Pewter doodle

I’m still trying to figure out the best way to add patina. From what I understand, pewter can’t be chemically treated for creating patina like other metals so you need to make a faux patina. I’ve been playing around with some different mediums and this combo is my favourite so far. I made this little abstract (a pewter doodle?) as a test piece.

The first application is an acrylic glaze medium with some black added which is brushed on then mostly wiped away. The colour was applied using alcohol inks, in this case, red and green earth tones. I suppose adding the colour wasn’t necessary for the patina part of it but I think it adds something to the piece overall.... they certainly help the highlights pop.

Once the inks dried for a few minutes, I gave it a quick once over with some fine steel wool to bring out the highlights of the metal. Finally, it was varnished and mounted.

I did a test last week using salt water on copper which created a nice green hue but I messed it up when I tried to keep working on it. When I get more copper to work with I’ll give it another go.