Fantasy Landscape Experiment - Dyed Plaster Samples 2

In the second day of making the samples, I gained some pieces in really strange colour. Firstly, their colours were too strong, which was a little disturbing and like poison. To achieve a feeling of fantasy, I chose vivid colours. But it seemed that I lost my control and put too many dyes in the plasters. 

This piece presents a landform that inspired by plesiosaur's fossil and hills in Cappadocia area in Turkey. Though the form of it was not fully in control, it still can express a basic idea of mine. 

I had some difficulties of using blue. I couldn't get the right colour that I want. I tried different blue dyes and percentage, but the colour still looked not good. It may to do with the colour that go with it or the plaster itself. The plaster is not pure white, which is slightly greyish. Sometimes the colour looked good in the water, but after adding plaster, it became strange. I know that they are just samples and I may face other problems when using glaze. But if they are in a wrong colour, how can they function as a sample or a guide. 

 Secondly, the fabric dyes are becoming weirder during drying. My guess is when the moisture came out, it also brought the colour inside the plaster to the surface, which makes the colour of the works stronger and darker. 

 Like this one, the colour was acceptable at the beginning, then it turned out like the pictures showed blow. And I found there was some salt in the fabric dye for colour fixing, which gradually came out to the surface of the work and became white crystal.

In the picture blow, I really like this colour combination and rich details in it, even it is getting darker. I used acrylic paint in the yellow part mixed with a little fabric dyed purple pink plaster, which gave a smooth cream-like texture. When I poured the purple pink part, it was dryer and formed rock-like texture. 

After I put it into the drying cabinet, the purple pink became stronger and looked about to burn. But not so bad compared to the other pieces.

I had a tutorial with Shane today that he suggested I can make the form first and then paint on the plaster when it is still wet. In this case, I can have more control of the colour. I will try this way later. But the good part of the method I am using now is that I can carve the work freely without worrying about losing colour.