Have you also ever discovered other ways to create these paintings with other forms of mediums and paper?

Crum says that she is always trying something new to create beautiful art. “I have really cool work I made that was an experiment in the making for a long time; I called it The Gift, Red Hand of Fate. I started a sketch in charcoal and added detail with crayon, and then oil pastel. Later coming into the drawing and laying watercolor paint washes in as well.” Crum has also created this on drawing paper before discovering how affective using printmaking paper was. She has messed with this piece repeatedly by spraying fixatives and then finding acrylic mediums to mix in with the acrylic painting. She finally discovered a clear medium.

For The Gift (Red Hand of Fate), she sprayed fixatives on it and a mixture that’s one part clear acrylic medium and two parts of orange paint. The mixture makes for a very glossy and gel-like paint. “The piece was finished in 2015 and seems to be a strong piece, even if it’s the only one like it.”

Crum has fun making paintings that were almost like “using encaustics when wet” and enjoyed painting with acrylics blended with liquid-pouring medium as well as watercolor.

“I would spray the painting with acrylic varnish while still wet, but, I didn’t really care for the end product. Green Glasses is a favorite of mine where I ended up turning a charcoal drawing self-portrait into a playful painting with liquid watercolor, gouache, and oil pastel, as well as touch-ups with acrylic varnish at the end.”

Although her other works are created on printmaking paper, Green Glasses is the only one that she’s made with delicate drawing paper. To expand off from buying printmaking paper, Crum plans on making her own paper with cardboard layered with gesso and plaster for texture before adding paints. Using recycled paper is one of her choices to reevaluate what she uses to make her art. “As I continue experimenting in my studio, I’ll see what happens!

If you’ve enjoyed any of Crum’s works, you can follow her Facebook page and visit her website for upcoming events and shows she will be attending.