Once of the goals for my crafty trip to North Dakota was for Becca (aka Damsel of Distressed) to teach me how she makes her mixed media canvases (click on over to see her amazing creation).
Messy and relatively unstructured creating are not my comfort-zone, but I hung in there with the process and ended-up with a canvas I adore (with only one near melt down when I feared I had created more of a mess than art).
The first step was choosing the items for my canvas. Our starting point was a cup of end-of-life paint brushes. I also added pieces of jewelry (I will never look at jewelry at garage sales the same again), flowers and buttons to the design, as well as a chipboard circle.
I also chose some papers for collage, which came later.
I really loved the colors of my pieces and built them around the pieces of jewelry in the design … that’s when Becca told me we were going to paint it all white (WHAT!!).
Here are close-ups of several of my vignettes. I decided that the coral, teal and green from that piece of jewelry were going to be my color palette (I had originally intended on the raspberry too, but once I got going, I didn’t like it when I tried to add it to the mix).
Here’s a close-up of the larger focal point of the piece.
We took pictures, so we would remember the layout and then the painting of everything white was next. I have never been quite so paint covered and had so much fun. It was liberating to bring everything together with paint.
Next we stamped on our gessoed canvas. I chose images mostly from Paper Artsy that I got from The Ink Pad and some Distress Inks in my chosen color palette.
Next up was to add some paper collage. I loved using intention to choose my papers (even though they all weren’t ultimately visible in the end).
Since we went to see the play Proof last night (and since my career is in finance), I chose a page with some hand-written math formulas and some charts from a math book to put into the background. I also chose some music and some vintage texts bits.
I also added some vintage S&H Green Stamps that always remind me of my beloved Grandmother and a page title at the top that I liked.
And as you can see, we also used stencils to add some texture past to the design. When I do this again, I would probably add a bit more, because it turned out looking really cool once we added color.
Next we added paint, inky drips to the page, as well as splatters. I believe this was the point I had a bit of a mental melt down because to me I felt like I was making a mess, but Becca assured me it was all going to come together (and of course she was right). Ultimately adding more color, made the design feel more cohesive to me.
Next up was adding back the focal elements to the design. I loved this part. I stayed pretty true to my initial design, but ended-up adding the cut-off bit from my chipboard circle at the top of the canvas. I really loved the button clusters because they also reminded me of my Grandma. It would have been so fun to try to make this kind of art with her.
Next we added more color, splatters and even some Inka Gold to the texture of the design.
We chose some quotes and then finally called it complete. I loved the process … I loved making art with a friend who shared her processes … and I adore my end result. I can’t wait to display it in my studio.
Here are a few more close-ups of the finished piece.
My advise to you is whenever you have the opportunity, make art with artsy friends, especially those whose style is different than yours (even if it’s just on a Zoom call … but in person is so much better). It expands your horizons and helps you see art from an entirely different angle.
And remember to love … and create … with all your heart.
Also, it never hurts to end your crafty day with drinks and dessert … mulled apple cider and chocolate torte FTW.
