Figure vs. Ground in Artwork -- Part 2 of 2

 Winter Berries Mask and Winter Berries Stencil are exact opposites of each other -- which makes it exciting to use them together; this creates a play between negative space and positive space.  Viewers can ask,  "Which is which?" --  because negative space can visually trade places with positive space.  An interesting image can challenge the viewer to see the berries first as figure (positive space), then in the opposite way, as ground (negative space.)

Above:  artwork, full-view, painted using Winter Berries Mask and Winter Berries Stencil .

Above:  a close-up detail from the same artwork created with

Winter Berries Mask and Winter Berries Stencil .




Above, the winter berries appear (in the bottom layer of paint) as near-white, surrounded by cool aquas and pale yellow-greens.  In the top layer of paint, the winter berries appear as solid areas of orange and yellow-orange.  These layered opposites seem to visually bounce back-and-forth between positive and negative space.  

The stencil and the mask (each 9" x 12") look like this:

Winter Berries Stencil 

Winter Berries Mask 

Likewise, my Pods series of four stencils and masks work together; since these masks are opposites of their corresponding stencils, the use of both together -- working in layers atop layers -- develops complex imagery that challenges viewers to decide which is "figure" (foreground) and which is "ground" (background.) 

Below:  a parade of examples.  Some are close-ups showing details; others show the full-view version of figure-ground art samples.  

My goal is to coax the eye to move back and forth between figure and ground.  This creates "tension," depth and complexity that causes a viewer to stop and study the piece.

My Pods series of stencils and masks used in developing the above samples are these:

9" x 12" Tangled Pods Mask

9" x 12" Dangled Pods Stencil

6" x 6" Small Dangled Pods Stencil

6" X 6" Small Tangled Pods Mask

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

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  March 3 will bring a release of four new masks I've designed for StencilGirl.  Altho the four masks together make a set, each mask is also available individually.  Here's a tease cut from one of the artworks I've made with one or more of these masks:

A Discussion on Figure-Ground -- Part 1 of 2

Before discussing figure-ground, I'm announcing that March 3 will bring a release of four new masks I've designed for StencilGirl. Altho the four masks together make a set, each mask is also available individually.  Here's a tease cut from one of the artworks I've made with one or more of these masks:

 The principle of "figure-ground" contrast can be phrased as a question: “Which part of any silhouetted image is “figure” and which is “(back)ground?”  If a silhouette is considered the figure, then the spaces around that figure is considered ground or background.

The print below was made with Longwood Florals Mask (9" x 12").  In this print, spaces between the leaves and flowers can be seen as “negative” (or "ground" as in "background."), whereas the leaves and flowers can be seen as "positive" (or "figure.") 

The print below was created with the 9" x 12" Longwood Florals Stencil.  Its reddish-purple leaves and flowers can be seen as positive space, while the green-spattered white areas can be seen as negative space.

  
Since this stencil and this mask are mirror images of one another, it's fun to use them together.

In detailed areas of the image below, positive space and negative space intermingle to challenge the eye of the viewer.  The first, darker print was made with Longwood Florals Mask.  After that paint had dried, I added a layer of lighter color using Longwood Florals Stencil.

This playful combination is a fun option with any stencil-and-mask set.

It can happen again when combining my 9" x 12" Winter Berries Stencil and my 9" x 12" Winter Berries Mask.

Below is a first step in a series of steps I took with both this stencil and this mask.  This print -- step one -- was made with Winter Berries Mask (and a few glass "pebbles.") 

Below is step two.  Another layer of color has been added.  Here in step 2, I continued to use Winter Berries Mask.

The 2 photos below shows step three.  The top photo shows the artwork in its entirety.  The photo under it shows a close-up detail.  

In developing step three, I first added another layer of paint using Winter Berries Stencil.

After that layer dried, I drew in squiggles with a Sharpie pen.  And finally, I painted in most of the squiggle-outlined areas, with opaque black and translucent red, blue, pink, etc.

Today's stencils and masks include:

9" x 12" Longwood Florals Stencil

9" x 12" Longwood Florals Mask

9" x 12" Winter Berries Stencil 

9" x 12" Winter Berries Mask

Thanks for taking time to visit here today!  The figure-and-ground topic continues in my next post.  To subscribe to my blog by email, please use that option in the upper right sidebar.

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

 March 3 will bring a release of four new masks I've designed. Altho the four masks together make a set, each mask is also available individually.  Here's a tease cut from one of the artworks I've made with one or more of these masks:

A Fun Way to Warm Up

Scraps from stencil-printed papers are still lingering in my brain, perking up more ideas for their use.

With today's examples, I want to explain something that I haven't before.  

I like to make greeting cards for their own sake, but there's more to it than having something to drop into the mail or hand over to a friend.

I fell in love with card-making because almost every card poses a composition challenge, but a challenge in a size that's easily manageable.  

Assembling these mini-collages is a series of warm-up exercises for me, before I move forward into an art-making day that will focus on stretched canvases much larger in size.

