MIXED MEDIA CANVAS

Hi. At artastic this month the focus has been on stencilling. For this challenge I have created a canvas wall panel.

The background is a 30cm x 40cm deep canvas which was firstly painted with white acrylic paint. To this I added steaks of greys, ochre and umber to make a weathered appearance. Stencilled fronds to represent seaweeds were added in various shades of grey to create a layered effect. The stencils were also applied to the sides of the canvas. In addition to this I added mesh fibre which was then sprinkled with embossing powders, beads and sequins which were then heated.
This method was also used on the smaller canvas board with starfish skeletons.

The glues used for this technique are PVA based and when applied thickly, give fabulous bubble effects when heated.
The inspiration from ARTastic was based on the work of William Rose.

Catch you again soon.
Cheers, Di

FAVOURITE PLACES

Hi and welcome. Today I'm sharing a canvas featuring some of the places I love to visit in my local area as well as an artwork by an indigenous Australian artist, Sally Morgan, as my DT piece for Anything But A Card. Our theme this month has been  "Inspired By the Masters".

This artwork by Sally Morgan is a screen print "Aboriginal Land" from 1995. This depicts images of  six different Australian landscapes including desert, rivers, mountains and trees. The whole piece has been encircled by a rainbow serpent to give strength and unity to the print. It is also a creation spirit in Aboriginal Australia.

I chose a 50 x 35cm canvas so that I could work a number of photos on a larger area. The background was sprayed with Dylusions Inks and Lindy Stamp Gang sprays. A border of leaves was stencilled on with Viva Modelling Creams and Ferro combinations.

I also stencilled on a water effect with the same products. The photos I used all have some significance with each other, as well as some Aboriginal significance. 
The top photo is an aerial view of Mt Warning, named so by Captain Cook and known as Wollumbin by the local Aboriginals. This peak and the rim of mountains around it are the remains of a huge shield volcano which covered this area. With the erosion over the millennium, the beautiful Tweed Valley, Richmond Valley and the Border ranges were formed.
The remaining photos are of the Nimbin Rocks, Whian Whian Falls (taken one very misty morning),  rapids at a creek near Protester's Falls, and overflow from Rocky Creek Dam, after a period of flooding rain.
Rain that falls in the Mt Warning and Border Ranges catchment area impact these creeks and dams, hence the water connection on the canvas.
Many of the towns and villages, particularly in the Tweed have Aboriginal names, including the home town of my childhood and teenage years, Murwillumbah.
They are all a part of rainforest areas and that is why I have chosen to use the leaves to connect them. My bright colours, inspired by Sally Morgan, have been used in the flowers that I've made. These represent lillypilly flowers which are a typical rainforest tree. These were painted onto card using modelling cream and then streaks and dots of pearl pens. Additional leaves were stamped onto mop-up card and cut out.
Pop on over to: anythingbutacard and check out what masters the rest of the team has chosen and how they've been inspired.

Catch you again soon.
Cheers, Di

CANVAS MINI-ALBUM FOR ARTASTIC

Hi everyone.
ARTastic  Challenges this month has a wonderful inspirational artwork and mood board to tantalise your creativity.
For my take on this I decided to start a mini album, with the first page using the colours from the mood board. The photo is quite an old one so it's showing a bit of wear and tear.

The canvas page was painted with acrylic paints and stamped with a slightly deeper shade of dusky pink. the photo ( me, aged 2) was mounted onto a frame of pearlised pink paper. The edges were pinpricked with a scallop design. This didn't take as long as you would have expected because I have some Pergamano tools which made it a lot quicker. I chain stitched some vines on the edges with variegated pink embroidery thread and then added the lace and button flowers.

Cut out leaves from a wall paper sample were decorated with Liquid Pearls and tucked behind some material roses.

Additional lace was tucked under the photo mat and chipboard butterflies, also painted and decorated with Liquid pearls, were added.

 

The vellum quote was also pinpricked around and the canvas page mounted to black cardstock to give some extra support and stability. I added Liquid Pearls in flourishes and dots around this to complete the page.

