TWO EASY TIPS FOR ADDING TEXTURE TO PAINTINGS OR COLLAGE

Create interesting texture the easy way with these two ideas, on paper or canvas, in a journal or an altered book! 

TEXTURE: the way a surface feels to the touch (or looks as though it would feel).

I've used acrylic paint with this pair of simple techniques, but watercolor, ink, gouache, even spray paint would work.

If you have a bundle of raffia, shown at left below, cut some of it randomly. You likely want some shorter, some longer pieces, some thicker, some thin. And it doesn't matter what color the raffia is!

Rubber bands (right above) in a variety of sizes are good!

Apply the pieces to a dry canvas that's been gessoed. Adhere with plenty of gel medium. Allow to dry.  Then paint a medium-toned color over all and let that dry too. I used a golden ochre color since I didn't like the magenta.

The texture pieces can also be applied to a previously-painted area!

Not the prettiest textured area just yet.
Next, wash in a thin, very dark shade that sinks into the crevices. 

The finished texture example, with dry-brushed areas.

When the dark wash is dry, dry-brush a light color over the very tops of the textured pieces.

I glued elastic bands on with gel medium in the orange how-to example below. When that was dry, I covered all with the bright color.

             My substrate here is heavy paper.                          

  Then I used the same steps as I did above with raffia pieces. 

Try it! I'll bet yours will be more successful!

YOU, TOO, CAN BE WARPED! A TECHNIQUE FOR CREATING UNIQUE PHOTOCOPIES

I am very excited about this fun post! (This is nothing new, since I become excited about many things frequently.)

The November '13 issue of Arts & Activities Magazine includes my piece about using either Xerography or Scanography with your own images to distort them. 

A & A is a great magazine for educators!

                                                                                              







                                                                              
For example, this photograph was ideal for experimentation to stretch it out. 

Dark figure on a lighter background.

Then, if you used a black & white copier,  you have the great fun of hand-coloring the prints! Soft pastels, oil pastels, pens, or good colored pencils are the best tools of choice.

Keep your eyes closed!

As you can see, the article includes how to make portraits from life, and they can also be distorted or blurred creatively.  Of course you can place objects on the scanbed, too.

The finished creations can be framed and displayed, or you can use them in mixed media paintings and collages. I had so much fun exploring these techniques than I ended up with many extra copies, and they won't go to waste!

The ARTS & ACTIVITIES website, bless their hearts,  has a bonus feature here for anyone with concerns about using photocopiers. Just scroll down the page to find it.

                                                      

A Dimensional Painting for Autumn

Don't you love this time of year? Crunchy leaves, browns, orange, golds and reds everywhere. Wood smoke in the crisp air, and nippy in the morning!

I created this textured artwork, below, on a canvas panel for sturdiness.  (Tip: When you use modeling paste or heavy gel medium in a thick application, a traditional canvas may sag.)

The center leaf is the only one I built up with heavy paste.

Another Tip: Spackling paste is cheaper than acrylic molding paste and it works very well!

This piece is an example of both symmetry and  formal balance.  In other words, both halves have equal visual weight, and the two halves (either vertically or horizontally) quite mirror each other. That, my friends, is my  lesson for the day!

If you decide to make a dimensional piece, here's my final bit of advice: Allow plenty of time for the dimensional areas to dry.  (In fact, if you want really thick spots, build them up gradually or they might crack.) Then paint the piece when dry, and perhaps accentuate the texture later with a dark wash that puddles in the depressions. Wipe or drybrush the raised areas if desired for better highlights.

Thanks for visiting!

A HOLIDAY ASSEMBLAGE AND A COLLAGE - PAINTING REPRISED FOR OCTOBER

HALLOWEEN WILL BE HERE BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!

I love decorating for October 31  (and it's easy because the cobwebs are already there). 

This altered art piece, below, has appeared in my blog previously. It was inspired by Michael DeMeng.

Porcelain figure, decorative wooden house, and more.

Squeezed lines of acrylic paint form the "fence" here.

The painting above is a collage as well, and it has 

appeared elsewhere too.  But I think the 

moodiness is perfect for this post,

for October, and for Halloween.

Be sure to see my Halloween sunglasses, 

with spiders, bat-wings,  and other 

creepy-crawlies, at this link!