talking techniques…
Kit-Kat wrapper,” she says. “I do make fewer mistakes than I used to but they are not irrevocable.” She starts gilding in one corner, laying each square
down aligned but slightly overlapping. They only stick to the areas where the glue is, and afterwards Ruth rubs excess leaf away very carefully with a lint-free cloth. Finally comes a layer of Liberon Button Polish to give the gold leaf a distressed look. The polish dries instantly and finally the painting can begin. Ruth enjoys the ritual of all these layers and finds
comfort in having a systematic process to go through before the more creative part can begin. Traditionally rabbit-skin glue is used as an adhesive but Ruth avoids this. “I cannot bear it – it smells of fish and permeates the whole building!” When it comes to the painting, Ruth will sketch
straight onto the gilded surface with watercolour paints, working without prior drawings. “My work features really stylised images so I don’t go out and sketch, I prefer to work from other images or my imagination. I am the worst at planning a design and I tend not to do much.” The varnish allows for mistakes in the sketching to
be carefully rubbed off. When she is happy with the composition, Ruth paints the finished designs in Liquitex acrylics. “I tend to always go for the most expensive colours because they have a greater depth of colour and you definitely get what you pay for.”
“The Dutch Gold sheets are 10 times finer than a Kit-Kat wrapper… I do make fewer mistakes than I used to but they are not irrevocable”
Despite the delicacy of the final work, Ruth is
surprisingly bold with her paint. “When you work in theatre, you cannot afford to be too precious about brushstrokes. My confidence at working on a bigger scale and make bolder decisions has really grown.” Sometimes Ruth works directly onto walls, however
this can be hazardous because of the potential for damp, which she describes as ‘death to gilding’. Similarly, when working on a panel in a damp
environment, she has to work quickly. “You must speed up the drying process. If the varnish doesn’t dry quickly, you will get a white misty bloom so you have to speed it up by using a hairdryer.” After the paint has dried, Ruth will put another layer
of shellac varnish over the entire painting. The work is then protected from the elements and won’t tarnish. Despite all of the layers, the end results never look overworked or too glossy. The effect of the gilding is evident in different light; the gold can appear both dazzling and brilliant, as well as moody and silhouetted, making for a particularly original finish.
www.ruthwinding.org.uk
ABOVE Chinoiserie Triptych, acrylic and gilding on MDF, 196x251cm OPPOSITE PAGE The materials on Ruth’s workbench include Dutch Gold sheets and Liberon Button Polish
Artists & Illustrators 53
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