This week sadly saw the death of Little Richard, what an amazing man, I’ve been listening to the radio and jigging about! We are still in lockdown but not everything is gloomy, I have had an exciting piece of news!
Last year I asked Jacksons if they could stock the excellent book Cold Wax Medium: Techniques, Concepts & Conversations by Rebecca Crowell and Jerry Mclaughlin as shipping from the states was more than the book costs to buy. They kindly obliged saving us UK based artists a tidy sum and this lead to discussion between Jacksons and myself about all things to do with Cold Wax Medium, and ultimately to my writing an article for them on the subject, if you haven’t read it its here
I later mentioned to Jacksons that I was finding it hard to get a roller/brayer of the same softness and quality as the ones sold by Rebecca and Jerry in Europe. I had spent many hours online, found something in Italy that was nearly right but too expensive, and one in Norway but the company didn’t reply to my emails. Jacksons said they would see what they could do and within a few weeks decided to commission a manufacturer to create a soft roller and asked me to try it out with Cold Wax Medium. I put it through its paces on my own work and with students to my workshops, it made such a difference! As a result I am thrilled to announce that from this week EU artists can purchase this range of lovely soft rollers from Jacksons!
Why is that so exciting??
It all about the application of paint or printing ink. When painting with Oil and Cold wax a soft roller can reach all the uneven textures, whilst a hard roller will just skim over the surface. Think of it as the difference between sleeping on a soft mattress or a hard floor!
The softness of a roller is measured with durometer, giving a ‘shore’ value. The higher the number the harder the rubber. So, lets look at what is available and what they are useful for….
This is the most common roller. I use it to teach lino-printing as with that technique a roller needs to glide over the surface leaving an even layer of ink and not roll into the crevices of the lino. This has a shore value of 70, some go up to 90! I also use it for monotype printmaking but if I was buying a new one for that I would go for a 40 shore. They are available here
This is a Speedball Soft Roller. I have a few of these and I like them. They are a mid softness roller and easy to clean. Up until now this has been what I use for my Oil and Cold Wax painting and it has been fine. They are available here
This is the Soft Rubber Roller from Essdee. It is about the same softness as the Speedball with a shore value of 40. This is the one I recommend for Monotype printmaking using Gelli plates as it leaves more paint on the surface than the hard roller, and so slows the drying time. It is available here
This is the Japanese Soft Roller from Jacksons and nearer the softness I was looking for. But this is a lovely tool with a hefty price tag and given that I wanted to buy at least 8 rollers it would have been out of my price range. Also I am a mucky worker and ruining this roller would not have taken long! But take a look, they are available here
Ring those bells and hang out the flags! This is the perfect roller for Oil and Cold Wax painting, and cheap enough that you can buy one of each size for only a pound more than the Japanese roller. You wont find such a soft roller any where in Europe, trust me I have tried! They are available here
I hope that helps! Having the right tools for the job is so important, it can make the difference between loving what we do and struggling. I have ordered a ‘class set’ of these so those of you who come to my in-person workshops will have the perfect roller to paint with!
That’s great. Well done. Now can you persuade Jacksons to stock the Messermeister silicone scraper please
Thanks! Now that’s an idea!!
Well done! Will take a look and perhaps I will order to try!
Sold out at Jackson’s after a day! Got what I think is the same from Handprinted, only available in one size though. They are calling it a textile roller.
So enjoyed and learned so much from you videos. Well done!
Hi Dominique, Sorry to be the one who bursts your bubble but the handprinted textile roller will dissolve if you use it with Cold Wax Medium…it’s made from foam? But it will be great for acrylic painting and gelli printing!😀