In Living Color!

Just finished ...

Click on the above artwork to enlarge it.



... and titled In Living Color, this artwork on a 9"X12" canvas, was built up around a homemade stencil and matching masks --

For the homemade part, I used strips of clear packaging tape to laminate an ad showing a row of three young models; after burnishing the tape to make sure the stencil and masks would survive lots of use with acrylic paints and inks, I cut out the row of young women to create the mask.  The resulting borders around the models were way too thin to be used as the three separate stencils that I would need, so I created my own stencils using cardstock and tracing around the three figures in the 1-piece mask:

Above Top:  The 3-part mask, already darkened with multiple paint applications. Bottom:  One of the matching stencils that I made from cardstock.

I started by placing the 3-figure mask over a sheet of newsprint that had been previously sealed with assorted acrylic paints.  I secured the mask with masking tape.

I colored in the background with a layer of acrylic paint, using a sponge brayer.

Above:  Clicking on this image to enlarge it, you can see narrow strips of masking tape that I used to secure the 3-part mask to the substrate (pre-painted sheet of newsprint.)  These strips were eventually removed during the multiple background re-paintings done later in this multi-step process.  The next background painting was in dark blue, as seen below.  It was to be the first of several times that the background received a new coat of paint!

After lifting off the 3-part mask, I used an assortment of STENCILGIRL(TM) 6"X6" stencils, with a variety of acrylic paint colors, to create overlapping imagery across the entire surface of the paper.

This process continued for a long time, adding new stencils and colors, one by one, with dry-time between.  Using acrylic paints shortens drying time, as long as they are not "open" acrylics.

I repeated all of these steps numerous times, allowing dry-time between each, until I was satisfied that the three figures had the look I wanted, against a background that satisfied me.  This repetition included multiple re-paintings of background (so many that they are not all shown in this post.)  The original three-figure mask, and its matching three stencils, were used over and over.

Next I used matte gel medium with a Princeton paint spreader to adhere the paper to the canvas.  I made sure to apply hand pressure to the center of the paper, as I was pressing it to the canvas, and to then work outward from that center.  This allowed the paper to gently stretch with the moisture of the gel so as to avoid wrinkles.  As a further step in preventing wrinkles, I covered the paper with a sheet of resist paper and rolled over its surface firmly with a rubber brayer. 

(Because I was working on a pre-stretched canvas -- which has a "hollow" area in the back, within the wooden support frame -- it was also necessary to brace the bottom of the canvas with some paperback books, placed within the frame.  This gave the pressure of the rubber brayer a firm supporting surface, necessary for forming a good seal between the canvas and the sheet of paper being adhered to it.)

After the matte gel had an overnight wait to dry and cure, I went to the next step, of painting the rest of the canvas with Titan Buff.  Oh yes, I should have thought to do this first -- but I didn't.  So I just plowed ahead with doing it out-of-order, and that worked fine.  Fortunately!

Over the Titan Buff, I placed the 9"X12" stencil Tangled Tribal Hand Large by Lizzie Mayne.  I used a variety of acrylic paints with this beautiful stencil, masking off one section at a time with masking tape, so keep the colors separated.  I allowed drying time between each paint application.

Above:  close-up detail of the decorated hand area of this artwork.

The last stage of the process was to use a variety of other 9"X12" stencils, along with the same decorative hand stencil, to fill in the area along the bottom left two-thirds of the canvas.  Again allowing dry-time between applications, I used one stencil after another and one color after another.

Above:  close-up detail of the 3 figures in the final version of this artwork.

Above:  close-up detail of part of the bottom area of the artwork.

 

The 6"X6" stencils that I used:

Stitch a Doily by Maria McQuire

Seaweed and Mimosa 6 by myself (Cecilia Swatton)

Fibonacci by Lizzie Mayne


The 9"X12" stencils that I used:

Tangled Tribal Hand Large by Lizzie Mayne

 

Wrought Iron Gate by myself (Cecilia Swatton)

 

Feathers and Lattice by Daniella Woolf 

 

and a soon-to-be-released 9X12 stencil of mine entitled Twinship:

The above stencil will be available soon at www.STENCILGIRL(TM)Products.com.

 

Stencil Mania?

