Plastic is everywhere - an inexpensive pattern maker!

I love making backgrounds with plastic - plastic 'anything's-that-flat' can be used to make patterned backgrounds quite easily.

I started taking photographs halfway through this process, so I'll catch you up as I go along.  Using a palette paper and mat board surface, I painted a wash of yellow on the board, plunked down some embroidery thingies, and weighted it with an essential Van Gogh tomb.  I actually did this a couple of times with different washes of paint.  These washes were heavy body acrylic, thinned with copious quantities of water.

This repetition resulted in a lively pattern:

 Feeling a need for more pizazz, I added more quinacridone gold,

and then decided a layer of herringbone from a plastic bag would help.  The quinacridone burnt scarlet would make it pop a bit too.

The paint, thinned with air brush medium to a very fluid layer this time, was liberally splashed on the support with the plastic bag stretched over top.

I covered it with another piece of palette paper (waxy side on the paint) and plunked down my Van Gogh bible again.

 I very patiently watched it dry overnight, and the reveal in the morning showed me this.

I'd say I've gone too far, but if I decide that's the case, I can always knock it back a bit with more colour, more pattern, maybe gesso!  The air brush medium thinner works quite differently from the washes created with water in this technique, so there's my lesson for the week.

How about you?  What are you learning in your artwork?