Mixed Media canvas for Sarah

Hello you may remember me for such things as mixed-media canvases, altered art and the occasional arty tag! :)   Or you may not its been that long since I blogged last, but I'd like to try and blog something everyday while I'm off over the Christmas holidays.

I've got tons of crafty projects I've done over the past few months, mainly for classes, but I'd love to share them with you and to keep a record of what I've done too.

I'm really pleased to be able to put up this mixed-media canvas I've made for my friend Sarah. 

She's a beauty therapist and has magic hands when it comes to massage!

She has a fab new beauty salon and she asked me to make her a painting to go on her bare wall.

Her business name is Sulis Beauty Salon, Sulis is the Roman goddess of thermal springs, hence the healing waters of Sulis.

I've used lots of random things for the background and for the texture on the canvas.

Here's what I started with.

Some old map paper, lace, mulberry paper, ribbons, sheet music, hessian, book pages and Sarah's treatment leaflet.

I gessoed over the top of the bits of paper and ribbon, and used teal, blue and cream acrylic paint to blend in the background.  I painted through lots of different stencils to add interest and stencilled some grunge paste for texture. Then rubbed treasure gold over the top to make it shine.

I started to draw and paint the goddess Sulis, made up from my imagination, but loosely based on how Sarah looks. I used Golden interference blue paint on the hair and on the water so it looks like shimmering water too. You can just see the effect here on the hair.

I've used a mixture of shells and beads to represent the crashing water at her feet, with gesso over the top and blue treasure gold rubbed over the top.

No painting is complete without some drippage and there is lots on this painting. 

I'm pleased to report after handing this over to Sarah today, that she loves it. 

I'm always unsure if other people would love it as much as I do, so very pleased that she likes it.

I hope you do too x

See you tomorrow

Michelle xx