This as-yet-untitled artwork might end up with the title Stencil Mania --

Click the image above to enlarge it.
 

Nor am I certain it's entirely finished.  I may go back in with some opaque neutrals to create "rest areas."

In no particular order, here are the STENCILGIRL(TM)Products stencils that I used, with acrylic paints, to create this artwork:

Lizzie Mayne's Fibonacci stencil -- http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/s143.htm

Maria McGuire's Stitch A Doily stencil --
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/Stitch-A-Doily-Stencil-p/s169.htm

Bubbles stencil by Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch --
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l007.htm

Michelle Ward's Optical Large --
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l040.htm

Broken Circles by Terri Stegmiller --
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l099.htm

also by Terri Stegmiller -- Unconnected Circles --
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/s112.htm

and these stencils by Mary Beth Shaw --
Circle Tile --
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l015.htm

Blockout Overlap --
 http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l073.htm

Unblocked --
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l078.htm

Curvie Lattice --
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l020.htm

Random Circles --
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l071.htm

Is there any stencil or STENCILGIRL(TM)Products designer I've left out?  I hope not, but if anyone spots a stencil design in the above image that is not cited here with its designer, please leave a comment to let me know.  Thanks!

Coordinate!

In a mood to buy yourself a Christmas present?  (Don't forget, "Little Christmas" comes after Christmas -- so you have plenty of time!)

http://www.artpapersonline.com/ carries papers that coordinate beautifully with stencils by STENCILGIRL(TM) Products -- look at the examples below, and just imagine how you can use these papers with your stencil-prints, in art-journaling and lots of other paper arts!

If you have the Tribal Hand stencil by Lizzie Mayne --

 http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/s180.htm

-- and/or the Arabesque stencil by Nathalie Kalbach --

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l197.htm

and/or Swirly Floral by June Pfaff Daley --

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l060.htm

--and/or my Wrought Iron Gate stencil --

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l224.htm

-- you can coordinate with any or all of these ArtPapersOnline papers:

And if you have Twist Latice by Lizzie Mayne --

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/s152.htm

--and/or Net stencil by Mary Beth Shaw --

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/s129.htm --

you can pair prints from them with this paper:

 

Or this:

 

 

Again: Prints made with any Connection stencil by Andrew Borloz --

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/category-s/1817.htm --

and/or Web stencil by Mary Beth Shaw --

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l064.htm

and/or X & O Stencil by Andrew Borloz --

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l108.htm

-- will coordinate beautifully with this ArtPapersOnline paper:

And one last example of great pairings--

The above ArtPapersOnline paper will coordinate nicely with all the circle stencils at STENCILGIRL(TM) Products; here are only a few examples:

Stitch a Doily by Maria McGuire--

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/Stitch-A-Doily-Stencil-p/s169.htm

Border Circles by Michelle Ward --

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l003.htm

Random Circles by Mary Beth Shaw --

http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/l071.htm

And many, many more!

As you scroll thru the ArtPapersOnline website, you will find other examples of happy pairings with prints made with stencils from STENCILGIRL(TM) Products.  Happy scrolling!



 

Double-Dip Time for STENCILGIRL (TM) stencils!

Click on the above image to enlarge it.

Maria McGuire's beautiful 6"X6" Stitch a Doily stencil--http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/s169.htm
-- was used twice on this piece of marbled paper, along with another 6"X6" stencil, Lizzie Mayne's Fibonacci --
http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/s143.htm
-- both available at STENCILGIRL (TM). 

In my October 8 post, I included the close-up photo below, showing printmaking paper after it had received its first treatment, wherein I used Maria's stencil the first time around.  In that post, I described the stencil-float-on-marbling-inks technique that I used to create this look:

After this printmaking paper had completely dried, I went to step two:  I placed both Maria's Stitch a Doily stencil and Lizzie's Fibonacci stencil atop the paper which had already been marbled once.  I used an artist's plastic spatula and Liquitex modeling paste to spread a thin layer of this paste thru both stencils.  I immediately lifted the stencils and placed them in a basin of water, letting them soak while awaiting a cleaning rinse.  My goal was to create a resist so that, after the next dip into marbling inks, a more complex image would result.  And it did -- it's shown in the photo that appears at the top of this post, where you can see two images created by Maria's doily stencil, one on the far right and one on the far left.  Before the second dip into marbling inks, I waited for the modeling paste to become fully dry.
 

