A cell activator is usually employed for "bloom" techniques, where a pillow base is first produced and then the paint is poured over the surface with the cell activator, as a function of the technique selected.
From the very beginning, our Printex Fluid Art premixed, ready-to-use paint series has been conceived with the primary objective of designing a user-friendly range of products that can be employed by beginners and by true artists alike due to its high quality and the properties optimised for fluid art. We are pleased to announce that we have continued this tradition and added a much anticipated product to our Printex Fluid Art series - a truly user-friendly and high quality product!
As a result of continuous customer demand, professional curiosity and, of course, long experimentation, Printex Fluid Art's own Cell Activator and Pillow series was finally born.
With our four new products (Printex Fluid Art Cell Activator, White Pillow, Fractal Pillow, Aquarelle Pillow), anyone can easily make progress and succeed by using new techniques.
What do I need to know about Printex Fluid Art Cell Activator?
Printex Fluid Art Cell Activator is a colourless, odourless, waterborne auxiliary that promotes cell building in a much thinner viscosity than fluid art paints, and is used to develop special cells and networks in fluid art paintings. If we want to compare it to the currently available cell activators, it is most similar to the already mentioned Australian type cell activator (Aussie-Trol) in terms of functionality and the image of the cells generated, but still different.
The cell activator works well with any pillow base fluid art paint, however for designing truly spectacular cells, the Printex Fluid Art Pillow series is the perfect answer.
What you need to know about the Printex Fluid Art Pillow series?
The Printex Fluid Art Pillow series includes three products:
● Printex Fluid Art White Pillow,
● Printex Fluid Art Fractal Pillow, and
● Printex Fluid Art Aquarelle Pillow
All three pillow base products have a plain white colour, different fluid flow properties in comparison to fluid art paints and their density is optimized for bloom techniques. The pillow base should be evenly poured direct to the surface of the canvas or MDF, and then the fluid art paint and cell activator should be dispensed on top of this base.
How can Printex Fluid Art Cell Activator be used?
You can use it straight from the flask in its colourless form or you can mix it as you like:
● with acrylic paint (e.g. Printex Acrylic Art) or
● with ready mixed fluid art paint (e.g. Printex Fluid Art) or
● pigment (Printex Pigment).
We would like to give you some starting guidelines for a proper mixing exercise. It's important to consider these as a sort of baseline, as mixing ratios can vary between paints and techniques, so feel free to experiment! ☺
So here are the suggested proportions to get started:
● 15% Printex Acrylic Art + 85% Printex Cell Activator or
● 30% Printex Fluid Art + 70% Printex Cell Activator or
● 1-2% Printex Pigment + 98-99% Printex Cell Activator
Create three different types of images with a single cell activator! How could this be achieved?
For Printex Fluid Art Cell Activator, we've developed three pillow bases optimised for different properties, so you can make three different images with one activator. No need for hocus pocus or special resources, do everything the same way you generally do, just change the pillow base and delight in the colourful result.
The use of the three pillow bases will result in different cell patterns and networks:
● With the Printex Fluid Art White Pillow, you can create cells and networks that are similar to the traditional "Australian CA";
● Printex Fluid Art Fractal* Pillow facilitates the design of images with a distinctly fractal pattern;
● With our Printex Fluid Art Aquarelle** Pillow we wanted to impress our customers who love aquarelle and alcohol ink, as it allows for beautiful colour transitions and a reduced number of cells.
* Fractal is a geometric pattern that often makes the fluid art technique even more extraordinary and distinct. One of the most exciting phenomena of the Fractal Pillow is when the paint is poured and as it spreads, fractal forms emerge on the canvas. As paint mixes, it produces colours and oddly shapes that are always diverse yet similar, just like fractals. In short: a fractal is a complex geometric structure that is self-similar, i.e. its smaller parts are similar to the whole structure. Fractals are infinitely detailed and can be found in many areas of nature, such as flora and fauna, clouds and rivers. Fractals are also being researched in mathematics, physics and computer science!
**In aquarelle painting, the emphasis is on subtle, bright, translucent colours and a light, almost airy feel. With Aquarelle Pillow you have a unique way to design very soft colour transitions and beautiful forms that will make your painting more distinctive.
Products of the Pillow series can also be coloured if desired, but when adding colours, please note that the base product has opaque white properties.
The special fractal and watercolour effects can only be achieved if the cell activator is combined with a corresponding pillow, not with traditional fluid art paint!
Silicone oil is not required when applying the cell activator and the pillow series!It is important to note that both the cell activator and the pillow base may disintegrate if stored for an extended period of time. This is normal and a fairly standard process for the "Australian type" cell activators. Therefore, the product should always be well mixed right before use (WARNING, DO NOT SHAKE!!! - shaking will create air bubbles).
What techniques work well with cell activator and pillow series?
1. Knife bloom swipe technique
Pour out your pillow base, and then apply fluid art paint (e.g. Printex Fluid Art premixed, ready-to-use paint) on top of the base. Spread the cell activator as desired on top of the base paint or apply it thin on the back of the paint knife (if too much cell activator is added, the excess will need to be dripped off the paint knife). At a minimum tilt angle, almost horizontal, very slowly and very carefully drag the knife across the fluid art paint. It is important that the painting knife is pressed continuously, with sufficient force (neither too hard nor too soft) and over the entire surface (i.e. on both the right and left sides of the painting knife). You may stretch the design to any desired shape by tilting or spinning the paint.
2. Mouth blown bloom (blown bloom)
Pour out the pillow base, and then layer the fluid art paint (e.g. Printex Fluid Art premixed, ready-to-use paint) on top of the base as desired. As a last layer, pour the cell activator in the middle of the fluid art paint. It is important to disperse the activator over the surface as evenly as possible, without allowing it to drip deeply. Then, carefully, with a medium intensity, blow the paint laterally from the centre towards the edge of the painting in a flower shape - preferably only on the top of the pillow, without leaving deep "furrows". Finally, by spinning or just by allowing the paint to flow, stretch the cells and form the final image.
3. Blowing with a hair dryer
Pour out the pillow base, and then layer the fluid art paint (e.g. Printex Fluid Art premixed, ready-to-use paint) on top of the base as you may want. Last, pour the cell activator into the centre of the fluid art paint. It is important to disperse the activator over the surface as much as possible, not allowing it to run deep. Gently, with a hair dryer on a cold, low speed, blow the paint laterally from the centre towards the edge of the painting in a flower shape - preferably only on the top of the pillow, without leaving deep "furrows". Finally, stretch the cells by spinning them or allowing the paint to run over them to form the final image.
We can only encourage everyone to try it, either with techniques they already know and have practised, or with new ones!
We are confident that the Printex Fluid Art Cell Activator and the related Pillow series will open up new dimensions in your artwork!
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What do I need to know about Printex Fluid Art Cell Activator?
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What you need to know about the Printex Fluid Art Pillow series?
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How can Printex Fluid Art Cell Activator be used?
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So here are the suggested proportions to get started
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Create three different types of images with a single cell activator! How could this be achieved?
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What techniques work well with cell activator and pillow series?