Marbling with Stencils and Masks

 If you delight in getting unpredictable results, as I do, then this is a technique to try!

Today's post brings up the topic of floating stencils on the surface of marbling liquid to create a combination stencil-and-marbled look.  This idea has been applied both to fabric as well as sturdy papers, as explained below.  The technique may also work on the plastic substrate Yupo; that's an idea for readers to try!

A vital starting point for today's project is here --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J410yQ7PI1E   Please DO watch this short video, for complete directions.  I haven't included every detailed step in the photo captions below, but it all comes together once you see the video.

That recommended paper, copperplate paper, is a type of printmaking paper which can be found here (and is also available elsewhere):

http://www.dickblick.com/products/copperplate-paper/

And the marbling inks, Boku-Undo, can be found here:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/aitoh-boku-undo-suminagashi-marbling-kit/

The reason I went with this particular marbling process -- over the many others out there -- was (1) there is no need to prepare a special kind of floating liquid and (2) there is no need to clean stencils afterward.  That makes for quick preparation and quick clean-up -- leaving more time for having fun!

This method uses plain water as the liquid upon which the marbling inks float.  

I started with Maria McGuire's beautiful 6"X6" Stitch a Doily stencil ...

Maria's doily stencil created the above design.

... and the other stencils at work in today's post are mine: my 6"X 6" stencil Kaleid, along with Two Fans (9" x 12") and Osprey Wings (6" x 6").

Above in this close-up of water in a foil basis, the floating blue and green inks are swirling together.  These trails of ink have been added by brush tips dipped in the inks -- reminder:  the Blick video cited above shows how to add the inks to the water.






After these inks have been added, the next step, shown below, is to GENTLY float a stencil on the surface of the water:

The above shot shows Maria McGuire's doily stencil floating on the water in the basin.





Above:  a photo showing the following step.  Place the paper gently atop the water's surface, sandwiching the stencil between the paper and the floating inks.  In the above shot, you see the paper from its bottom while its "face" is downward, resting on the floating stencil and the inked water that's under the stencil.

Next, the paper is lifted off the water, turned over to be face-side up, and set aside on a flat surface to dry -- and that's all there is to it!

Above:  This print was made with my 9"X 12" stencil Two Fans.

Above is a marbled print using my 6"X 6" stencil Kaleid.

Above is a marbled print using my 6"x 6" stencil Osprey Wings.

Above is a close-up of one of the osprey wings.

One more example:

Used above left: Trivet B.  Right: Trivet C. 

2 CAUTIONS:   (1) It works best to use fresh, dry stencils for each and every dip.  Wet stencils don't float as well on the surface of the water.  So have a lot of stencils at hand! (2) As soon as the paper gets saturated -- a matter of seconds -- immediately lift it from the surface of the water.  Long soaks are not needed, and they tend to disrupt the stencil design.

To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.  Thanks for visiting!

Announcement:  Because the Feedburner team has released a system update, the email subscription service will be discontinued.  After July 2021, the automated emails to blog subscribers will no longer be supported.

If you want to continue subscribing to this blog by email, please leave a Comment that gives your email address.  Comment options are given at the end of each blog post.  Since I have Comment Moderation, I can read comments but prevent them from being published on the blog.  In other words, your email addresses will not appear here on my blog.  Rather, I will be collecting them and creating my own private list.  

I do not sell anyone's email address, period.  I don't like it when mine gets sold and I try to live by the Golden Rule! 

Longwood Florals Stencil ...

StencilGirl designer Trish McKinney has created a gorgeous series of masks inspired by the beauty of bare tree branches.  It was with one of Trish's bare branch masks, s483, along with one of the masks from Traci Bautista's "deconstructed lily" series (s297), that artist Sylvia Lokhoff de Bruijn developed the monochromatic blue background for this eye-pleasing artwork:

Above:  As pretty as this is, it's still a work in progress at this stage.  The foreground, which seems to float atop the background, was created using my Longwood Florals Stencil L676 and Longwood Florals Mask L675 (both of which are sized 9" x 12".)

