Dream Big Canvas

It seems like ages ago since I last posted, but it was only Wednesday. Since then I made an ATC for a swap with Kate Crane.  I drew a cowgirl Kate with Dylusions spray's in each hand, and a caption saying 'Put em up!', I'm really pleased she liked it. Kate posted it on her blog Here. I love my ATC from Kate (mine is the green one), it's taking pride of place on my wall. :-)

I've been getting all preoccupied with painting up a 60 x 60cm canvas which has taken me all week to do since I work full time. I felt that layering up a canvas was one step up from layering up a journal page really, so I jumped in with both feet and got cracking. I was inspired to do the canvas by two books I had bought from Art from the Heart, they were 'Layered Impressions' by Katie Kendrick and 'Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts'.

One thing I do love about painting up a canvas, is that you can use lashings and lashings of acrylic paints and really get your hands all dirty and get my Ranger apron dirty too! Here's the finished article below. Dream Big, Live Well and Be Happy. I've hung it on the wall above my bed. Maybe I'll go to sleep now instead of thinking too much about designs and layouts!

I started off with the blank canvas which I primed with gesso and allowed to dry. This didn't take to long to dry, about an hour maybe. Then I tore up some papers and stuck them on with multi-purpose PVE glue. 

I painted over the top with more gesso and stuck some bubble wrap into it while it was still wet for a textured pattern.

I stuck down some florist straw on a roll down one side, and used a 'Mini Cubist' Crafters Workshop stencil with some brown acrylic paint here and there.

I filled in some areas of the florist straw with glue and Beadazzles (love this product, I'm always looking for an excuse to use it!) just for some more texture and interest. I also used Dylusions 'Jumbled Letters' stencil randomly around the canvas too.

I used Indigo Blu's Flitter Glue and gilding flakes with a Tim Holtz stamp to get these beautiful gilded circles 4 or 5 times around the canvas.

Then I drew a women's face on watercolour card and coloured her with acrylic paints. I cut her out and stuck her on the canvas too. this was the halfway mark. I used the bubble wrap again dipped in Burnt Umber acrylic paint and randomly stamped it too. I also stuck down two skeleton leaves in the bottom right hand corner.

I used heavy structure gel through the Cubist stencil and a Dylusions 'Dotted Flowers' stencil to generate some raised areas on the canvas.

I got my brayer out and loaded it up with a few different shades of blue and rolled it over the edges of the canvas.

I stamped my current favourite Crafty Notions heart stamp up the side of the florist straw using blue Aqua Adirondack dabber acrylic paint, and shaded the area around the heart with pastels.  I used a fab Inkylicious text stamp with black paint randomly too.

I used Tim Holtz Grungeboard letters and sprayed them with Postbox Red Dylusions Inks and Red firefly Cosmic Shimmers on my craft sheet, then when they were dry, I sprayed them again, then again. Then I stuck them on the canvas.  I did a bit more shading here and there, and added some darker areas of brown acrylic paints around the edge using a paint sponge until I was happy with the colour.

Then I hung it on my bedroom wall! 

Roll on the next one!