Float Stencils on Marbling Inks! Spoiler Alert!

I was experimenting with color combinations ... these are not my favorites, but I love how the stencil created its design.

http://www.interweavestore.com/marbled-fabric-surface-design-dvd , which I learned about from my friend Mary Ann Russo, goes into depth on the topic of floating stencils on the surface of marbling liquid to create a combination stencil-and-marbled look on pieces of fabric. 

I'm not into fabric arts, but I tried this idea on printing papers -- the type of paper recommended in this short online video --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J410yQ7PI1E   Please do watch this short video, for complete directions.  I haven't included every detailed step in the photo captions below, but it all comes together once you see the video.

That recommended paper, copperplate paper, is a type of printmaking paper which can be found here, but is also available elsewhere:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/copperplate-paper/

And the marbling inks, Boku-Undo, can be found here:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/aitoh-boku-undo-suminagashi-marbling-kit/

The reason I went with this particular process and these particular materials was that I knew they would work well with my stencils, without creating a need to clean the stencils afterward.  (Yes, I'm lazy!)  There are many methods for marbling paper and fabric, with a
corresponding wide variety of liquids required for each marbling method.

This particular method uses plain water as the liquid upon which the marbling inks float.  That makes for quick preparation and quick clean-up -- leaving more time for having fun!

Spoiler alert:  Except for Maria McGuire's beautiful 6"X6" Stitch a Doily stencil-- http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/s169.htm

Maria's doily stencil created this design.

-- and my 6"X6" stencil Kaleid --
 http://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/product-p/s085.htm
-- all of the other designs shown in this post are COMING SOON at www.StencilGirlProducts.com -- they can't be purchased yet, but they are on their way.  In one photo below, you will see the blue prototype for a new 6"X6" stencil of mine, Feathers -- but when the stencils come available, the real-deal stencil will be the usual translucent white.  (Feathers will have a "big brother" measuring 9"X12" featuring a different feather collection and design.)

Step 1 -- in the background you see the palate and brushes; in the foreground, the feather-designed prototype-stencil and basin of water.  The stains on the bottom of the basin are from acrylic paints used in a previous, different project.  The floating inks are not very visible in the above shot. 

Here in this close-up of a fresh water batch, the floating inks are more evident.  These trails of ink have been added by brush tips dipped in the inks, both pictured in the Step 1 photo.  The Blick video cited above shows how to add the inks to the water.  For me, this adding of the inks to the water is Step 2.
 Step 3, shown below, is to GENTLY float a stencil on the surface of the water, after the inks have been added.

 

Step 3 --This shot, taken at another time, shows Maria McGuire's doily stencil floating on the water in the basin.




Step 4:  Place the paper gently across the surface of the water, sandwiching the stencil between the paper ad the water's surface.  In the above shot, you see the paper from its bottom while its "face" is downward, resting on the floating stencil and the water under the stencil.  If you look closely in the upper left corner, you will see the imprint of the stencil.  This will show up clearly on the other side of the paper, when it is lifted from the water.  It will look like the photo at the start of this post, since here the 6"X6" Feathers stencil is being used.

Above is a close-up detail of a marbling print from my coming-soon 9"X12" stencil Two Fans.

Above is a marbled print using my 6"X6" stencil Kaleid.

Above is a marbled print using my coming-soon 6"x6" stencil Osprey Wings.

Above is a close-up of one of the osprey wings.  Click on any of the above images to enlarge them.

3 CAUTIONS:  (1) This particular method works best if you choose stencils designed with large openings, as opposed to stencils with finely detailed designs.  (2) It works best to use fresh, dry stencils for each and every dip.  Wet stencils don't float as well on the surface of the water.  So have a lot of stencils at hand! (3) As soon as the paper gets saturated -- a matter of seconds -- immediately lift it from the surface of the water.  Long soaks are not needed, and they tend to disrupt the stencil design.

Coming soon:  Another idea -- also from my friend Mary Ann Russo -- using marbling inks with stencils.  It's going to create a completely different-looking finished piece of art.  And it will be fun!