As you can see from the gorgeous artwork by Josh Miels, we had the opportunity work with beautiful colours.
Pop on over to artastic and check out what the rest of the team has done with this. We'd love to see your art work here.
Thanks fro dropping by. catch you again soon.
Cheers, Di

NERIDA WELCOMES IN THE NEW YEAR

Hi and Happy New Year everyone. I hope 2015 brings you much joy, good health, love, peace and the chance to indulge in your favourite pastimes.
The full impact of summer has hit us in the southern regions of our planet and in light of this, Pixels and Paper Challenges have for your inspiration a theme that will sure to have you searching for the summer fun moments.

My take on this can only be described as different, as it brought out the inner child and my love of fantasy.

Let me introduce you to Nerida in her wondrous under-the-sea grotto. With her you'll also see some of her close friends.

 

I've used a large canvas board on which to create this artwork. The surface was coated with gesso before spraying with various inks including; Lindy Stamp Gang, Perfect Pearls Mists and Dylusions Sprays. I use combinations of blues, aquas, greens, yellows, and silver before a final quick burst with Perfect Pearls "Perfect Pearls".

 

 

Once dried, the background was stencilled with Viva Decors Modelling Cream, again using sea-toned colours. The Mother of Pearl was the perfect one to use for the bubbles,

Nerida, a mermaid from a Chocolate Baroque set, was stamped, photographed and then copied onto A4 laser print paper, to give me the size I required. She was coloured using a water brush and the same set of modelling cream colours. I also used these for colouring the other stamped pieces (small seahorse and seaweed).
The dolphin is a photo of part of a large door feature I did while teaching. Again, the photo of this piece was printed onto laser paper and the dolphin cut out.
Chipboard sea shapes were inked with chalk edgers before decorating with Viva Decor Pens.
Strings of beads were added to make some interesting underwater plants.

Larger beads were added to the top of the grotto. These were placed to look as though they were swaying in gentle ocean currents.

I hope you enjoyed meeting Nerida and her friends.
I really had fun doing this canvas and I am loving the effects that can be done with a combination of sprays, modelling creams and stencils.
Pop on over to:pixelsandpaperchallengeblog to see what the rest of the team have done with our inspiration photo.

 

 



 

Thank you for stopping by. Cheers, for now. Di

PATTERNING

Hi and welcome. Thanks for stopping by. For Anything But A Card, this month, we've had the theme and challenge of patterns. To go with a previous canvas, I've done another, again in black and white, using a mandala idea, combined with different patterns. I like the look of these and  am tempted to do a series of them for a wall.... quite dramatic! The canvas size is a 45cm square.

 The design was drawn onto white cardstock, cut out and adhered to the canvas with Collage Pauge.

I started the design using a compass and drew  concentric circles and  a flower design.... always knew I liked geometry for a reason!

Further layers were added to make the design more elaborate

 

With the basic design drawn in patterns were gradually added

For the patterns I used an ultra -fine Sharpie pen. I like these because they give such a fine line and are permanent. Larger sections of the design were blocked in with a slightly thicker Sharpie.


   

 

 

 

Close-ups of the patterns used.

To finish off, I used some stick-on gem stones (black and clear). This added an extra dimension as well as helping to hide some wobbly cutting!
All I have to do now is to do another one or two....?!!!
There's still time to join in the challenge. Why not pop over to have a look at what the rest of the design team as done at: http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.ca/

Again, thanks for stopping by and having a look. I really appreciate your comments.
Cheers, Di

 

THE HOUSE THAT WE BUILT..... MINI ALBUM

Hi and welcome to my second post today. Normally. this post isn't due to go up until week three of the challenge at ARTastic, but because I actually finished this one in advance (don't ask me HOW!!!) it's able to go up today.
The challenge at ARTastic this month, includes the use of fabric. Check the inspirational art piece, criteria and the great takes on this by the rest of the team at: http://artasticchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au/

I've done a house-shaped mini album. The covers have been die cut from canvas and each page features some form of fabric: diecut flowers from old denim jeans or hessian (burlap), ribbon, torn fabric, or diecut fabric leaves. The inside pages have been diecut from laser print card, smooshed firstly with Distress Inks, then stamped with archival inks. On the pages I've also used a diecut chevron trellis and the leftover cut-outs as accents. Blue and / or black coloured bling has been added, as these were two of the colours used on the inspiration piece.

