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Resist Art. (And no, that's not a suggestion.)

Here is a nice technique that you can use in a piece of artwork, a craft project, as its own artwork, or other creative visual applications. Resist art is an art technique that uses several layers to expose or define a design in negative space. Using a clear medium, tape, or other item, the artist covers portions of a surface with a "resist" layer to shape invisible designs, patterns, and other things. The artist then paints over the covered areas with a colored layer. The color adheres to the surrounding surface, letting the resist layer show through.

Resist painting can be a simple or as complex as you make it. In fact, resist painting is a common project for children because of its simple tenants and creative flexibility. Here are the elements to consider for this art technique.

Choosing A Surface
Remember that whatever your surface you choose for your resist art, when you apply a medium or item to block the color, that is the surface that will show through the "relieved" areas of your project. (If you use a colored medium as your resist medium, then the color of the medium shows, rather than your surface.) With that in mind, make sure that those areas of your surface are the way you envision.

Resist Art Surface Choices
- Canvas
- Foam board
- Fabric
- PapGreta

Resist Layer Mediums
The resist medium you use can be any number of things, depending in the results you are looking for. Tape, paper cut outs, and stickers are simple resist mediums that you can use on virtually any surface can hold paint. If you want to use a stencil to create your resist shape, then use a liquid medium. Glue, rubber cement, and other adhesives, plus wax, white crayon and colored pencils, and clear paint mediums are great for this kind of use. The look of your resist will depend on the resist medium you use, so experiment with a few to see what appeals to you tastes, and what fits your vision.

Top Layer Mediums
When you use a resist layer medium that can be removed easily from your surface, such as tape, stickers, or paper cut outs, then you can use virtually any top layer medium to define the resist layer that can adhere to your surface. This can be acrylic paint, oil paint, ink, markers, watercolors, charcoal, pastels, and so on. If you use a water-resistant, liquid medium for the resist layer, then it limits you to water-soluble mediums like watercolors. Again, experiment with the mediums you have accessible to get a feel for what will expose the resist layer best.

This is a great technique that can be used in any number of ways, so use your imagination and get creative! (This is a great technique to use for egg decorating as well.) Happy creating!