The trick is to completely cover the surface of your tank with color. Originally I was taught to “flood” the tank meaning to put down a large number of drops on one color to start. This takes that kind of flooding to a new level. Start by making a row of drops down the middle of the tank — make sure, however, that each drop you put down is within the last drop you made. Here is a picture of my tanks after that row of drops down the center using white paint.

Next put a row of paint down each side of the middle row, again making sure that the drops are inside the drops in the center row of drops. It doesn’t matter how far inside, just that they are inside. In the picture below you can see the newest row (the lighter color drops) and that they are well within the first set of middle drops because you can see the edge of those drops at the top of the picture. Now your tank would like like this:

Finally, take a strip of paper like you use to clean the tank and put one edge of it inside the edge of the paint on one side of the tank. Pull the paper to the edge of the tank and then up the side and out of the tank. That action will bring the paint right to the edge of the tank. Also, pull the paint to the edge of the other side of the tank. The point is to make sure that the paint covers the entire surface of the tank. If the paint pulls away or your newspaper strip wasn’t long enough just use another strip to make sure the paint is spread all over the tank surface.

That’s it, and it works! You can go forward from there dropping paint as you would normally. Another helpful tip is to use darker colors of paint when the tank is new and clean because it is easier to see. If your tank is dirty/darker color, then use a lighter paint. With experience  you will be able to see even white paint on a clean tank but it will probably take so time.

When I first started marbling my answer was to find a color that seemed to consistently give me small drops on any given day and save it till last. That worked most of the time but gave me very little control over what would be the last color on my papers. Over time, I have learned how to better manage the laying down of the color.

The marblers major tool in managing aggression is the rule that, once you have the paint mixed (I suggest you use a quarter sized amount of paint with about 1.5 oz water), if you want your drops to spread more (i.e., be more aggressive) you add paint and if you want your drops to spread less you add water. Note that this is just the opposite of what your “common sense” would suggest; that’s and easy way to remember what to do.

But the marblers life is not that easy! There are other factors that must be considered:
The amount of aggression in the drops of any color are also effected by when you put them on the vat. In the first rounds of dropping colors, the drops spread out more, then as increasing amounts of paint are on the surface of the vat, the drops have less space to spread so they get a little smaller.
Another factor affecting spread/aggression is the nature of the pigment itself and how it compares to the pigments that it is touching on the surface of the vat. Sometimes if your last round of color is very aggressive, you can break up the color by dropping another color in the drops of those big drops.

So how do I juggle all this when I’m marbling? I try to see how each color is reacting on the size for that day by doing a couple of sheets. As I work, I weigh how the color behaves as one of the first rounds and also as one of the last rounds. Only then do I start adding water or paint. And I only add a little of either at any one time and test how the paint works before adding more.

While this sounds really complicated, pretty soon it becomes almost second nature. Also, if I want to use a color that is aggressive towards the end and get big drops, I then add other colors that I have already dropped inside the bigger drops to break up the color. In the picture with this post, the black paint was very aggressive because I added pigment and did not respond well to having more water added so I added drops of white, blue, and green inside those big black drops to break up the color (or lack thereof!).

Paint selection presents a multitude of uncertainties when you are starting out as a marbler: will these paints work for me? Can I be sure what colors I like? How do I know which white or black to pick? Buying paint is one of the more expensive components of becoming a marbler so making wise decisions is a good thing. With that in mind – and because my students have asked – I am writing this blog!

First, some disclaimers – I am only writing from my knowledge and experience with paint selection. That experience has been almost exclusively marbling with Golden Fluid Acrylics. I’m not schooled in color theory either – this is about what seems to work rather than what one “should” do.

Here is my advice about some section basics:

• I have been told that marblers should use one brand of paint because then you are not mixing a whole lot of different approaches to paint chemistries. That makes logical sense to me so I have simply accepted it.
• Choosing a white and black are one of the first challenges. I’d buy Carbon Black because that is the most black – Bone Black is really grey. Stay away from Zink White; it is too heavy and often sinks to the bottom of the tank. Titanium White has also been problematic for me so I buy Titan Buff to use as my white.
• Pyrrole Red is the best red for marbling that I have found. The other reds tend to come out pink on the paper. Purples are generally hard to use! I’m still experimenting with them.
• Don’t be put off by the mustard color of yellow oxide or yellow ochre, they usually make a much truer yellow on the paper when marbling.
• You are unlikely to be able to afford all the colors you want. And, Golden doesn’t make some – burgundy, for instance. Here are some of the mixed colors I’m currently using: Permanent Green Light + almost the same amount of black = nice dark green; Paynes Gray + Pyrrole Red + a drop of black = burgundy; vat orange + a little Van Dyke brown = burnt orange. Mix away!

This info is just to get your paint selection started. One of the fun things about marbling is the color combinations you come up with and developing your own pallet of colors. So, expect to need to experiment and start with new colors by buying the small (1 oz) bottles and mark when sales are likely to occur. Also, watch what colors other marblers use and ask what they are and even if you can borrow some for a sheet. This is one of the beauties of marbling in groups!!

Well, I’m not going to say I have the answer to all these problems all the time – marbling has too many moving parts for that, BUT I have found that learning to mix my paints carefully in the right proportions in the first place and learning one major rule has really helped.

You should also know that I use Golden Fluid Acrylic paints. I have been told that marblers should use only one brand of paint to marble. This is because you do not want to mix chemistries of how the paints are made. Chemistry is a big part of the marbling process! Everyone I know uses Golden Fluid Acrylics and so I have stayed with them.

The right general proportions: What works for me is to put a dollop of paint in my plastic cup (I use plastic cups in a PVC collar so it won’t spill) about the size of a 25-cent piece and then fill the cup with about 1 ½ ounces of water. Over time I’ve learned what that looks like in my cups. The paint mixture should have the consistency of half and half if you are using other types of acrylic paint.

This is where I start and then I test it by dropping it with the other paints I’m going to use. Different pigments seem to take more or less water and what colors  you drop on top of other colors also sometimes has an effect.

I don’t use any additives – they have never worked for me although many people suggest many different additives. I have found that if the paint is mixed in the correct proportions most of the time they will work as I want.

One Major Rule: If the drops don’t spread I add a little more paint. If the drops spread too much I add water. Yes, I know, this is counter intuitive!! And I have to think about it every time I need to adjust paints but it works! I’m sure it has something to do with the surface tension but I haven’t dipped into the physics – I’m interested in what works.

This of course is just the beginning of a discussion about paint! More will be coming!