This post has quite a number of photos, showing the inside pages of the album. The photos were taken in October, 1977, the year we built our house, and show the early stages the building. I've added a very poignant photo of  my mum and dad,  favourite uncle and aunt and myself,. This was the last photo taken of my dad- he passed away the following month... cancer, and therefore the last one of this group as well. It had been dad's wish to see our house built, but I believe he knew it wasn't to be, so he asked to see it as it was and we were so happy that he was able to see at least this much.

 

Front cover finished with a door diecut. The windows were covered with glossy accents, as were the diecut paper flowers to give them a porcelain appearance. A bit of extra bling completed the flowers and roof line. The album is held together with binder rings tied with various ribbons and braids.



Canvas with smooshings of ink

Almost completed front cover

Page 1. The beginnings.



Page 2



Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

Page 8



Page 9. Our son standing on an extension my husband built

Page 10. A Giant Strelitzia (Bird of Paradise)... the name really suits this plant as it is now much higher than our house!

Page 11. The namesake of this blog.. one of our much loved tawny frogmouths. The tree is a chipboard piece, coloured in 3D Stamping Paint, then layered over the top with Glossy Accents... very sparkly effect!

 

 

Page 12. A shot of some very special hippeastrums, which flower mid-late winter and early spring.

Back cover.



Thank you for stopping by. I hope you have time to drop by the ARTastic site.
See you soon.
Cheers, Di

RHAIS WILL CERATINLY SPARKLE!

Hi and welcome to a sparkling challenge:- Number 33 at: http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.ca/  which has a week remaining to join us.
I've been working on canvases a fair bit lately and this time decided to use 2 of them, hinged together so that they could form the exterior and interior of a fashion salon "Couture Roses", the favourite for Rhais, the fabulously effervescent Parisian socialite who does so much for charities.

The canvases were painted with black gesso on the exterior face and inside frames. The walls were papered with a soft pearlised and metallic cardstock. To this I added a chipboard chandelier, painted with 3D stamping paint with lights highlighted with glossy accents.

The same treatment was given to a large chipboard rose:the signature motif for the salon. The frame of the mirror has been rubbed with Inca gold and 3D stamping paint to give an antique look.
Graphic 45's 'Couture' papers have featured on this canvas from the photos of past models and advertising, the sign 'Couture' and of course, Rhais.

Rhais will certainly sparkle at her Charity Dinner/Dance in her gown featuring the new vogue dropped waist, softly draped and held by her favourite flowers. The hemline, trimmed with the same flowers, drops to a short train. Thin straps sewn with rhinestones add to the glamorous appearance of this gorgeous gown. The gown will be further enhanced by the long string of diamonds being held by Rhais.

To complete the salon, a curtain from sheer fabric, bling and  handmade roses have been added.

The roses, were die cut using Tim Holtz tattered florals dies  and made up in the manner given by Jennie in her fabulous tutorial. You can see this tutorial and others, at:

http://jennie-livethedream.blogspot.com.au   

Instead of using water, I sprayed the flower with Perfect Pearls mists. When dried they were brushed lightly with 3D Stamping  Paint.     

I hope you've enjoyed visiting Rhais's favourite salon.

Remember to pop over to Anything But A card to see what the rest of the design team have been playing with. We'd love you to join us.

Thank you for stopping by.

 

Cheers, Di.                                                                

IT'S ALL BALANCED!

Hi and welcome to my first post as a newbie on the Anything But A Card team.... and what a thrill it was to have been asked to join. The inspiration this month was taken from this beautiful photo,

with the added criteria of balance. Pop on over to the ABAC Challenge at:
http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.ca/  to see how this inspiration has taken the rest of the team.

I decided to take the artistic meaning of balance and designed a yin-yang zen-tangled inspired pattern.

