The Process

Once the design is drawn he copies that onto a canvas surface and begins to burn the image onto the canvas surface.

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For the line work he uses a range of carefully selected quick fuses. Laying them in the design or shape required. If he is after a very smokey effect around the line he holds the fuse in place with sheets of cardboard. If he is after just a clean line the fuse is held in place with many metal pins. The fuse is lit at one end and allowed to burn slowly. The slower the burn the darker the line.

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He creates shadows and areas of texture by spreading various size black powder grains over the canvas and lighting it with a blow torch. If the area is to be coloured he carefully mixes black powders with pure colour pigments and uses the same approach. Areas are controlled with aluminium and cardboard stencils

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One of the most unique techniques he uses is the inclusion of silver foils onto the canvas. These are covered with the powders and allowed to burn and oxidise as the powder ignites.

Rusty also oxidises some of his metallic powders with a fine mist of water to create natural rust colours.