Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Part 3 of Stained Stencils as Collage Pieces in Mixed-Media Art


First:  A recap of my method for adding stained stencils (as collage elements) to substrates; this approach works with stretched canvas and other sturdy substrates.  It would not work with thin substrates such as printer paper.

You can enlarge any of these images, to better see details.

I always set aside the prettiest of my paint-stained StencilGirl stencils; then I (1) order new replacements! -- and (2) cut apart the stained stencils for use as collage elements.  Usually these pieces serve as the final step on a background of acrylic paints on stretched canvas.  Other times, they are added to an artwork as the next-to-last step, since I may decide to add more paint over them.

The one constant is that I always use heavy-body matte gel medium to adhere the stencils to the substrate.  It has the strength needed to assure that the stencils will stay in place permanently.

Painted stencils can be cut apart with scissors, or a hobby knife paired with a cutting board.  But I use Joyce Chen scissors, originally marketed as a kitchen tool for cutting apart chicken bones!  These scissors have short blades that easily make cuts in detained areas of stencil designs.  And they are sharp enough to deal with the high quality Mylar that StencilGirl uses.  

And when applying the gel medium, I work atop sheets of scratch paper, since some of the gel will end up on whatever's under the stencil-piece.



Above:  the "right" side of the stained stencil -- cut from Palm Fronds Silhouette Small (6" x 6")

Above:  the stencil piece has been flipped over to its "wrong" side.


Above:  I dip this old paintbrush (no longer used for painting) into heavy gel medium and spread the gel across the entire surface of the stencil-bit, on its "wrong" side.

The first photo below shows an artwork-in-progress.  Its background has been established with acrylic paints and collage papers.  The blue pieces of masking tape are attaching stained stencils in the places where they may, or may not, end up being added with heavy-body matte medium gel.  This step is called "auditioning."  I'm using the masking tape because I work vertically -- the stretched canvas is facing me, propped up on the shelf of an easel.  If I were working horizontally -- the way most artists do, using a tabletop -- I wouldn't need the masking tape.




Below:  A close-up of one area of this work-in-progress.  In the upper left lies part of a stained stencil that started life as my 9" x 12" stencil It's a Jungle Out There.  To its right lies a piece cut from my 9" x 12" stencil Fantasia.  In the lower left corner, there is a green-and-white stained cut-out section from my 9" x 12" stencil Prayer Flags.



Above:  If familiar with StencilGirl products, you may recognize the leafy white botanical image surrounded by reds and oranges.  This is an image I developed in Photoshop and it later became part of my 6" x 6" stencil Ferns 6.

The following photos are to show how stencil designs create shapes that become even more interesting when they're cut apart.  To my eye, in this art-in-progress has unity that's created by the way the paper shapes and stencil-bits complement one another.


Full-size art-in-progress:  stencil-printed papers and paint-stained stencil-pieces, taped in place with masking tape since I work vertically, on an easel.


Close-up no. 1
Close-up no. 2
Close-up no. 3


Below are the original stencils that were cut apart for use in the abstract-in-construction above; notice how different they become, when paint-stained and cut into pieces as shown in the photo sequence above --



Mimosa Stencil (9" x 12")


Ski Lift Works (6" x 6")

More examples:

Prayer Flags (9" x 12")

Prayer Flags and It's a Jungle Out There (both were 9" x 12" before being cut down)

It's a Jungle Out There

 Prayer Flags


T
hank you for coming to see my blog today!

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

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Art in Progress


In the mood to launch a new idea, I got out a brand-new stretched canvas and drew a random series of shapes with brushes dipped into black acrylic paint.

Once that paint had dried, I used blue masking tape to cover 3 areas of the canvas with three stencils -- my 9" x 12" Facets, the 6" x 6" stencil from the May 2019 StencilClub set and my 9" x 12" stencil Fantasia.  To better see the placement of these stencils, click on the image below to enlarge it ....





After lifting off the stencils, I had created what you see below:





Notice (above) that, with each stencil, I used only some of the stencil openings.

As each layer of paint dried, I re-used the stencils, placing them in a variety of positions, building up layers.


9" x 12" Facets stencil
9" x 12" stencil Fantasia


Used in this project:  the 6" x 6" stencil shown in the lower right above.  This set is available here.


This project is ongoing.  More black lines are coming!

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

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Spotlighting StencilGirl Artists!


You can click on the image below to better see three prints in gorgeous earthtones, all courtesy of artist Heather Baley.  She made the prints using my 9" x 12" Longwood Florals Mask, shown partially at the right of Heather's photo.  



Longwood Florals Mask was designed to be used "right-side-up" or "upside-down" as shown below --





In fact, if memory serves me correctly, the plant that inspired this mask was actually growing in the direction shown above!
Heather Baley, thanks so much for allowing me to show your artwork and your photo here!

Another round of thanks goes to photographer/artist Kim Ross; she receives the credit for the next photo as well as the art it contains.   Kim used StencilGirl "StencilGuts" in making the artwork labeled "epic."  These 
"StencilGuts" were created in StencilGirl's manufacture of my 6" x 6" stencil Osprey Wings.


6" x 6" stencil Osprey Wings




In the lower left of the photo above, Kim has crafted an artwork using another 6" x 6" stencil of mine, Cats.


6" x 6" stencil Cats






Today's final photo, above, was developed during an art retreat -- delightfully entitled Dancing with Your Muse -- facilitated by Carolyn Dube.  An artist named Chris gets the credit for this exciting pair of orange, yellow and white prints, and the stencil she used was my 9" x 12" Prayer Flags, shown below:


9" x 12" stencil Prayer Flags
 
This year's Dancing with the Muse art retreat has ended, but you can catch glimpses of it here -- and by scrolling down to the end of that post of Carolyn Dube's, you can learn how to get in on the ground floor for next year's retreat.

Thanks, Carolyn Dube, for letting me use a photo from your fun retreat! 

And a thank-you to you, for having come to check out my blog today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here.