Below:  The final version of Sylvia's artwork shows that she's turned this background into framework for a focal area created with a rubber stamp, my 6" x 6" stencil Pressed Leaves s277 along with a rubber stamp and Pam Carriker's Journal Notes 6 Stencil.

My stencils used in the above project include:

6" x 6" stencil Pressed Leaves s277 

Longwood Florals Mask L675 

Longwood Florals Stencil L676 

Likewise, Longwood Florals Stencil L676 was among other StencilGirl stencils that were used by StencilGirl's 2021 Creative Team member Laura Dame, as she developed the artwork shown in this instructional video.  Her video first appeared in the May 11 edition of StencilGirl Talk.  

Thanks for checking out my blog today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  Because the Feedburner team has released a system update, the email subscription service will be discontinued.  After July 2021, the automated emails to blog subscribers will no longer be supported.

If you want to continue subscribing to this blog by email, please leave a Comment that gives your email address.  Comment options are given at the end of each blog post.  Since I have Comment Moderation, I can read comments but prevent them from being published on the blog.  In other words, your email addresses will not appear here on my blog.  Rather, I will be collecting them and creating my own private list.  

I do not sell anyone's email address, period.  I don't like it when mine gets sold and I try my best to live by the Golden Rule! 

 Today's StencilGirl Scoop e-newsletter may have left some subscribers scratching their heads....

Certainly I was scratching mine!  Space limitations mandated that only two stencils be named as having been used in creating this gorgeous artwork by MaryBeth Shaw.  Those two are shown, small scale, in the lower right corner above.  

But since the left side of this artwork is dominated by a bold black stencil print, some may wonder, as I did, why this prominent image appeared without its stencil being named. 

The bold black print was made using 6" x 6" Pressed Leaves s277.  The stencil itself looks like this --

Thanks for stopping by here today! 

Fake It Till You Make It -- Yes or No?

On the topic "fake it till you make it," today's post offers two widely different sub-topics.

Sub-Topic 1:  In a recent online discussion I heard from a professional artist that it's fine for beginner-artists, working in acrylics, to use student-grade paints, craft paints and house paints (latex house paints, I assume.)  This is the second time I've heard this from a professional artist.  Each speaks from personal experience, and the way they see the issue is valid for each of them. 

My opinion differs.  I want to call the above approach a way of "faking it till you make it," and I think that in this one situation, the "faking" with cheap acrylic paint is counterproductive.

It's been my personal experience that anyone who starts with student-grade, and similar lower-cost paints, is going to learn habits based on the behavior and the results achieved with these paints.

If the painter later moves on to high-quality acrylic paints, there will be an immediate need to learn new ways of working with high-quality acrylics, which have a higher pigment load as well as other superior qualities.  This is a set-up for frustration -- and for those on a tight budget, it actually wastes paint.

Nor is there a legitimate reason to avoid the high-quality paints at the starting gate.  In fact, I believe the opposite is true.  A beginning artist needs only a limited palette:  one warm red, one cool red; one warm blue, one cool blue; one warm yellow; one cool yellow.  And white.  From these, an artist can make blends to create a full range of colors.  

What's more important is that these blending experiences are extremely valuable.  They give the beginner information that will forever prove helpful.

Some artists will advise adding black to the above list.  If black is added, I believe its use should be limited to (1) using dabs of it to mix with bright paint blends, to tone them down; (2) in paintings that feature pure blacks and pure whites, with potential grays made from mixing these blacks and whites.  In all other applications, it's more visually pleasing to mix a near-black using complementary colors.  In a color painting, a near-black has life, whereas a dead-black straight out of the tube has a killing effect.

My experience has been that I want to paint rapidly, intuitively.  For this reason I like to rely on one main brand of acrylic paint, because I've learned what to expect from it.  At times I use other brands of acrylics, and altho they are also high-quality, their behaviors and results will vary from those that I've come to rely on.

Circling back to the topic of warm and cool colors:  The way I define them is to say that warm colors have undertones of yellow or red or orange.  Cool colors have undertones of blue, green and aqua.  

