Write It On Your Heart Canvas

Life is too short to waste time doing things that don't bring us happiness, but what really gives life meaning is the relationships we have with those we love. I think first of family, but we have friends we love like family, too.

This canvas is created using an 8" square museum canvas (1 1/4" deep) turned upside down and distressed using modeling paste, inks, and paints. Inside, I've used card stock, corrugated paper, embossed chipboard, twine, cheesecloth, and a resin heart artifact by Prima Marketing. Layers of  paint, ink, and metallic paste provide a rich surface reflecting multiple colors.  

Write it on your heart that the ones you love are life's most precious gifts. Always be thankful for the blessings of loved ones!

Birds, Birds, Birds

I felt inspired this month to practice some new techniques using birds as my subject. I've always loved birds (as long as they're outside), especially songbirds. I also drew some inspiration from the scriptures, Matthew 10:29,30 (KJV) and the song, "His Eye Is On the Sparrow." Lauryn Hill has a killer version of it, by the way, that's really worth listening to and having a copy. Enjoy!

 This is an 8"x 8" canvas board. It is a mixed media piece. Materials are acrylic paints, modeling paste, paper, gilder's paste, and Faber-Castell Gelatos (a water soluble pigment stick that is similar to an oil pastel). I've stenciled, stamped, painted and smudged...

 This is also a mixed media piece done on an
 8"x 8" canvas board. The material are the same as above, with one addition, a strip of crocheted lace.

This is a 9"x 12" studio canvas. Materials are the same as above with the addition of some glass glitter and micro beads.

Heart With Wings

Happy Friday. Working on several projects at the same time creates the problem of lapses between shares. I've had a picture in the back of my mind for a while of how to use the resin heart I purchased from Prima Marketing. It is one of their Archival Cast pieces which I've had for at least a year. I finally decided to mount it on a canvas with angel wings. I designed the wings, then cut them from heavy chipboard. After a couple layers of gesso, I applied some thick homemade modeling paste with a palette knife to create the appearance of feathers. A thorough dry and then a layer of black gesso followed with a layer of crackle medium and a thin coat of white acrylic paint created the aged plaster effect.

Here are some closeups!

Believe in Magic

I wanted something with more gold tones than I normally use and I may have gone a little overboard. I seem to always end up with lots of blues and greens. Teal, turquoise, forest...it doesn't matter what shade, I seem to gravitate towards the cool color spectrum all the time. Odd, since I prefer warm colors for my clothes and home decor.

I repurposed a canvas for this project. That's one great thing about mixed media, the more layering and textures you have, the better. Also, it allows me to change up my decor without investing lots of dollars, just my time.

There are lots of elements here: printed tissue paper in the background, resin pieces, papers, mulberry paper flowers, metal bits, micro beads, pearls, and loads of bling. This was all layered on modeling paste stenciled designs and I also used some honeycomb packing paper to add additional texture and dimension to the background.

 I love incorporating vintage photos and artwork into my designs, but because I didn't permanently fix the photo into the frame, it could actually be removed and a current personal photo displayed in the frame instead.

More details can be seen in these photos.

Steampunk Dream

New project I've finally completed. I've been thinking about this for weeks and finally pulled it together. The canvas is the backdrop for the three dimensional steampunk hot air balloon. It took some time to figure it all out, but the canvas balances on it's feet, so it doesn't need to be propped to sit on a shelf or table.

 There are so many elements here, I can't go into them all, but the balloon is fabricated from a paper mache egg as is the teacup. There is paint, paper, burlap, lace, loads of metal gears, crystals, ink, and glitter. I turned a 12" square canvas around, removed the staple holding the canvas to the frame and then used that as a shallow shadow box to frame the project.
 Here are some other pictures:

 These allow a better look at the details.

This project was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.

Vintage Girl with Hoop Canvas

I've been incognito for a long time, dealing with some health problems that are finally slowly being resolved. This is my first creative project in a long time. We moved and my paints and things were all packed up and I just didn't have the strength to do any organizing or unpacking. Now I'm more organized and really feeling more creative, so I'm off to the creating races!

                                          Here is the whole canvas, and below are closeups.

This is an 8" x 10" canvas I painted with white gesso, applied some clear modeling paste from different stencils, then layered with ink sprays, stamps, lace bits and paper to add more texture and color.

Once the background was done, I added a photo to a Prima Marketing resin frame that I'd antiqued with a bit of gold, copper, and blue-green patina. I layered the frame over a faux tin tile and piece of window screening. Fabric and paper flowers, bits of lace, a few resin and metal pieces were arranged around the frame. the finishing touches are some Prima glass pearls, crystal embellishments and floral wire "springs" dyed to match the background.

The photo came from Angela Holt's Pinterest pages. https://www.pinterest.com/angelahdesigns/?eq=Angela%20Holt&etslf=21077