It’s a late summer afternoon, and a startling sight greets me as I look out the window. A burst of orange hues streaks across the sky. The sun glimmers on the horizon, and cotton-candy clouds glow softly in palettes of pinks and purples. The light dances on tree-tops, and everywhere I look, I see a dazzling mosaic of colors. It’s breathtaking.
For a while I’ve dreamed of capturing this vision in origami paper. I wanted something beyond the traditional mono- or bicolored paper I was folding with. I wanted my origami models to capture the brilliance of the natural world.
I turned to painting paper to realize my ideas and spent months learning the technique. I found it to be a frustrating process requiring hours of trial and error. Few resources online pointed me to an effective way of painting paper for origami, and even fewer gave me the creativity I wanted.
I wrote this article in the hope that I could document my journey in this process. There remains more to discover, so if you like the technique, then use it as a starting point for your own projects.
Materials
- Warm water
- Transparent glass pane (plexiglass would probably work)
- Acrylic paints (Mont Marte acrylic paints, matte texture)
- Methyl cellulose (Lineco methyl cellulose adhesive, neutral pH)
- Fibrous origami paper (Wenzhou calligraphy paper – 13.4 inches by 13.4 inches)
- Paintbrushes (of various sizes)
The Technique
- Clean the glass pane of any residues and lay the pane on a flat surface.
- Combine enough methyl cellulose with water to form a concentrated solution, the consistency of which is similar to that of thick honey.
- Prepare a paint mixture. The solution will be a balance of acrylic paint and methyl cellulose dissolved homogeneously in warm water. I like to dissolve 2 mL of paint and 30 mL of methyl cellulose concentrate in 100 mL of warm water.
- Use a paintbrush and start brushing the paint solutions onto the glass pane. I like to first add a “background” layer to the pane. Then I splash, dip, and drizzle on other colors to create the patterns I want. Use different sized paintbrushes for different effects. Let your imagination run free.
- Carefully lay your sheet of paper on top of the painted glass pane. I use calligraphy paper here as it soaks up paint well. Use dry towels to wipe away any paint that protrudes from the edges of the paper. Do not apply pressure to the paper as this will mush together the paint patterns underneath.
- Leave the glass pane lying flat and wait for the paper to dry. Any small wrinkles will clear themselves up once the paper is dry. When the paint dries, carefully peel the paper away. The edges are easy to rip during this step. If your paint concentration was too high, the paint will cause your paper to stick strongly to the glass.
Conclusion
This is as far as I have reached in developing a technique for painting origami paper. There is still much to be done in terms of improving the process and discovering other painting techniques. Unlike most other painting schemes, this one has you directly paint the glass pane rather than the paper. The advantages are that it allows you to form complex and soft patterns you would not get by painting the paper directly. Choose your paper wisely; from previous experiments I know biotope and kami do not work well with this method.
Think of this technique as a blank canvas for you to use. Who knows what would happen if I added alcoholic inks or gold flakes to the acrylic solution? What would happen if I use cold water instead of warm water? It’s a delicate process that requires you to be in careful control of the concentration of paint and how you apply it onto the glass. Most of all, this process relies on your patience and curiosity as an artist. Have fun painting!