Announcing the Arrival of PALM FRONDS SILHOUETTE 9X12 L791

Have you been wishing the Palm Fronds Silhouette series came in 3 sizes instead of only the 6" x 6" and the 4" x 4"?  

Karen P. Johnson of StencilGirl StencilClub made that wish, and now, like her fairy godmother, I'm waving a wand to grant her wish!  (Thank you, Karen -- it was a brilliant idea!)  A new 9" x 12" version is here!

Click on the image above to better see detail -- 9" x 12" L791 Palm Fronds Silhouette

Palm Fronds Silhouette Small -- 6" x 6" 

Palm Fronds Silhouette Mini -- 4" x 4" 

Now, I ask:

What to do when you hit a roadblock in your art-making?

I started off in neutral gear.  My first step was to spread light modeling paste thru my new stencil.  My substrate was a 9" x 12" stretched canvas:

I lifted off the stencil as soon as I'd finished this step and -- since I couldn't clean it right away -- I placed it in a basin of water to keep the modeling paste from hardening (if 3-dimensional media harden on a stencil, small openings can become permanently clogged.)

After the paste had dried overnight, I introduced color across the canvas.

But that first color application disappointed me.  It was a blah dark-blue, with way too little variation in value.  

Reaching a roadblock, an artist can choose.  Frustration?  Or liberation?

I feel it's liberating to say,  "This can't get any worse -- so I'm free to do whatever I want."  

What was a downer segues into opportunity. Experience has taught me that nothing's ever wasted -- because the art-making process takes us for a wild ride; and that ride always teaches something that will somehow have future value.  

For me, art-making is all about process -- not product.  I think that anyone who starts out rigidly expecting a "perfect" finished piece is setting the stage for failure/frustration.  

Oh, it's nice to hear others say they like, or want to buy, our finished artworks, but for me that will never be my ultimate goal. There's a lot of truth in that old book title Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow. 

 When you're doing something you love, you'll keep at it, and it will get better and better.  At some point this joy that went into the art-making  process will be communicated to some others who see your art.  Not everyone will catch your message of joy, but that doesn't matter.  

The real reward is in the art-making itself.

So when I saw that blah dark-blue background, I decided it was my new "blank" canvas.  

Out came my iridescent beads, bits of multicolor faux foil, string gel medium, gloss liquid medium, Brusho dry pigment powders, Pearl Ex metallic powders, gold "metallic" acrylic paint and Golden High Flow acrylics.  

(Notes:  Inks can be used instead of, or in combination with, Golden High Flow acrylics.  Other brands of dry pigment powder are out there; it's simply that I have Brusho on hand.  Likewise, Pearl Ex is not the only maker of metallic powders.  "String gel" is made by Liquitex; Golden Paints makes a comparable product and labels it "clear tar gel."  Both Liquitex and Golden, as well as other companies, make gloss liquid medium.) 

With these supplies, my plan was to create an ultra-wet, 3-D surface that would contain color, flow when tipped, and accept small inclusions.

I could have used pouring medium instead of liquid gloss medium, but for me, liquid gloss medium works just as well, when sprayed with a little water.

I poured liquid gloss medium across the canvas, spritzed the surface with water, and added all of the above products, a little at a time.

Directly below is a shot of the whole canvas after all the inclusions had been added, and after I'd tilted the canvas a little to encourage some flowing.

Below is a series of close-ups of the canvas at this stage:

I set the piece aside for a couple of days to let the multi-product layer dry and cure all the way thru.  (The top dries first because of its direct contact with air, but everything under the top takes more time.)

My next step was to squiggle string gel randomly over about half of the surface.

After the gel dried, I went over it with gold "metallic" acrylic paint.  Directly below is a shot of the entire finished canvas. 

Above:  My brand-new stencil's imprint is most visible in the bottom half of this artwork.

Above:  A close-up of part of the canvas.  Notice where the string gel has picked up some of the dry Brusho pigments, green in particular. 

Below is a photo of the iridescent beads that I found at AmazonSmile.  These beads are translucent so that paint colors show thru them, but at the same time, they add a multicolor element that shifts from color to color as you view them from different angles.   

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