"Believe" Mixed Media Canvas

I can't seem to stop making mixed media canvases with lots of texture. I tried really hard to stay away from the modeling paste on this canvas, but apparently I just couldn't help my self.

Fun with stencils!

So this canvas started out with a mixture of acrylic paints and spray inks. I really wanted to make an art piece similar to this one, but with a little bit of a twist. So my next step was to bust into our tape stash and cover the canvas with random tape strips.

All taped up and no where to go

Next I used some white acrylic paint over the top. The idea was that the spaces would be white, leaving the painted spaces under the tape. However I didn't take two things into consideration with my brilliant plan.

1. Spray inks continue to react even after they've dried.
 I ended up with a pastel green/blue instead of the bright white that I wanted.

2. Electrical tape makes a really bad mask.
 The red tape above was some electrical tape I had handy. It didn't seal correctly, so the white paint seeped under the tape, messing up my clean lines.

A pretty pastel, but not really what I was going for.

So after I pulled the tape off the canvas, I tried to figure out how to salvage this piece of art. I decided to do what I do best- build up layers and layers of texture using modeling paste. I also used Distress re-inkers to draw on the canvas and added some bubble wrap stamping. The final touches were some painted cardboard strips and chipboard letters.

So much texture!

So I guess the moral of my story is that 1. It is really hard to resist the siren call of the texture paste and 2. If you've messed up on a piece of art, more layers of paint and texture will fix that right up.

Art Journal- "One Word"

The prompt for this art journal entry was "One Word". After thinking of several words that moved me, I settled on this one:

I choose "Create" because I believe in the power of creativity. It doesn't matter what I do or how I do it- as long as I am creating something, I feel I've accomplished something worthwhile.

On this page I used gesso and stencils to create a resist to the watercolors and spray inks I used. The lettering and all of the doodles were done with my new favorite art tool- Faber Castel Indian ink PITT markers. I love how these pens will write on any surface and because they take a bit to dry, I can smudge and play with them.

The page also has vellum butterflies and paisleys that I embellished with a white gel pen.

This foray in to art journaling was so much fun! I can't wait till the next prompt from A Year in the Life of an Art Journal

Creative Resolutions

I usually don't make traditional New Year's Resolutions, in fact I usually don't make resolutions at all. But this year I've decided that I want to push my self creatively. This desire to try new things has always been a part of my personality, and I am excited about focusing that desire on one specific project this year.

Inspired by a wonderful handmade book created just for me by the amazing Emma at QuirkieCraft, I've decided to keep an art journal for 2013. Here is the journal- it is hand-stitched and is stuffed with paper of every shape and color. It is also filled with paper that Emma silk screened herself.

And because I know that I need some sort of inspiration or prompts to not only keep me going, but keep me focused, I've decided to join A Year in the Life of an Art Journal- an awesome blog that posts new prompts and techniques to try on the 15th and 30th of each month. 

The first prompt is "One Word" and we are supposed to use water color on our journal page. I can't wait to get started!

Mmmmm Texture...

Ahhh, I just love all of the texture on this mixed media piece. I started this piece with a 6 inch X 6 inch canvas. I covered the canvas with paper from a variety of books in different languages as well as music sheets. I also cut apart a bingo card and decoupaged that onto the canvas.

The next layers were built up over time. I would pick up the piece every day and either smear some texture paste, crackle medium or spray inks onto the canvas. The arrows at the top and the circles at the bottom were made by pushing Liquidtex texture paste through a brass stencil and sequin waste. I used my favorite spray inks by Dylusions as well as Tim Holtz's Distress Stains to add the color.

The clock image at the bottom as well as the Chinese (I think it's Chinese) characters at the top were added last. I stamped these images onto white tissue paper using Black Staz-On ink. I then decoupaged the tissue paper on top of all the texture. I love how the tissue paper melts into the canvas and you still see the texture underneath.




Here is a shot of one side of the canvas. This really shows the crackle medium an the texture paste. Once everything was dry I ran a bronze ink pad over the top to highlight the peaks.

It was so much fun creating this art piece. I loved being able to pick it up everyday and add a little something new.