Stencil, Scrape & Stamp

 

Above is the start of a new painting, created with 4 stencils from www.StencilGirlProducts.com -- two stencils designed by Mary Beth Shaw and two that I designed.  I used high-viscosity (heavy-body) gold metallic paint thru the stencils as the first step.  I gave these imprints dimension by being generous with the amount of paint.  The red shape came next, followed by another application of gold.

In adding that red "backbone" for the composition, I used a flat paintbrush in some areas but for the most part, I applied the red paint with a scrape-tool -- an old credit card.  Below is a close-up showing the white of the original canvas, and the stenciled-on gold pattern, showing thru the red paint.  This layered look is easily accomplished with the scraping method.

 

Below is the painting at a later stage; I've been repeating the same process of adding paint with a scraper.

 

Here are two later-still-stage close-ups showing more scrape effects:

 

 

Altho not shown here, something more that I often do is to use a stencil as a "stamp," immediately after it has been used with heavy-body paint.  I lift the stencil off the substrate, turn it over, and press the still-moist paint into the substrate, usually in an area far removed from the area of original use.  I like to work toward unity in an artwork by repeating some elements across the substrate, and this method of twice using a stencil, before placing it into a soak-basin, provides a quick and easy way to work in that direction.