I  find this style of doodling quite relaxing and it was a technique I used regularly in my former life as a teacher. The designs the children came up with were always amazing and they were always so engrossed when doing them (this = quiet! always a big plus in the classroom!!)
This design was drawn onto white cardstock. To make sure my pattern was the same both sides, I first outlined the white section and then photocopied the design. The rest of the colour was added to both sides of the design before I put them in place. Even though this looks fiddly, it wasn't really. The only thing I found to be a problem, was when I joined the two pieces together and discovered I still had a small gap! Easily fixed... just added another pattern element.  Once all of the drawing and shading was completed, the whole piece was adhered to a canvas which had been prepared by painting with white and black gesso. I used 2 - 3 coats of both to get a good coverage. Stick-on black beads were placed along the white / black border: gave some extra dimension as well as covering any small paint line errors. I used the same idea with the outside of the circle, using larger stick-on pearls. I didn't have any black ones in the size I wanted, so coloured the white ones with a permanent ink pen.
The flowers were cut from a lace paper I've had for years. The other component was chipboard flourishes, again painted with the 2 gessos.
All of the gluing was done with Collage Pauge and this was also used as a sealer over the whole of the canvas. I used a permanent Sharpie pen for the design.
Thank you for visiting. I always love to read your comments. Come over and play with us.
Cheers, Di

Fireworks on Canvas

Hi and welcome. Just a quick post tonight, showing you a canvas I have just finished for:
http://archiscraps.blogspot.com.au/  where the challenge for January is based on a photo of Sydney's spectacular Opera House. The added criteria is to add something musical.
For this, black gesso was painted onto the canvas and when dried spritzed with glimmer mists. the fireworks were drawn on with metallic inks, kindy glitz and liquid pearls.

The photo  I've used for this piece has come from a public domain site and depicts the Opera House on New Year's Eve. This has been mounted on paper put through a music embossing folder. The edges were torn and smooshed with 3D stamping paint. The music staff and fluoro notes were a set of stickers bought years ago and forgotten about. Amazing what a good tidy up discovers! These were also smooshed with the 3D stamping paint for a touch of glimmer.

Extra bits and pieces include a metal spiral, a metal badge made up of various musical instruments, star-shaped paper clips , fluoro ribbon added to one of the firework bursts and plastic stars. Other musical notations have been put on with a foiling technique, liquid pearls and metallic inks.
At the moment I really love creating with canvas, because of the versatility with what can be done with them.
Thank you for stopping by. Your visits and lovely comments are always appreciated.
Cheers, Di.

Alina the Fair

Hi and welcome.
A beautiful  mixed media artwork, "Listen" by Jenny Grant is the inspiration piece at ARTastic this month. Check out the stunning DT inspiration pieces at:http://artasticchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au/  I really enjoy this style of artwork and for the challenge this month decided to do a canvas piece using a mix of different mediums.
I used a canvas board for the background surface. This was  painted with black gesso and while it was still damp, I sprinkled on Perfect Pearls powders and spritzed with water. I also spritzed with Perfect Pearls mists.

Zentangling has been a feature in some of my projects this year, and this time I chose to draw a faerie face on cardstock and gave her a tangle of tresses, some of which have been zentangled. Alina, (the name I have given this faerie) was  looking too stark against the background so I lifted her tones using Lyra Aquarelles.

 

 

 

I don't know what I was thinking of when I outlined the face in black!!!! Just got carried away... anyway the jawline had to be softened. This was done using a blend of Picket Fence Distress Stain and the Aquarelles.

 

Before attaching the piece to the canvas board, I sprayed with a fixative. Alina's headpiece was beaded and finished with a metallic flower embellishment (Tim Holtz). This was coloured using 3D stamping paint. The other metal pieces on the canvas were also coloured the same way.

To complete Alina's coiffure I added metallic yarn, a piece from a Christmas decoration and 3D Stamping Paint to suggest movement and to give an extra pop of colour.

The outside edge  of the canvas was painted with the 3d stamping paint as well.

Thank you for stopping by and for leaving encouraging comments. these are truly appreciated.
Cheers, Di.