Rex Ray Inspirations & Distress Inks

When I brought out the inkpads of Distress Ink, alongside them came the cosmetic brushes that I like to use with this medium.  One type of this brush is here or here.  These soft-bristled brushes are so densely packed with fine fibers that they resemble sponges, but I like them better than sponges.  Other types of cosmetic brushes may work as well, but I like this one because of its handle.  For me, this kind of handle provides the most precision when spreading Distress Ink, and I like the choice of sizes, since smaller brushes clearly work best in small, detailed areas of a stencil or mask.

After I have cleaned these brushes in plain water, I've discovered that when they dry, they have stiffened bristles.  But all it takes is for me to run a thumb or thumbnail across the bristles and they return to their original soft and dense nature.

When I first bought Distress Inks I thought these inkpads were available only in shades of brown. And I thought their use was limited to "distressing" papers to give them a vintage look for art projects reminiscent of yesteryear.  

That "yesteryear look" has long ago segued into a love for Distress Inks in a wide assortment of colors.  Now I love swiping a soft-bristled brush a few times across these inkpads to build downy-looking prints with stencils and masks.

Soon after receiving my Rex Ray-inspired mask 4" x 4" Carnival, I cut off the top of its square frame.  This scissor-customized version is what I chose for the prints in today's post.

I used today's featured brushes and Distress Inks with this mask in two separate applications....

Above: I like the dramatic look of "paired opposites" -- here, the two colors come from near-opposite areas of the color wheel; also, one faces east while the other faces west.

Below:  a collage on stretched canvas.  Distress Ink prints appear in the upper right and the lower left.  I chose ink colors that coordinate with the papers of the collage.

Below is a close-up of one of those areas --

Above:  This close-up is a peek at the circular shapes that are scattered throughout the collage. Since this mask features circular shapes, I decided to use it in hinting at a background behind the collage papers.

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

Daily posts will continue for a week or so as I explore more ideas for using my just-released masks, 6" x 6" Champagne s960 and 4" x 4" Carnival m340.  I hope that my ideas will spark ideas of your own!