"Believe" Mixed Media Canvas

I can't seem to stop making mixed media canvases with lots of texture. I tried really hard to stay away from the modeling paste on this canvas, but apparently I just couldn't help my self.

Fun with stencils!

So this canvas started out with a mixture of acrylic paints and spray inks. I really wanted to make an art piece similar to this one, but with a little bit of a twist. So my next step was to bust into our tape stash and cover the canvas with random tape strips.

All taped up and no where to go

Next I used some white acrylic paint over the top. The idea was that the spaces would be white, leaving the painted spaces under the tape. However I didn't take two things into consideration with my brilliant plan.

1. Spray inks continue to react even after they've dried.
 I ended up with a pastel green/blue instead of the bright white that I wanted.

2. Electrical tape makes a really bad mask.
 The red tape above was some electrical tape I had handy. It didn't seal correctly, so the white paint seeped under the tape, messing up my clean lines.

A pretty pastel, but not really what I was going for.

So after I pulled the tape off the canvas, I tried to figure out how to salvage this piece of art. I decided to do what I do best- build up layers and layers of texture using modeling paste. I also used Distress re-inkers to draw on the canvas and added some bubble wrap stamping. The final touches were some painted cardboard strips and chipboard letters.

So much texture!

So I guess the moral of my story is that 1. It is really hard to resist the siren call of the texture paste and 2. If you've messed up on a piece of art, more layers of paint and texture will fix that right up.

Art Journal- "One Word"

The prompt for this art journal entry was "One Word". After thinking of several words that moved me, I settled on this one:

I choose "Create" because I believe in the power of creativity. It doesn't matter what I do or how I do it- as long as I am creating something, I feel I've accomplished something worthwhile.

On this page I used gesso and stencils to create a resist to the watercolors and spray inks I used. The lettering and all of the doodles were done with my new favorite art tool- Faber Castel Indian ink PITT markers. I love how these pens will write on any surface and because they take a bit to dry, I can smudge and play with them.

The page also has vellum butterflies and paisleys that I embellished with a white gel pen.

This foray in to art journaling was so much fun! I can't wait till the next prompt from A Year in the Life of an Art Journal

Creative Resolutions

I usually don't make traditional New Year's Resolutions, in fact I usually don't make resolutions at all. But this year I've decided that I want to push my self creatively. This desire to try new things has always been a part of my personality, and I am excited about focusing that desire on one specific project this year.

Inspired by a wonderful handmade book created just for me by the amazing Emma at QuirkieCraft, I've decided to keep an art journal for 2013. Here is the journal- it is hand-stitched and is stuffed with paper of every shape and color. It is also filled with paper that Emma silk screened herself.

And because I know that I need some sort of inspiration or prompts to not only keep me going, but keep me focused, I've decided to join A Year in the Life of an Art Journal- an awesome blog that posts new prompts and techniques to try on the 15th and 30th of each month. 

The first prompt is "One Word" and we are supposed to use water color on our journal page. I can't wait to get started!

Mmmmm Texture...

Ahhh, I just love all of the texture on this mixed media piece. I started this piece with a 6 inch X 6 inch canvas. I covered the canvas with paper from a variety of books in different languages as well as music sheets. I also cut apart a bingo card and decoupaged that onto the canvas.

The next layers were built up over time. I would pick up the piece every day and either smear some texture paste, crackle medium or spray inks onto the canvas. The arrows at the top and the circles at the bottom were made by pushing Liquidtex texture paste through a brass stencil and sequin waste. I used my favorite spray inks by Dylusions as well as Tim Holtz's Distress Stains to add the color.

The clock image at the bottom as well as the Chinese (I think it's Chinese) characters at the top were added last. I stamped these images onto white tissue paper using Black Staz-On ink. I then decoupaged the tissue paper on top of all the texture. I love how the tissue paper melts into the canvas and you still see the texture underneath.




Here is a shot of one side of the canvas. This really shows the crackle medium an the texture paste. Once everything was dry I ran a bronze ink pad over the top to highlight the peaks.

It was so much fun creating this art piece. I loved being able to pick it up everyday and add a little something new.

Art Abandonment

For the last few months I have been somewhat obsessed with the idea of Art Abandonment, the idea of creating little pieces of art to leave for others to find. I just love the idea of leaving art in some unexpected place and having some one discover it. It was the desire to participate in such a fun idea, that let me to start creating mixed media art pieces- and it was a swap on Craftster that gave me the kick in the butt to actually start abandoning my art.

In the Art Abandonment swap, we created 6 pieces of art for a partner- they would then abandon five of the art pieces and keep one for themselves.  So the art pieces below are currently in California- waiting to be discovered by random strangers!

I created 6 mini-mixed media canvases- each one is 3 inches X 3 inches and covered with a variety of textures, paints, inks, papers etc.












I packaged each of the art pieces in a plastic baggie and then attached a fun note- asking anyone who finds the art to email me and let me know what they think. I hope I get a response!

Mini Mixed Media Art

For the last three months I have been organizing a swap on Craftster called The 4x6 Art Swap. In this swap, participants make a 4x6 piece of art to send to a mystery partner. Not being tied to any theme or specific material is really freeing. The variety of different mediums used is astounding. Here are the four pieces of art that I have created. Being new to mixed media, I was worried about starting a huge project, so these mini mixed media art pieces have been a great way to play around and test out new techniques.

When creating this piece I used my new Dylusions spray inks. The colors of these inks are so vibrant, but I wasn't too careful when I sprayed them on, so I looked like I choked a rainbow for about two days after I was done. The text is stamped on to vellum and distressed and the butterfly is chipboard that I colored with Distress stain and embossed.


This piece started out as a collage of packing material, candy foil wrappers and tissue paper. On top I applied alcohol inks and texture medium.


I used rub-ons for the birdcage and a mix of alcohol inks for the blue on the bottom of this piece.


Besides having my favorite Mythbuster's quote, this piece has felt, hand dyed fiber, texture medium and embroidery. I absolutely love this piece of art.

Bangkok Street Art

While walking home from the grocery store today, I noticed that the wall next to our condo is covered in great graffiti artwork. I've walked past this wall every day for the past 5 months and I just noticed it today - just call me Captain Observant! Although in my defense, this wall is normally plastered with ads for the upcoming events and concerts.

So colorful!

This one is my favorite. The eyes are great!