Chaos!

"All great changes are preceded by CHAOS." - Deepak Chopra


Ha! When I think of "chaos" I immediately think of my studio (well, to be perfectly honest, FIRST, I think of the tv show, Get Smart. LOL).  

Yes, my studio is usually a mess, but it's a creative mess. That's a good thing! When there is chaos that means I have been working and playing. It means I have been creative, and there is nothing bad about that, right?! I am learning to embrace my "chaos"....just don't pop by for a surprise visit, okay?! 

Here's what I have been working on these last couple days -

I started with a 7"x14" canvas which I primed with gesso. I recently purchased a small sampler from Faber-Castell which included gesso, gel medium and glaze. I decided to try them all out on this project, beginning with the gesso. I apply my gesso with a palette knife. I really liked this gesso, it was lighter than what I usually use and it didn't leave as chalky of a finish. I didn't need the gesso to cover anything, I just needed to add a little "tooth" to the canvas surface, so it was perfect.

The next thing I did was to grab my favorite medium, my Gelatos®,  a Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft® product. If you haven't used these you don't know what you are missing. These creamy sticks are so vibrant and they can be used wet or dry. Wetting them results in a watercolour effect. I just LOVE them!

Finally decided on a color palette and grabbed some acrylic paints to match (I buy my acrylics to match my Gelatos®).  

I applied a little Butter Cream Gelato all over the canvas*, using a baby wipe and my fingers, I rubbed it around to create a light background.  (* oops, as I was editing my video I see I also used Butterscotch Gelato in the background).

Next I used my handmade foam fern stamp, along with the LIME Gelato. I "colored" the stamp with the Gelato then spritzed it with a little water. I like the effect, later I will add a little to it with a Stamper's Big Brush Pen.

Using modeling paste (darn it, wish I had some of the Whipped Spackle, it's on my LIST!) which I have tinted with acrylic paint, I stenciled onto the canvas using Joggle's stencil called "Spin".





Next I used plain modeling paste to stencil a couple larger swirls. After they dried I "colored' them with Cotton Candy Gelato and spritzed with water to create that watercolor effect I talked about earlier. Then I added a little Blueberry, Lime and Metallic Mint to the mix to give it some more depth.  

A corn pad glued to the other side of a stamp.

I continued to use the stamps to fill up the background in several shades of greens and blues. I also used a dot dabber (from Gelato's Tool kit) and a marker top to create a few round shapes. One other circle was created using a foam pad made to treat corns! LOL!   (I am always on the lookout for items I can use to create shapes and texture and will use almost anything in my mixed media art.)  

When it was dry I coated the whole canvas with Mod Podge to seal it. 

NOW, the fun begins - shading and markings! I love this part, it's what give my pieces their dimension and movement. I use my Stamper's Big Brush Pens to do my shading. Once you have sealed the layers underneath you can add the ink (India Ink) and rub it in. Later when it dries it will be waterproof!  In addition to these I used Molotow acrylic paint pens and a Zig Posterman marker. 



Once the final layer of color has been finished it's time to add my quote. Using a technique I learned from July of "itsaworkofart "YT Channel (http://youtu.be/BF1zIweCBPI),  I printed my quote onto a papertowel. I spray my printout with cheap aerosol hairspray to keep the ink from bleeding.    

Once it's dry, I gently pulled the plys apart until I had just the top layer with the words I was using. I coated the back of these words with the gel medium and then placed it onto the canvas. I then added another layer of the gel medium on top to seal it to the canvas.


LASTLY, I used the stipple brush from the Gelato Tool kit with watered down acrylic paint to flick some paint onto the whole canvas. NOW, it's complete and I love all the texture and dimension!  What do YOU think? Leave me a comment and let me know.

I will be posting a video of the making of this canvas in the near future (I have LOTS of editing to do!!) - So stay tuned to my Youtube Channel!

UPDATE: Video uploaded so go check it out!

If you would like FREE step-by-step instructions on how I created this canvas, along with a detailed list of the supplies used, JUST let me know and I will e-mail it to you! USE the CONTACT ME! form on the left, at the top of this page.

Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft® products:

Textural Accents Sampler #770301: Gesso, Semi-Gloss Gel Medium and Semi-Gloss Glaze

Gelatos®: Butter Cream, Butterscotch, Blueberry, Lime, Metallic Mint, Cotton Candy

Stamper's Big Brush Pens: Cold Grey III #232, Leaf Green #112, Cadmium Yellow #107, Indanthrene Blue #247

Gelatos Tool Kit #770312 : Palette Knife, Blending Chise, Stipple Brush, 2 Dot Dabbers and Drip Dropper

Other Supplies:

• 7"x14" canvas
• Acrylic Paints - Apple Barrel (Kings Gold, Cloudless and Laguna) Craft Smart (Green) and my own mix of mint green.
• My handmade foam and carved rubber stamps
• Modeling Paste
• Joggles Stencil - "Spin"
• Molotow One4All Acrylic Premium Paint 2mm Rd Tip - black and white
• Zig Posterman Pen - gold
• Mod Podge (Glossy)
• Printer
• Papertowel
• Water