To approach the question of cool versus warm, I suggest collecting a slew of gray papers from magazine ads and other sources.  Spread them across the table and take time looking at each, under good lighting.  Some grays will have undertones of yellow.  Other grays will have undertones of blue.  If you're into making collages with papers that are black, white, and gray, you may react the way I do; I find it visually jarring to have warm grays in the same collage as cool grays.  To my eye, these two simply don't play well together.  

And in my opinion, it's the same with all colors.  

As an artist advances in skill and experience, it may happen that he or she will decide to purposely use warms and cools together, to make a jarring image that grabs attention.  Nothing wrong with that!  It's a case of knowing the basic "rules" before becoming skilled enough to break them, to achieve a particular effect.

One of the many superior qualities of higher-cost acrylic paints is that, except for the fluorescents, they are much more archival (longer-lasting) than the craft-grade paints.  When you pour your heart into making art, don't you want it to last?

Sub-Topic 2:  On a 6" x 6" greeting card blank (JAMPaper.com), I've stenciled a print using only the stencil part of my Hot Air Balloon and Mask s547 (shown in its entirety below) --

Above:  For today's project, I used the stencil on the far left. Centered above is the place where the mask sits when the stencil-and-mask set first arrives in your mailbox.  The figure on the far right shows the mask after it's been removed from the sheet of sturdy StencilGirl Mylar.

Note: This set of stencils and bonus mask can be difficult to use without masking tape, because the two stencils are so close to each other.  When printing with them, I use masking tape to block out the areas that I want to shield while paint is being applied.  In the example below, I'm using 9" x 12" Clustered Leaves, which is just that -- a cluster of leaves, all jammed closely together, just as the two hot air balloon stencils are.  To print just one leaf, I do this ....

Above:  I use this masking-off approach when working with the Hot Air Balloon series of stencils (which come in 3 sizes, including an Artist Trading Card size.) See the photo below....

That first hot air balloon print that I made -- using white heavy-body acrylic paint on blue "metallic"-sheened cardstock -- came out less than satisfactory.  By accident I'd ruined an area right beside the print, smearing it with paint.  (Because I was too hasty in removing the masking tape, which had still-wet paint on it!)  

Normally, I cover this kind of mistake with another paint layer, or I use paper to create a collage that conceals the flub.  

This time, however, neither option appealed to me.  Nor did it work when I tried to remove the paint-smear with rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab.  (That did remove the paint, but at the same time, it left a permanent mark on the card's metallic-look surface.)

What to do?

Cut out the print and use it on a new background!

What background?

Well, my collection of stencil-printed papers already held a paper that I'd decorated with my 9" x 12" Facets L283 stencil --

Above:  9" x 12" stencil Facets.

I'd made that earlier print on multi-faceted "holographic" foil (originally sold as gift-wrap.)  It looked like this:

Above:  The "holographic" foil is very difficult to photograph because it's highly reflective -- lots of bling!

To pursue my make-over idea in making a collage, I pulled out a new greeting card blank and used a gluestick to add this print to the cover of the card.  After setting that combination aside to dry overnight (pressed under the weight of a book), I cut off the excess foil, making it the same size as the greeting card.

Then I added the cut-out print I'd made with Hot Air Balloon and Mask s547.  

To give the card cover additional depth,  I used 3-dimensional "glue dots."  In the photo below, this depth appears faintly, in shadow at some edges of the cut-out ....

  

I'm glad to have Hot Air Balloon and Mask s547 -- because it comes in handy when I want to make a greeting card or giftwrap with a theme that seems to be equally appealing to recipients both male and female.

Thanks for visiting here today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl masks and stencils, please start here.

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If you want to continue subscribing to this blog by email, please leave a Comment giving your email address.  Comment options are given at the end of each blog post.  Since I have Comment Moderation, I can read comments but prevent them from being published on the blog.  In other words, your email addresses will not appear here on my blog.  Rather, I will be collecting them and creating my own private list.  

I do not sell anyone's email address, period.  I don't like it when mine gets sold and I live by the Golden Rule!

  ANNOUNCEMENT:  Because the Feedburner team has released a system update, this blog's email subscription service will end.  After July 2021, the automated emails to blog subscribers will no longer be supported.

