LONGWOOD FLORALS MASK

l675 Longwood Florals Mask.....9"x 12"

Longwood Florals Mask measures 9" x 12" and is the topic of today's post.  

I've used it twice to make two 3-D artworks on stretched canvas.  The starting step, and nearly all the following steps, were the same for both pieces.

I designed this mask (and its matching stencil) to be used either upside down, or right-side-up.  However, the original flowers and leaves were dangling as shown in the first photo below.  You can click on the image to enlarge it and better see detail.

First, I'd placed the mask onto the white canvas.  Above, on the left, are the disposable plate and sponge that I used to add Liquitex Super Heavy Gesso over the entire canvas.  I used one hand to hold the mask in place as I dabbed the surface with this ultra-thick gesso.  Since I was working toward a 3-D effect, I did a lot of up-and-down pouncing with the gesso-laden sponge.  I could have used any other white texture medium, such as heavy-body Titanium White acrylic paint, or any of the modeling paste gels, or one of the heavy-body gels.

Immediately after covering the canvas with gesso, I lifted off the mask and placed it in a basin of water.  That way, the gesso on the ask wouldn't harden while I moved on with the project.  Later, I lifted the mask from the water and cleaned it.  I seldom clean masks or stencils, but the exception is when I've used them with 3-D media.  If this kind of medium dries on the stencil or mask, it can interfere with getting detailed prints from that time forward.   

The photo below shows the very start of adding colors to the canvas.  I could have used acrylic inks or liquid watercolors, or even spray paints, but I chose to use Golden High Flow acrylics.  I could have waited for the ultra-thick gesso to dry before adding color, but there was no need, because I planned to allow the color to somewhat sink into the surface.

The above photo shows dribbles of high flow acrylic paint as they began spreading over the surface.

To speed the flow for the sake of complete coverage, I sprayed the dribbles with water in a spray bottle, as shown below.

The above photo was taken while the paint and water mixture were still wet.  I knew there would be a color shift, once the piece had dried overnight...

... and the photo above -- showing the final artwork -- shows that the colors have lightened.  

When I approached the second canvas, I repeated the first few steps described above.  But I used different colors; and when it had dried, I went in with cotton swabs, heavy-body acrylic paint, and a white marking pen --

One reason I like Golden brand is that its high flow acrylics come in colors that match the heavy-body acrylic and liquid acrylic paints.  This came in handy when I was developing the piece above, because I could use the same blue in heavy-body paint that I had used with the water-and-high flow mixture used earlier in the process.

I used the white marker pen to highlight some of the stems and leaves, so that the finished artwork looks like this --

Before ending this post, I want to mention that the titles of this mask and its matching stencil come from my having seen these flowers and leaves at Longwood Gardens, Kennet Square, PA.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!