success. 
You'll need some high-tech tools for this~~
Waxed paper for your *palette* and the following:

Praise for CHEAP WINE!

Yep, that's right, a fake wine bottle cork. Or a non-cork bottle stopper. Whatever you want to call it. The material it's made of makes interesting pattern in the paint.
I put a bit of paint out on waxed paper, smeared it about a little with an old brush, then loaded the cork as you would any stamp, except I kept the paint application thicker. You want some density on there.
Then stamp randomly. (I also used Gesso to do some spots)

Just a little DOTTY.....

The very middle, dark *dot* is the paint, dried in it's natural state. You can see the fake-cork provided a nice pull-up design in the paint.
Now for the fun part.
Wait---the not-fun part first.
WAIT UNTIL THE PAINT IS TOTALLY DRY BEFORE PROCEEDING.
Go eat a Pop-Tart or solve the issue of World Peace or twiddle your thumbs, but don't mess with the paint until it is DRY. (a hairdryer is allowed--no heat guns)
Okay, back to the fun part:

What dust cloths are REALLY FOR....

When the paint is dry-dry-dry, get a soft cloth you don't mind getting dirty. I use dust cloths, as they don't seem to get much use in the house, but they sure do in the studio.
Wrap a bit of it around your fingertip and rub that paint HARD. Burnish, burnish, burnish!
What you will see is that the paint is beginning to take on the characteristics of lead pencil that has been smudged. and yes, on some papers, there will be a bit of the graphite that bleeds over, and sometimes it can actually be erased too!
The longer you work, the higher the shine:

Is it a TREE? NO! It's shiny Graphite Gray!

And the best part of the thick application with the faux wine-cork-stamp is seen above~~a very organic pattern that burnishes up brighter and no two will be alike.
Actually, you could use any solid stamp for this; square, oval, heavy lines, etc. I am assuming it could also be painted heavily around a collage section where more emphasis is desired. I mean, my little mind is spinning at the possibilities! (yeah, more than it usually spins, thank-you-very-much!)
So if you want to add one small supply to your art-arsenal, give this one a try.
I think you'll love the versatility.
I do.
You could tell? ;-)


Pax....