And scraps of stencil-printed papers are perfect for greeting card compositions, letting me approach each blank card with color combinations that have already been established, so I can place all my focus on composition.

These experiments in composition are fun, and because they are just for cards, it doesn't matter whether or not each collage becomes a "masterpiece."  Many of them won't.  But nothing ventured, nothing gained.  My goal isn't masterpieces; instead, it's to explore, teach myself something new, and most of all, have fun!

Above:  Altho these foil embellishments  may no longer be in stock, they were purchased from Paper Wishes, and may still be available elsewhere.

Above:  The copper foil embossed embellishment is a Dresden design, sometimes available at Etsy and possibly elsewhere.  The vertical foil embellishment is from Paper Wishes.  Note:  These items may no longer be in stock.

  

Above:  Can you tell which stencils were used in making the prints that were cut up to become scraps in this collaged greeting card cover?  The magenta and blue print was made with 9" x 12" Prayer Flags.  The green and purple scrap came from paper printed using 9' x 12" Vases.   The bright-green and indigo-blue print was made with 9" x 12" Facets.

Note:  The above scraps -- which I created many years ago -- were not stencil prints per se, but they were printed with my own original designs that I would eventually use to design stencils -- 6" x 6" Ferns 6 Stencil and 9" x 12" Boxed Vines Stencil.

Above:  Stencil-printed papers were made with 6" x 6" mask Sprigs. Foil embossed embellishments are Dresden designs available at Etsy and elsewhere.

After creating miniature collages, it's easier to move into large sizes:

Some papers in the collage above were printed using 9" x 12" Looking Up Through Trees L753 and 6" x 6" Looking Up Through Trees Small s793.

Can you tell which StencilGirl stencil was used in the low-left quadrant of the above collage?  Random Circles, designed by MaryBeth Shaw.

Above:  The background of this collage was printed on watercolor paper using 6" x 6" Swatton Grid and 9" x 12" L791 Palm Fronds Silhouette.  Most, but not all, of the collage papers were cut from prints made with StencilGirl's May 2019 Stencil of the Month set.  This set can still be purchased by members of the StencilGirl Stencil Club.

A few of the papers in the collage above were prints made with 9" x 12" L791 Palm Fronds Silhouette. 

Thank you for coming to visit my blog today!  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl masks and stencils, please start here.

Today's post brings forward a circle theme, circles being one of my favorite designs.  One connotation of this shape is that it suggests completeness; and I like the way that concept fits in my head.

First, I'll show the early stages of a simple painting on stretched canvas that I've titled The Moon is Out Tonight.  In those early stages, it was developed with several applications of my 6" x 6" Marbles 6 Stencil s080 ....

The early stages --

Below:  The painting's final layers were painted using Flower Pot Mask L398, designed by Suzi Dennis, and Tottering Shapes s806, designed by Cat Kerr --

Today's second art sample, below, is a mixed-media piece on watercolor paper.  The first photo below shows it still taped to the backing board that I use for painting watercolor papers.  To its left, I've taped my 6" x 6" Trivet A s166.  This mask was used in subtle ways as I worked toward creating a more complex image than what I'd achieved in today's first painting, above.

Below, I've used green to outline the two areas in this mixed-media piece that were created with subtle use of Trivet A s166:

Trivet A s166 looks like this --

-- and it is one in a series of trivet stencils and masks that I've designed, all available at StencilGirlProducts.

Thank you for coming to check my blog today!  To scroll thru my StencilGirl stencils and masks, please start here. 

For the Last-Minute Lizzies ...

 Today's post features just one Valentine --

-- for anyone like me who decides at nearly the last minute to make just one more!

The large heart is free-hand cut from a print made using my 4" x 4" M & Y Mini Stencil.  The stencil itself looks like this --

4" x 4" M & Y Mini Stencil

-- and gets its name from the fact that the shapes are the stylized letters M and Y. 

In making this print, I used acrylic paints; after they dried, I added a touch of crayon across the upper left area.  That paint was applied with a sponge brayer loaded with heavy-body acrylic paint.  Since the paint was heavy-body, it has made the printed areas appear slightly 3-dimensional.

Part Two of Two

I've always loved balloons.  So why not a trio of Valentine heart balloons?

Then again, how about entwined double hearts to heighten the emphasis on love?

Or, a single great big heart might fit the bill --

Now here comes a parade of other Valentines I've made new this year.  Some look traditional; some step outside the traditional box....

Stencil-and-mask set used:  4" x 4" Hot Air Balloon Mask & Mini 

Stencil used: ATC Mixup Swatton # 2 

Stencil used: ATC Mixup Swatton # 2 

Stencil used:  ATC Mixup Swatton # 1

Stencil used:  ATC Mixup Swatton # 1  

Handfuls of thanks for checking in with my blog today!  To follow this blog by email, please use that option in the upper right sidebar.  To scroll thru the pages of my StencilGirl masks and stencils, please start here.