Using Concrete in Paintings

[Hermes2020]

I want to apply the rapid set concrete, that has been my go-to medium for sculptures for a while, to hardboard panels. My plan is to create heavily textured areas with the natural concrete colour in my paintings. The thickness of the concrete will probably be up to 15 mm. I would welcome any comments and suggestions from anyone here. I think I have come up with a workable solution to keep it in place, but will wait for other suggestions before revealing my idea.

 

[snoball]

You might check into this.

 

[Hermes2020]

You might check into this.

Thank you for that. It is definitely something I will consider.

 

[Artyczar]

Will it be extremely heavy?

 

[Hermes2020]

Will it be extremely heavy?

This first painting I am planning is small at 760 x 600 mm, so the concrete will be around 5 kg, so not excessively heavy. Although, even 5 kg is enough to warrant careful consideration of the mechanics of the system. When I move to larger paintings, around 1200 mm square and bigger, the weight will become a correspondingly bigger concern. But, I always enjoy facing these challenges.

 

[Bongo]

5kg=7lbs! I've used joint-compound - which might give a similar effect?

 

[Iain]

Yes, sure there would be another material that would give a corresponding effect, but would be interesting to see what develops. Might want to reinforce where it may hang. Maybe a lighter material could be added to the mix. Perlite is used for concrete alpine sinks...

 

[Hermes2020]

5kg=7lbs! I've used joint-compound - which might give a similar effect?

Sorry, I have no idea what lbs are, so had to use an online converter.

kg to lbs | convert kg to pounds

Kilograms (kg) to Pounds (lbs) weight conversion calculator and how to convert.

www.rapidtables.com

It converts to 11 lbs, but I like the look and texture of the real concrete, so I will be the martyr to my "art" and attempt it.

 

[Hermes2020]

Yes, sure there would be another material that would give a corresponding effect, but would be interesting to see what develops. Might want to reinforce where it may hang. Maybe a lighter material could be added to the mix. Perlite is used for concrete alpine sinks...

Thank you for that. I have decided to try and reinforce it, instead of using bonding liquid. I have bolted stainless steel mesh to the panel, spaced 5 mm from the surface. I'm pretty sure this will do the trick.

 

[Iain]

I would say so. I like it already!

 

[Hermes2020]

I would say so. I like it already!

Thank you for your words of encouragement, Iain. It is going to be a very sombre grey painting, with touches of white and deep red or blue.

 

[Artyczar]

Now that it got converted to lbs, I see how heavy it can get. It does seem to be a challenging project, but I know you can work it all out. Looks really cool.