Playtime is the best...

...time, don't you think?

Good friend and fellow artist Laura Leeder stopped by this past week for some playtime in the studio.  We'd been wanting to experiment with different uses for gesso, and we tore right into it.

Laura washing over a stenciled gesso floral...look at those wonderful colours!

The top leaves on the journal spread have been pounced through a stencil with gesso,
and then washed over with a pale acrylic.

This sienna-toned magazine page was stenciled with gesso,
and then washed over with quinacridone orange acrylic.

These images were stamped on to watercolour paper with gesso,
dried and then washed over with acrylics.

A credit card was used to push gesso through the stencil
before applying a wash or two.

Gesso was thickly applied and then distressed with a heat gun.
Washes of alcohol ink and ultramarine acrylic inks were applied.
White gesso was patted on with a paper towel over the black
gesso...nice pattern, right?

A house wrap stencil was used to apply the design,
and then it was spritzed with  Dylusions spray.

Laura's piece at the end of the session...I
suspect there will be more layers!

It was a most entertaining morning, and I hope we can do it again - soon!!

It's a mixed bag...

today, rather akin to my mind, I suspect.

I'm in the midst of preparing for a full weekend mixed media workshop in Kimberley.  Are you going to join me there?  Please do - we're in for a crazy play-ful time!

I'm also working on three pieces for a show in Kimberley - this one is in June, and I'm already starting to  feel the push.  Don't you love doing shows for the kick-start they provide?  This small table leg is a just the start of a project that's going to take a good deal of time.

 This wood panel will sport layers of snowflakes of all kinds...final outcome TBA!

Here I'm using a technique I love - gessoed cheesecloth and organics for a background that will eventually be puddled with more than a dozen glazes of colour.  It's a tiny area of a large mirror that's in the works.

All three pieces are being created with cast-offs - furniture, wood, dried leaves (Mother Nature is so very giving!), etc.  The name of the show is Material Change, instigated by a fabulous textile artist Darcy Wanuk of Kimberley.  It will feature her work, the work of Puffin Design owners Alison and Bart Bjorkman, and mine.  I hope your Art Appetite is fully engaged, 'cause it's going to be a knock-out!

Of course, that's not all that's on my mind...there's always more.  In the studio and in my life, I expect the unexpected, so stop in next week to see what else is happening!

It's so exciting...

...to welcome a new baby into the family, and the arrival this past week of a grand niece was no exception.  Of course, it meant that her first piece of art needed to be created last minute (because that's just the way it goes, right?).

I started with a gessoed 16 x 16" panel, and loosely laid out cheesecloth and dried botanicals to ensure I had room for the photo I wanted to include.

I glued them (and my fingers, toes, armpits and walls) to the panel surface and sides before I put the first coat of gesso over it all.  I always love the look of the technique at this point - the ghostly shadows are so subtle.  Yes, I know that's not my style at all!

It was time for the first coat of colour; using thin washes of quinacridone gold, Van Dyke brown, burnt umber and sap green, I loved watching the paint seep into the crevices created by the cheesecloth and textural organics. 

Before deepening the colours, I added the photo and surrounded it with poppy seed heads, pods, and a variety of other natural dried items.

 Another layer of colour,

and more yet was added before I incorporated some polished stones (created by this sweetie's father when he was a child) to finish the piece.

 I'm so fascinated by the beautiful texture here.

Welcome, Esmae - we're just delighted to have you join our family!  xoxox

Put a little leather in your...paper.

A favourite paper-making process is that of leather (also known as brayer paper, or gesso paper), and it's dead easy to create.

Start with a brush, gesso and sheet of acid-free artist tissue paper (available here in Canada from Opus) along with a a palette paper support for easy lift-off.  If you have a textured brayer, that will be handy later on!

Paint the tissue with gesso (when I'm painting a large sheet I start from the centre and move outwards to prevent tearing), let it dry, and then paint the other side in the same manner.

Once both sides of the tissue are painted with gesso, you can add colour.  Note here that if you want a thicker, more leathery-feeling paper, you can paint each side again with gesso - the more layers of gesso, the heavier the paper.  You can see my usual subtle colour below on the second side of this sheet.  Don't worry about any transfer of colour to the back - it will just get painted over.

Once the coat of colour has dried, you can add a contrasting colour with a textured brayer (I've made my own in many different types of texturing, but you can easily wrap elastics around a 'normal' brayer to add some texture to your work).

It makes a lovely pattern doesn't it, and,

with both sides of the paper painted in complementary style/colour, it makes a wonderful folded piece as well.

Do be forewarned that over time (months and years) this paper will become dry and somewhat brittle - I recommend using it as soon as possible after you make it, especially if you're looking to achieve a soft folded look.