If you want to continue subscribing to this blog by email, please leave a Comment giving your email address.  Comment options are given at the end of each blog post.  Since I have Comment Moderation, I can read comments but prevent them from being published on the blog.  In other words, your email addresses will not appear here on my blog.  Rather, I will be collecting them and creating my own private list.  

I do not sell anyone's email address, period.  I don't like it when mine gets sold and I live by the Golden Rule!

White: 6"x 6" Ornamental Iron Curls s462.  Green: 9" x 12" Wrought Iron Gate L224

My 6" x 6" stencil Pressed Leaves was chosen by Artist Kathy Nyquist when she gave finishing touches to what had been a clean-up page in her art journal.  What had started as a page to catch leftover paints, became the work of art that you see below.

Above:  So much to love here! -- the translucency of the blue paint, the white outlining and calligraphy, all floating over a grid background.  What spirit!

Above:  Kathy Nyquist again has used 6" x 6" stencil Pressed Leaves on this greeting card cover, created with crackle paste and a piece of junk mail, redeemed!

Sylvia Lokhoff de Bruijn, another StencilGirl StencilClub member, will have a post dedicated entirely to her, showcasing her outstanding artworks created by putting into use several of my stencils and masks.  Today's post however narrows the field to this work in monochromatic blues --

Above: Sylvia has used 6" x 6" stencil Pressed Leaves in several applications, over a background that I think was created with June Pfaff Daley's Coral Fan Stencil L356. 

6" x 6" stencil Pressed Leaves is one that I've used often, myself:

Above: Here I've used it with modeling paste; after the paste dried, I went over it with orange pastels and a gold glitter glue (Ranger's Industries.)

Above:  Working on bronze "metallic" cardstock, I used heavy-body silver paint thru the stencil; after allowing drying time, I added highlights with silver glitter glue from Ranger Industries.

Above:  With a watercolor pencil, I filled in all the open areas on 6" x 6" stencil Pressed Leaves.  I lifted off the stencil and applied a light spray from a mister bottle.  This controlled amount of moisture caused just enough bleed to give the piece a "painterly" look.  This was done on heavy watercolor paper. 

Above:  This gorgeous Christmas card was created by Martha Lucia Gomez. 

Today's final idea for using Pressed Leaves comes from MaryBeth Shaw of StencilGirlProducts.com.  Enjoy this short but highly informative video made by MaryBeth, featuring a mixed-media process that came as totally new to me.  Something fun to try!

Thanks for checking out my blog today! To scroll thru my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here. 

Announcement:  Because the Feedburner team has released a system update, the email subscription service will be discontinued.  After July 2021, the automated emails to blog subscribers will no longer be supported.

If you want to continue subscribing to this blog by email, please leave a Comment that gives your email address.  Comment options are given at the end of each blog post.  Since I have Comment Moderation, I can read comments but prevent them from being published on the blog.  In other words, your email addresses will not appear here on my blog.  Rather, I will be collecting them and creating my own private list.  

I do not sell anyone's email address, period.  I don't like it when mine gets sold and I try to live by the Golden Rule!  

 ANNOUNCEMENT:  Because the Feedburner team has released a system update, this blog's email subscription service will end.  After July 2021, the automated emails to blog subscribers will no longer be supported.

If you want to continue subscribing to this blog by email, please leave a Comment giving your email address.  Comment options are given at the end of each blog post.  Since I have Comment Moderation, I can read comments but prevent them from being published on the blog.  In other words, your email addresses will not appear here on my blog.  Rather, I will be collecting them and creating my own private list.  

I do not sell anyone's email address, period.  I don't like it when mine gets sold and I live by the Golden Rule!

6" x 6" Pavilion Shadows s464

  ANNOUNCEMENT:  Because the Feedburner team has released a system update, this blog's email subscription service will end.  After July 2021, the automated emails to blog subscribers will no longer be supported.

