Bloom

It's been a few days since my last post, but I've been working on a new painting.  I've been sharing a lot of art journal pages lately, but I worked on a mixed media painting over the weekend.  Would you like to see it?

 

 

Bloom

18" x 24"

Mixed Media On Canvas Board

 

I had a blast doing this and there was some serious layering involved!  I covered the board in antique book and magazine pages.  I used a credit card to smear gesso and then laid in a rough graphite pencil drawing.

 

 

I changed my mind about the big butterfly on the top right, so I painted it out.  I used Golden Heavy Body quinacrodone nickel azo gold and Liquitex heavy body white.  Both brands of acrylics are wonderful to work with.  The heavy bodied paints are wonderful for mixed media because you can build up texture with them.  I used a palette knife and Liquitex modeling paste to build texture on the main body of the plant, the two large flowers and the butterfly on the bottom left.  I sprayed the plant with Dylusions spray ink in vibrant turquoise.  I used Jacquard Lumiere paints on the plant. 

 

 I painted the center vein of the plant with craft acrylic (Decoart).  I painted the flowers, stems and butterfly with Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylics.  I dripped Adirondack inks on the ground and adhered torn antique magazine pages with liquid matte medium.  I accented the edges of the canvas with acrylics.

 

 

I shaded the butterfly and added torn papers to the wings.  The antennae are black Sharpie.  To set the butterfly apart from the background, I outlined it in pastel pencil.  I did the same with the light green swirl.

 

 

The texture at the bottom right of this photo was done with modeling paste.  I smeared a thin layer onto the canvas and then impressed a piece of plastic canvas mesh into it.  I glazed over it with inks and acrylics mixed with blending medium.  The butterfly was drawn onto the back of corrugated cardstock and cut out.  After adhering it to the canvas with matte medium, I smeared a little modeling paste over part of it.  I added bits of torn paper and glazed over them with acrylic mixed with blending medium.  I cut the leaves out from an antique French dictionary.

 

 

 I spread some matte medium on the butterfly and sprinkled mica flakes onto it.  I accented the edges of the butterfly with a liner brush and acrylic paint.  The leaves were glazed with acrylic paint.

 

 

The leaves are outlined in pastel pencil.  I cut the stems from patterned Washi paper, adhered and outlined them.  The pink flower on the bottom left of the photo was a paper flower that I painted.  I punched out a smaller flower for the center.

 

 

Using a size four flat brush and Speedball super-pigmented black ink, I painted the word Bloom.  I accented it using a size 1 liner and craft acrylic paint.  In the upper right corner of the photo I adhered mesh paper with matte gel medium.  I glazed and painted over it with acrylics.

 

 

Using a sheet of scrap paper to shield the upper portion of the painting, I sprayed Dylusions ink in crushed grape over the bottom.  I smeared acrylic paint over bubble wrap and stamped over the ink.  I spread liquid matte medium in several places and sprinkled copper leaf flakes over it.  I added some deliberately illegible handwriting with a white Sakura gelly roll pen.

 

 

That's a wrap!

 

Have fun experimenting!  If you have questions, just email me :)

 

Until next time,

 

Comments

[Jessica]

VerY happy to have found you via art journal journey. Thank you for posting all the steps and providing such great inspiration. I love your work!

[Judy Shea]

Terryi.. this is just great. I'm in love with the textures you've put on this art piece. Gorgeous!

[Susan Jensen]

Double WOW, no, Triple WOW! You are amazing and thank you sooooo very much for sharing and explaining so well step by step how you achieved this amazing piece of art. I am new to all this, I have strong desire to create something on canvas but have been afraid of starting, your explaining steps have helped me have the courage to try something of my own now. I LOVE YOUR BLOG.

[Keva Grafton]

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I later understood what you were telling after I had understood some of your related posts on this site.
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[froebelsternchen]

oh wow this is absolut great! Thank you so much for your nice comment on the ARt Journal Journey blog and I will come here to your blog aigan in future to enjoy this fab art!