Studio Adhesives

You should have on hand two types of adhesives in your studio: Yes Glue and gel medium. Here are the differences between the two adhesives and when to use them.

The “work horse” for all my collage gluing is acrylic-based gel medium. I use soft gel medium, semi-gloss. It is not extra thick. Because the gel adhesive is acrylic, I can continue using acrylic paint on top and finish off with an acrylic varnish.

Collage Workshop

The Yes Glue is different. It has been around forever. Much like a library paste, it is used for book making due to its acclaimed archival and acid free qualities. It is water-based. But here’s the deal: Yes Glue is popular amongst watercolorists who use collage and watercolor paint together. When dried, Yes Glue assemblages can later be painted on with watercolor (or acrylic). The point being, Yes Glue is not an acrylic adhesive - a good thing to know if you want to paint watercolor techniques on top of your collage assemblage.

Stop the Presses! Now, published experts and experienced collage artists are claiming their Yes Glue assemblages over time DO turn brownish! Yes Glue is NOT archival as claimed. Ann Baldwin, award winning collage artist has stated, “it may not be the great idea we once thought it was.” So I’m changing my mind and switching “everything collage” back to Golden’s Soft Gel Medium or Heavy Gel Matte Medium. Polyvinyl Alcohol Adhesive (PVA) is my other favorite adhesive. It stays flexible and clear.