9" x 12" Stencils VINTAGE SCRIPT and BRANCHING BLOSSOMS SILHOUETTE

My 9"x 12" Branching Blossoms Silhouette Stencil is often called "The Tree" because ... well, it looks like one!  I've even started to call it "The Pseudo-Tree" myself ...

Below, I'm posting the first in a series of close-up photos that show a work-in-progress on canvas.  (Note:  in the background and on the upper right are underlying prints made with the 9'x 12" stencil Letter Mania, designed by Suzi Dennis.)  Thruout all these phases, I'm working with acrylic paints.

Next phase ... adding green:

Next phase:  added a whole lot of green!--

Next phase ... Here is the entire canvas, showing that I've now toned down the green and used part of another 9"x 12" stencil, Vintage Script: 

By the time I had gone this far in the process, I was wishing I had left the left side in its original condition (as shown in the top photo close-up) but there was no going back.  All I could do was move forward and hope to make the best of things.  (Can anyone else relate to this??)

Much later, I finished the canvas with the prints shown in the close-ups below:

Detail 1

Detail 2

 Detail 3

Full view

My 9" x 12" stencil Vintage Script looks like this --

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FERN Stencils

Fern Fronds Silhouette is a mini stencil -- 4" x 4" -- but sometimes, a mini is perfect for a project!  Notice below how a multi-colored old map brings excitement to a print made with this stencil and burnt-orange acrylic paint.

Like all other StencilGirl stencils and masks, Fern Fronds Silhouette volunteers to work in any direction...

... and works just as well with printmaking inks as it does with heavy-body acrylic paints: 

This 4" x 4" stencil itself looks like this --

 Fern Fronds Silhouette Mini (4"x 4")

I designed another fern stencil --

Ferns 6 Stencil (6" x 6")

-- and today's post has two art samples I've created with it:

 Ferns 6 Stencil (6" x 6") and Prayer Flags Stencil (9" x 12") 

Ferns 6 Stencil (6" x 6") and Sprigs Stencil (6" x 6")

 Sprigs Stencil (A.K.A "the angel stencil" -- can you find the hidden angel? -- looks like this:

Sprigs Stencil (6" x 6")

And the Prayer Flags stencil looks like this --

Prayer Flags stencil (9" x 12")

Lots of thanks for stopping by my blog today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.

BLOOMING WHERE PLANTED and FANTASIA 9" x 12" Stencils

The reductive (also called subtractive) technique works this way:  First, with acrylic paint, I paint a layer of new color in a limited area -- then, while this layer is still wet, I place a stencil over it.  Holding the stencil in place with one hand, I use a paper towel or soft cloth to rub off still-wet paint in the areas that are exposed thru the openings of the stencil.  (What I mean by "new color" is that the substrate has already been coated with other acrylics, as in the examples below; and those early layers of paint have been given time to dry.)

In the above and the below detail close-ups, I used the subtractive/reductive approach with parts of my 9" x 12" stencil Blooming Where Planted.

To create the print below, I used a sponge brayer loaded with heavy-body acrylic paint and rolled it over a substrate that had already painted with several layers of acrylic paint.

Above:  Loading a sponge brayer with heavy-body acrylic paint.

Below is an updated version of a stretched canvas that I had previously started.  After finishing the painted areas, I added stained stencils as collage elements.  Some of these were cut from the stencil Blooming Where Planted; others were cut from my 9" x 12" stencil Fantasia.

Above:  You can click on the image above to enlarge it and better see detail.

The stencils themselves look like this --

Fantasia

 Blooming Where Planted

Thanks for your visit here today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils, please start here.

To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.

2 StencilGirl StencilClub Members Showcasing their Art

Artist Lisa Dobry often leans toward an earthen palate and she handles those earthy colors beautifully!

Above:  Click on image to enlarge it.  Print by Lisa Dobry using my 6" x 6" stencil Heron.

Above:  Artist Kate Palmer using Palm Fronds Silhouette Stencil Small, which measures 6" x 6" (and also comes in a 4" x 4" size.)

Above:  The finished art by artist Kate Palmer.

Above:  Artist Lisa Dobry once again!  Creating these beautiful pieces, she used my 6" x 6" Pressed Leaves stencil as well as one of my Pods series stencils.  Feel free to click on the above image to enlarge it and better see details.

My Pods series of stencils and masks include:

Small Dangled Pods Stencil (6" x 6")

Small Tangled Pods Mask (6" x 6")

Dangled Pods Stencil (9" x 12")

Tangled Pods Mask (9" x 12")

Many thanks to these two artists for allowing me to show their artwork here!  Kate Palmer's art had originally appeared in StencilGirl's StencilTalk blog.

And thank you for stopping by my blog today!

To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils, please start here.

PRAYER FLAGS and the Reductive/Subtractive Technique

A technique called reductive or substractive has been highlighted in this blog before.  

Today's post won't repeat those directions with those step-by-step photos; instead, it will show a new stretched canvas with a background created almost entirely with this technique.

The stencil used in today's project is my 9" x 12" Prayer Flags --

 Below are three close-ups showing different areas of the stretched canvas....

Above:  This reductive/subtractive area was done with Titanium White acrylic paint over a multi-hued background.

Above:  After the reductive technique was used in this area, I came back in with diluted acrylic paint and added these orange highlights.

Above:  This reductive/subtractive area was done with Titan Buff acrylic paint over a multi-layered background.  One of the background layers had undergone the same technique, but with blue paint.

Above:  a close-up of the focal point when the painting is near completion.  The blue foreground is the stencil itself, stained and added with heavy matte medium to become a collage element.

Above:  The entire canvas, at the point of near-completion.

Below:  Note the right side of the canvas, now that an art crayon has been used to add a blue line.  This line was then covered with matte medium to set it permanently in place.

The final version appears above; its title is Go Fly a Kite!

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To scroll thru the pages of all my StencilGirl stencils, please start here.

GARDEN MONTAGE 9" x 12" Stencil

Wanting to remind myself that spring is on its way, I've been making prints with my 9" x 12" stencil Garden Montage --

Some of the prints line up below:

And some of the collages I've made with them are below:

This is only the tip of the iceberg -- I enjoy using this stencil over and over!  I'll post more pieces made with it at a later date.

To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils, please start here.

Many thanks for checking out my blog today!