Thursday, October 8, 2020

Today brings the unveiling of my brand-new 6" x 6" mask -- Love!




Now picture this:

I once stood tiptoe on the brink of Adventure 101, paint in one hand and my first-ever stencil in the other.

When I took the leap -- daubing paint thru that stencil -- it was as if I'd sprouted wings.

Those wings are called creativity.

One thing I learned early-on was that most stencils and masks work equally well "right-side-up" and "flip-side-up."

Quick example:  The two images directly below were created using my 6" x 6" stencil Pair o' Parrots and Garden at Nemours -- both having been used first on one side, then on their flip side.




  

  




With time and practice, I learned that this reversal adds impact, variety and rhythm to art-making, especially when I change colors for each print and/or layer prints atop one another.

Okay; most stencils and masks are “double-sided” this way. 

But not all.

Masks and stencils like 6” x 6” Love can be used only “right-side-up” – unless I’m working with a Gelli Plate; for that, I place it “flip-side-up” onto the plate, so I’ll get a right-side-up print on paper that I press onto it.

So, Love can’t be reversed.  A disadvantage?

No!  A challenge.

This challenge, my friends, launches creativity.  It can be your wings.

How many ways can you use Love?





Above:  Love has been used to make three prints on a chaotic background; each print has a different orientation.  The goal is a completely abstract image.



How many other stencils and masks can you use alongside this brand-new stencil to expand its possibilities?




Above:  Again, Love has been used to make 3 prints, this time on a background previously printed with part of my 9" x 12" stencil Boxed Vines.  The goal, once more, is a completely abstract image.

  


Above:  Love has been used with part of my 6" x 6" mask Garden at Nemours.


I had fun awhile back, spattering paint onto background papers; I lifted the water-thinned acrylic paint high and let it drop onto the papers, because I wanted to know what patterns might form.  Having saved those papers, I decided today's debut of 6" x 6" Love was a perfect time to do some stencil-printing onto these spattered backgrounds.  I think the results make for a good way to keep a look of excitement going, even when working with a plain text stencil....






You can use Love as a frame to highlight a loved one (human or otherwise); two examples are below:




Above:  the background is a partial page from an old picture calendar.





Above:  The background is scrapbook paper painted yellow.  The frame effect is used differently here, altho the featured image is the same -- a cat.  This cat was printed with my 6" x 6" Cats stencil.




Another creative flight happened for me when I paired Love with another stencil of matching size (6” x 6”), s078 Swatton Flowers Version 1 Stencil.



Left above:  printed using part of s078 Swatton Flowers Version 1 Stencil.  Right:  printed with 6” x 6” Love Background was a previously printed scan of a collage I'd made some time ago.




Upper left: printed with 6” x 6” Love.  Right and bottom:  printed using part of s078 Swatton Flowers Version 1 Stencil.  Background was a page from an old picture calendar.





Center above: printed with 6” x 6” Love.  Right and bottom:  printed using part of Ivy Frame 9 Stencil (9" x 12").  Upper left:  printed with 6" x 6" Ivy Frame 6 Stencil.




What the above print looked like while still in process --




 6" x 6" Ivy Frame 6 Stencil has been placed over the now-dry print made with 6” x 6” Love.  I carefully used the sponge brayer -- loaded with heavy body acrylic paint -- to press paint thru the openings in Ivy Frame 6 Stencil A small sponge would have worked better, but I managed okay with the brayer by tilting it.



Let the wings of creativity take you out for flight!

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