If you want to continue subscribing to this blog by email, please leave a Comment giving your email address.  Comment options are given at the end of each blog post.  Since I have Comment Moderation, I can read comments but prevent them from being published on the blog.  In other words, your email addresses will not appear here on my blog.  Rather, I will be collecting them and creating my own private list.  

I do not sell anyone's email address, period.  I don't like it when mine gets sold and I live by the Golden Rule!

Mikki's Flowers Mask s605 (6" x 6") with a commercial white applique of flowers

  ANNOUNCEMENT:  Because the Feedburner team has released a system update, this blog's email subscription service will end.  After July 2021, the automated emails to blog subscribers will no longer be supported.

If you want to continue subscribing to this blog by email, please leave a Comment giving your email address.  Comment options are given at the end of each blog post.  Since I have Comment Moderation, I can read comments but prevent them from being published on the blog.  In other words, your email addresses will not appear here on my blog.  Rather, I will be collecting them and creating my own private list.  

I do not sell anyone's email address, period.  I don't like it when mine gets sold and I live by the Golden Rule!

6" x 6" LOVE s828

Summer's Flowers and Greenery

Once upon a time, it would have bothered me to see a flower printed all in one color -- bloom, stems, leaves and all.  But that was an awfully long time ago.  I got over it!  Clearly, there are many ways to present flowers ...

Above:  Made with 6" x 6" stencil Silhouette of a Wildflower Bouquet, printed over an old encyclopedia page previously coated with pale pink acrylic paint.

"Greenery" need not be green, either!  Below, this collage-built greeting card cover features a print made using "metallic" pink paint and Unfurling Leaves, one of the nine Artist Trading Card-sized stencils (plus bonus masks) that come included in 9" x 12" ATC Mixup Swatton # 1 --

Today's next art sample, below, was printed on glossy black cardstock using my 9" x 12" stencil Queen Anne's Lace and pink acrylic paint.

Above:  Step 1 -- I used a sponge to spread green interference paint across the black cardstock in the areas where the flowers would be printed.  Step 2 -- With a ruler, I drew in 3 pink lines to add drama to the background.  Step 3 -- I applied pink-tinted molding paste thru the stencil.  Step 4 -- After the molding paste had dried, I added darker pink to some areas of the flowers and stems. 

Above:  Created in 2 steps with 9" x 12" Prayer Flags stencil  and 9" x 12" stencil Branching Blossoms Silhouette.

Above:  A collage created with cut-outs from papers printed using 9" x 12" mask Garden Montage.

Below is another greeting card cover made using a cut-out from a Garden Montage print..  The vertical strip along the left edge was cut from paper printed with 6" x 6" Sprigs.

Next up:  a sheet of Yupo (a synthetic substrate) dyed with "bleeding" tissue papers and -- this time -- I've used the entire 9" x 12" mask Garden Montage:

Above:  the speckled look comes from my spraying the surface with water while the dye from the tissue had dried completely.  To learn about dyeing substrates using "bleeding tissue," check here -- https://fb.watch/4f7dsOc2r8/

 

Above:  Printed with Mikki's Flowers stencil (6" x 6"), which comes with a matching mask. Here the background is a page from an old encyclopedia that came with a floral illustration.

Above:  Printed with 6" x 6" stencil Quilted Flower Garden.

Above:  Made with 6" x 6" stencil Swatton Flowers Version 1.  Background: a page from an old encyclopedia that featured a botanical illustration.

Above:  6" x 6" Heron stencil printed over paper previously printed with 9" x 12" stencil Blooming Where Planted (which features abstracted versions of flowers.)

Above:  Created with 6" x 6" stencil Tiger Lily.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.

Announcement:  Because the Feedburner team has released a system update, the email subscription service will be discontinued.  After July 2021, the automated emails to blog subscribers will no longer be supported.

If you want to continue subscribing to this blog by email, please leave a Comment that gives your email address.  Comment options are given at the end of each blog post.  Since I have Comment Moderation, I can read comments but prevent them from being published on the blog.  In other words, your email addresses will not appear here on my blog.  Rather, I will be collecting them and creating my own private list.  

I do not sell anyone's email address, period.  I don't like it when mine gets sold and I try to live by the Golden Rule!