Hello! Today I have a mixed media canvas that I am really excited about sharing with you. I really do LOVE how it turned out. It really takes guts to start putting color onto that terrifyingly blank canvas and turn it into something you love. Now I would like to share real quick that this is a post sponsored by DecoArt. However, I really do love using their products and reach for them every time I paint regardless.
In this project we are exploring using some of the fabulous products from DecoArt's Media Line. But enough jabbering on and on, lets take a look at what you'll need to complete this project.
SUPPLIES
Americana Stencils
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics
Glamour Dust Glitter Paint
DecoArt Media Specialty Products
Americana Multi-Surface Satin Paint
Other supplies
12” x 12” Stretched canvas
Brushes: 3/4” flat, #3 round, #2 round, #6 flat
Scissors
Palate knife
Plastic container or paint palate
12” x 12” Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper or white glitter paper
E-cutter with SGV file – 3D Cutout butterfly for Silhouette
Egg carton
Hot glue gun
Wooden tag
Metallic gold baker’s twine
Gold buttons
INSTRUCTIONS
These Media Fluid Acrylics really do have a lot of pigment in them and even a tiny drop packs a serious punch. Don't put very much paint on your palate because it stretches much further than you think! Mix a couple drops of each of the following colors
with a little dab of Matte Medium: Quinacridone Violet, Cobalt Blue Hue, Cobalt
Teal Hue, Phthalo Turquoise. Brush streaks of these colors onto your canvas as
desired.
Now, what does the Matte Medium do you ask? Well it takes the beautiful color from the bottle and turns it into a transparent version of that paint where it is completely opaque.
Add some darker shadows with some Dioxazine Purple and
Phthalo Blue straight from the bottle.
Use Carbon Black to paint the sides of the canvas.
While painting the sides of the canvas you will
inevitably get some of the black on the top of your canvas. Or maybe I'm just a messy painter... To make this look
more intentional and to add shadows around your piece dry brush Carbon Black
around the edges of your canvas taking care to make sure that it is not
perfectly even all the way around. After all, what shadow is perfectly straight?
Use the Brocade & Berry Borders stencil with a
palate knife and Black Modeling Paste to add the two filigree shapes onto the
left side of the canvas. I have the canvas turned here to make it
easier to work on.
After you have spread Black Modeling Paste over the
stenciled area carefully lift up the stencil and wash the stencil off.
With a clean stencil and palate knife use White
Modeling Paste to add the berry borders in the corner.
After you have spread White Modeling Paste over the
stenciled area carefully lift up the stencil and wash the stencil off. Allow
your modeling paste to dry completely before continuing. This will take
approximately 1.5 hours depending upon how thick you applied it. My husband seemed to think he needed dinner for some strange reason, so I actually let my canvas sit overnight until I had a chance to work on it again.
Mix a single drop of Carbon Black paint with a little
dab of Matte Medium, again, a little bit goes a long way. Now grab a piece of bubble wrap and resist the urge to pop all the bubbles, you need them! Brush the paint onto a piece of bubble wrap, then press
the bubble wrap paint side down onto the canvas. This adds some fun irregular dots onto your canvas background.
Repeat to add bubble dots in two other areas of the
canvas. If you press the bubble wrap onto the canvas twice before refilling
with paint you will get lighter bubbles.
Use Green Gold and Phthalo Green-Blue to paint in the
leaves. I loaded my #3 round brush first with Green Gold and then dipped just
the tip of the brush in Phthalo Green-Blue. This allows the colors to mix and
blend while you are painting the leaves and stems. Now dab a generous amount of Glamour
Dust Glitter Paint in Princess Purple onto the berries.
Use the 3/4” flat brush to apply Titanium White
streaks onto the canvas to add some contrast and more interest into the
background.
Add dots of Liquid Glass onto the canvas. It dries
crystal clear and looks like dew drops or rain drops on your background.
Now for the flowers. Take a recycled paper egg carton
and cut off the flap and the lid. Paint both sides of the egg carton with White
Gesso. Now take scissors and cut apart the egg cups. You need two cups and one pyramid
shape piece (from between the cups) to make one flower.
Trim off the higher sides of the cups to make them
close to an even height. Then cut down from the top of the cup in all four corners.
Use scissors to cut around the top of each side of the cup to look more like a
petal.
Spread the sides of the cup that will be on the bottom of
the flower out wide.
Here is what your assembled flower would look like with
two cups and one center pyramid shape making up the layers of petals.
Mix a little bit of
Quinacridone Violet paint with Tinting Base. What is Tinting Base? Well it allows you to make a lighter yet opaUse the #6 flat brush to paint the
inside and the outside of the flower layers. You do not need to paint the
bottoms.
Now mix a little bit of Quinacridone Violet with
Matte Medium. Dab the transparent mixture onto each petal starting at the base
and working not quite all the way to the top. You want the bottom of the petals
to be darker than the tops. Repeat to paint both the inside and outside of each
petal.
Use a hot glue gun to glue together the flower
layers. Add a gold button into the center of each flower to cover up the glue.
Use hot glue to glue the flowers onto the bottom
right hand corner of the canvas.
Use your E-cutter with your butterfly cut file of choice to cut out six butterflies of various sizes from the white glitter paper. Fold the wings of the butterflies together to make it look like they are lifting off the canvas. Mix a single drop of Cobalt Teal Hue paint with some Matte Medium and brush a thin layer of color onto the butterflies. Mix some Quinacridone Violet with Matte Medium and paint the centers of the butterflies with the paint getting lighter as it reaches the edges of the wings. Arrange the butterflies as desired and use hot glue to glue them in place.
Thin down some Titanium White paint with a little bit of water and paint your wooden tag. Take some of the Cobalt Teal Hue and Quinacridone Violet that has been mixed with Matte Medium that you used on the butterflies. Add streaks of color onto the tag. Take a 24” long piece of metallic gold baker’s twine and wrap it around the tag several times then tie the ends of the twine into a bow. Use a permanent marker or pen to write the following quote onto the tag:
“Your wings already exist. All you have to do is Fly”
Hot glue the tag onto the canvas and hot glue three gold buttons onto the canvas.
Now display your canvas where you can see it regularly and smile at your beautiful piece of art!
