Invisible paintings
Finally got around to getting these pictures framed. We got them in Morocco last year, and although they are not the most impressive works or art, the technique used to paint them is what attracted me to them.
The entire thing is painted using three paints, two of which are invisible. The finished picture is then waved over a gas flame, and as it heats up the image slowly appears.
It took me a while to figure out how they do it. The dark brown parts are painted using what he called "mint tea", but is in effect a concentrated sugar solution. This appears totally invisible until it is heated, at which point the sugar caramelises, and produces the dark brown areas. The yellow parts are painted using a liquid made by adding hot water to tiny amounts of saffron. Again it is virtually invisible until heated at which point it turns into a yellow shade. The blue parts are painted using indigo and so are always visible, but the vast majority of the work is done without being able to see what they are painting.
The town in the background is Aït Benhaddou, (which doubles for Yunkai in Game of Thrones). Some of the buildings are 4 stories high, yet constructed using only mud and straw. That's some mighty impressive engineering.
The entire thing is painted using three paints, two of which are invisible. The finished picture is then waved over a gas flame, and as it heats up the image slowly appears.
It took me a while to figure out how they do it. The dark brown parts are painted using what he called "mint tea", but is in effect a concentrated sugar solution. This appears totally invisible until it is heated, at which point the sugar caramelises, and produces the dark brown areas. The yellow parts are painted using a liquid made by adding hot water to tiny amounts of saffron. Again it is virtually invisible until heated at which point it turns into a yellow shade. The blue parts are painted using indigo and so are always visible, but the vast majority of the work is done without being able to see what they are painting.
The town in the background is Aït Benhaddou, (which doubles for Yunkai in Game of Thrones). Some of the buildings are 4 stories high, yet constructed using only mud and straw. That's some mighty impressive engineering.