#MixedMedia Canvas: "Life is BetTer aT the BeACh"

... it is, so they say! and i live on the coast [pretty much] so, yeah!

ok, so here it is, my second Mixed Media canvas, and i so LOVED doing this one. my bestie gave me the canvas, as she'd had it in her downstairs loo, but got a new framed print to go in there instead, so gave the old one to me, i KNEW i wanted to use it for a mixed media piece, so i set about creating my latest masterpiece. WARNING: this post will be VERY photo-heavy, so be warned, and stay with me! 

from start to finish:

like i said, i started with an existing canvas of some rocks/pebbles in the shape of a heart. i then added some letter stickers, glass pebbles and a metal anchor charm [i ran out of the letters i needed and had to get more, d'oh]

then, i added a few layers of gesso to the whole of the inside of the heart design on the canvas

then, the fun part, i used acrylics and watercolours to create washes of paint/colour on my canvas... 

 

more blue colour washes... 

 

 

 i then wanted to try a 'salt' watercolour technique id seen online. i like it, it gives a bit of a different effect and texture.

i then wanted to add some gesso 'bubbles' and went a bit mad with them, but, i like the finished look, BUBBLES!

 

 

 

then, i added some more gesso to the glass pebbles, as some of the gesso/paint layers had come off, meaning you could see the glass underneath, i also added some gesso to two corners of the canvas. i also added a bit more of the blue washes to make another layer 'over' some of the gesso 'bubbles'.

HERE is the final canvas, with LOADS of added beads, gems, buttons, pearls and SHELLS, real little shells, so pretty! 

 

 

 

 

 

and, some photos with a FLASH! :) 

 

well, i hope you can see the amount of time and effort thats gone into my latest canvas, and above all, the LOVE thats gone into it. i have really LOVED making this one!

the canvas is for sale, just comment here, or send me a message on twitter or facebook [links below]

"ich liebe das BeACh"

https://twitter.com/cLare_beaR_

www.facebook.com/butterfLypiex

♥

mixed media madness!

hello!

for AGES now, ive been OBSESSED with the Youtube videos of Gabrielle Pollacco, who makes AMAZING mixed media creations.

if youre not familiar with mixed media, its basically the process of making art[usually canvases, frames and stuff] which have been created using unconventional pieces like metal bottlecaps, fabric flowers, plastic charms etc, and covered with a medium called Gesso, which is ideal for coating metals and plastics, and it leaves a great base for colour [paints, sprays] to be applied! i LOVE IT.

here are some of the sprays i made, using some food colouring with acrylic paints mixed in. i also used a fabric spray i had...

 

i have an art degree, and did art at school and college, so have done a lot of mixed media pieces, but none using gesso, and not in the same way as this piece.

so, armed with some techniques and ideas id seen on Gabrielle's Youtube channel, i set about attempting to create my own mixed media piece.

so, here are some progress shots of some of the stages involved in making my frame, eek!

AAAAAND, here is the finished frame, with added buttons, gems and beads! I LOVE IT and i LOVE the colour combinations!

i really enjoyed creating my mixed media frame, and have just started a mixed media canvas, its SUCH FUN!

if youd like to give it a go, DO IT, and id also recommend having a peek at Gabrielle Pollacco's youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/GabriellePollacco

"ich liebe das mixed media kunsten"

♥