 Hey everyone, Joanne from Art Resin here, and today we are on location at the studio of artist Greg Benz. So Greg, thank you so much for having us in your studio today. We're so excited to be here. Awesome. No, I'm glad to have you guys in the studio. So Greg works primarily on large panels. He's an abstract landscape painter. So Greg, what are we working on today? I'm going to be taking you through the process of resining a large piece like this size. Great. We're looking forward to learning all of your tips and techniques. So let's get started. So the first thing we're going to do is tape off the painting. Okay, great. So do you tape off every piece and why do you tape? Yeah, I tape the back off of every paint because the resin drips down the sides and creates a drip. So if you tape it, it catches the drip so you can peel the tape off and it's nice and clean underneath. Yeah, it saves you so much time, right? Yes. Do I get that way? Yeah. I use the blue 3M tape just because it comes off nice and easy with the resin and I usually wait about 48 hours before I peel it off. And is there a reason why you're applying the tape with your panel like standing up rather than face down? That's just because I have so much texture on the front of my painting so it just protects the front. Perfect. Okay, Greg, so your piece is all taped and so what's our next step? So next step is to figure out how much resin we need but before that I have it lifted off of the table just so that when we resin it, it doesn't stick to the table itself. Yeah, that's such an important point so you're using some plastic measuring jugs. Yep. You can use stands, painters, pyramids. For a piece this big though you probably need something a little bigger. Yeah. And the plastic, the resin will peel right off so plastic is a good choice to use for stands. And then so speaking of resning, next we're going to need to figure out how much resin we'll need. So how big is this painting? So this is 36 by 36 so we'll have to go to your website to figure that out. Yep, so that's artresin.com slash calculator and if you go there and enter the length and width of your piece so in this case it's 36 by 36, the calculator will let you know how much resin you need and even which kit to buy. So for 36 by 36 we're going to need about 1300 mil of resin. So usually if it's 1300 like I'll mix 1500 let's say just to kind of, just to have a little bit of extra just in case I need for the sides or there's a little area that needs some more so I'll probably do about 1500. So that's a really good point we always recommend mixing up a little bit more resin than you think you might need just because it would really suck if you poured your piece and you found you're just a little bit short and you had to stop and mix up more so 1500 is a good amount. Great so we're ready to measure and mix now. So we're going to mix up double the amount that we said just because I've got another painting on the side so if you're going to mix resin and you've got a couple pieces it's much better to do them all at once just because it saves you time and if you're babysitting them you might as well babysit too. Right that makes so much sense. Okay perfect so we're mixing up quite a bit it's going to be 3000 mil like 3 liters which is about 100 ounces so that's quite a large amount of resin so I'm looking forward to hearing any tips you have for mixing up. Yeah so something this large I've got a drill with a mixer on it so I use that it's just much easier faster so we'll pour it in and we'll mix it up show you how it goes. Sounds good we are ready to pour our piece but before we do we need to make sure that it's level right? Sure yeah so normally I'll just level the piece just to make sure that it's close you know because if not you'll get some like uneven spots in the resin so make sure it's close and you should be good to go. Perfect especially with the texture and stuff you want to make sure it's completely level. Yeah for sure. Great so here we go. So you're ready to go? I am are you? Yeah. All right. So because you use that drill to mix up your resin it incorporated quite a bit of air so we have some sort of cloudiness right but that's going to come out with the torch. Yeah I'll use my torch and all those bubbles will come out you'll see them just kind of disappear. Perfect. So I try to be a little bit more careful with the texture side of things just so you don't accidentally scrape anything off. So piece this size it's manageable to do for one person but do you find sometimes like working with a larger piece or maybe in the summertime when the heat can prompt the resin to cure faster do you ever need an extra pair of hands to help you apply the resin? Yeah sometimes on the really large pieces sometimes you need an extra pair of hands in the summer just because the temperature will change the way the resin dries it acts a little faster but usually it's manageable for me to do it. So now I'll go around and finish the sides. You can use a foam brush to apply to the sides but I think the way Greg's doing it with a gloved hand really is the best way right? It's just I find it's easier and it really helps even out the resin I find. Oh that's so satisfying. That's one of my favorite parts. And for a large piece like this like nothing beats a propane torch right? Yeah no a bigger torch helps for sure. Yeah absolutely and it is incredible like all the detail in the piece like the resin just makes it come to life. Yeah it really brings them out. Yeah and have you always worked in acrylics? Yeah this is all acrylic and acrylic ink lots of mixed media kind of textures and different mediums and then yeah then we finish it off with the resin. So Greg what's the next step now? Next step is to look around and see if there's any dust or hair or anything that you can kind of see through the light like truiting through the resin to pick it out so that you have a nice even finish. Yeah looking in the light really really helps. So Greg I've noticed that you torched a couple of times is that typical for like a larger piece? Yeah something this size I'll continually go around 10, 20, 30 minutes at a time just kind of continually looking after the bubbles getting rid of as much dust and particles that I can get out of it to make it as clean as possible. Perfect and then at what point are you ready to cover it and leave it and let it cure? So you know I'll get it as best I can until I think it's you know pretty much perfect and then I'll I've got a big box over there that is the size of my table that I'll just cover it with. And Greg said that he actually custom ordered or you ordered that box right? Yeah I ordered it from Uline and just to the exact size of my table and then just pop it on. Yeah that is an amazing tip. Well I think this looks fantastic I mean it was gorgeous before but the resin has just amplified it like in so many different ways it is absolutely gorgeous. Thank you. Yeah I love how it just brings out the depth and the blending in my paintings like it softens the skyline I find. Yeah I love the way it looks. Yeah one thing I meant to mention is that you use wood panels right for your paintings. Yeah and that's again for the reason of using resin if you use canvas it's going to sag with the resin sinking to the center and use the wood panels so you don't have that problem it's just nice and flat and smooth. Right epoxy resin is heavy so the wood really does have the weight to sustain it. Yeah especially this big. Yes yeah you know get a nice even coat. So this looks absolutely flawless flawless pour and I'm so excited to see it all cured enough on the wall. Awesome yeah I can't wait to have you guys back when it's all done and I'll be babysitting it for the next hour or so. That's great well we'll be back in a few days to see the finished piece. Awesome. So it's been a few days and we're back to reveal the final piece and it looks beautiful Greg what do you think? I love it I'm super happy how it all came together looks great. Yeah it's gorgeous and while we were gone you took the tape off right? Yeah I take the tape off within 24 hours just because if you don't it's harder to get off. Yeah and your work is absolutely gorgeous to start with but the resin it just amplifies it. The color the metallic shimmer the texture the horizon it just gives it so much depth. Yeah I really love the finish and how it brings out the colors and it just adds another kind of dimension to the work. And if you want to you can always sand the piece and then add another layer of the resin just if you want to level out some of the texture. But I actually like how it looks just with the one coat. Yeah I agree with you the texture just gives it so much visual interest and really it just makes me want to reach out and touch it. So thank you so much Greg for having us to the studio. We loved being here I loved learning from you and getting all your tips and techniques for resigning large pieces of art. I appreciate you guys coming and taking the time to come to the studio. No problem and if you have any questions for Greg please leave them in the comments below. Don't forget to hit subscribe and we will see you next time. Bye. Bye.