HOT AIR BALLOON STENCILS AND MASKS Artwork

Today's post features five more pieces I've made using my new four-part release, Hot Air Balloons and Masks.  This new release comes in two sheets -- one 6" x 6" sheet and one mini-sheet measuring 4" x 4".

Although these sheets come in two sizes, the stencils and masks are identical in design as you can see here --

Above:  the stencil is on the left.  The mask is on the right.

Note:  A mask "masks" -- that is, hides -- everything that you place under it.  The function of a stencil, on the other hand, is to give you an imprint of an image that can contain more details than a mask can.  In this case, the image is a hot air balloon with three vertical stripes.

Except for the fifth and last piece showing today, the pieces in this post were made using a sponge brayer well-loaded with heavy-body acrylic paint.  The traditional sponge-daubing method would have worked, too.  Likewise, this could have been achieved with Gelli Plate printing.  All three approaches would yield the same results.

The first print below was created with the 4" x 4" mask and the 6" x 6" mask.  The patterned background had existed first -- initially it had been an art-covered page from a foreign newspaper; then I'd imprinted it with orange acrylic paint and my 6" x 6" stencil Swatton Grid.

My next step was to place both masks from Hot Air Balloon Stencils and Masks onto the paper.  I could have tried to hold them in place with my fingers but decided instead to add small curls of masking tape to the undersides of the masks; this held them securely in place on the paper. Then I loaded a sponge brayer with translucent aqua acrylic paint and rolled it over the entire surface.  

The artwork below was created in the same way.  But instead of using Swatton Grid in my first step, I used the 6" x 6" Hot Air Balloon stencil twice in creating the background. After that paint had dried, I added the two masks with bits of masking tape curled back on itself.  Heavy-body green acrylic paint was my choice when I loaded a fresh sponge brayer and ran it over the entire surface.

   

The above piece helps to demonstrate the different between masks and stencils.  Notice how the two background images are solid shapes, except for the vertical lines that indicate stripes in the balloons.  On the other hand, the two masks used in the second step were used to mask out the parts of the background that the masks covered while they were taped in place.

The artwork below started life as a blue and red print made with my 6" x 6" stencil Tiger Lily.  After that paint had dried, I used masking tape curls to secure the two Hot Air Balloon masks to the paper, then rolled over the entire surface using a sponge brayer loaded with heavy-body green acrylic paint.

The first step in making the artwork below was to repurpose an old calendar page using a thin coat white paint.  Next, I printed it with both the 6" x 6" and the 4"x 4" Hot Air Balloon stencils, one in blue and one in green.  Then I placed the 6" x 6" Hot Air Balloon mask over an old painting and traced around its shape.  After cutting out the shape, I collaged it onto the surface in the lower left.

Today's final piece is below --

Here, I used the two masks from Hot Air Balloon Stencils and Masks.  I placed the masks on glossy white paper -- this time, leaving out the curls of masking tape, so that some of the color would seep under the masks.  Once the masks were in place, I added spritzes of water to the paper, then dropped some acrylic inks into the wet puddles.  I allowed the paper to dry for a while -- but before letting it dry completely, I lifted off the masks.  If I'd allowed the surface to dry all the way, the masks probably would have stuck to the paper.  After the paper did finally dry, I put the masks back in place and traced around them to better bring out their shapes.

Thanks for visiting here today!

If you want to see the multiple pages of my stencils, just go here.