I’d been itching to experiment with a chromatic layering technique—pushing depth and dimension using only a single subject and a single color. When I came across a set of on-sale scrap wood coasters at Michaels, I couldn’t resist taking them home as the perfect testing ground.

With clovers growing abundantly in my backyard, they felt like a natural subject to reference. I chose gouache over acrylic. I love how gouache holds its saturation on nearly any surface—wood, ceramic, stone—making it an incredibly satisfying medium to work with for small, tactile projects like these. It doesn’t have the same plastic-y texture afterwards either. Definitely my go-to medium.

Once the clovers were painted, I could feel they were still missing something—an extra pop. Taking a chance, I decided to pour resin over the top. Not only would it protect the artwork from moisture, but it would also add a depth I couldn’t achieve with normal gloss varnish.

Despite my determination to remove all little bubbles that might expand, one coaster still ended up with a massive, unsolvable air bubble. While that final step may have been a small bust, I’m genuinely happy with how the coasters turned out—and even more excited to experiment with resin again in future projects.