Stenciling on canvas

I love working on small 6" by 6" canvases!  The project I'm sharing today is done on a small canvas with paint, ink and gesso.  The clowns are clip art  from Rick St. Dennis.com.   I am calling it "The Usual Suspects".  These clowns definitely look guilty!

The Usual Suspects

 First I started by painting two colors of Dina Wakley's acrylic paints, Ruby and Turquoise, on my canvas.  I wasn't too careful and allowed the colors to mix a bit.

Next I used TCW's stencil called Numerals (TCW200).  I laid it on the canvas and applied some heavy gesso with a paint brush.  Lifting the stencil straight up I still managed to smear it a little, that's when I decided to add some clip art.

When the gesso was completely dry I ink up a lined stamp by Wendy Vecchi with Jet Black StazOn ink and rolled the stamp randomly here and there.   I colored in the printed clown clip art with Memento ink pens.  Then I cut out the ink colored clowns and glued them onto the canvas.

To seal in all that delicious color I painted the entire surface with  IMAGINE Craft's Creative Medium in the clear color.  Once this had completely dried I added the third clown who is popped up with pop dots.  He was also sealed with the Clear Creative Medium.

I hope you will continue to try different things with your stencils.  Small canvases like this are cute on bookcases or in children's rooms.  Thanks for stopping by, I'll see you next Tuesday with more stenciling ideas.  Take care ~ Renee xxx

Somerset Studio Magazine Nov/Dec Issue

I am so excited to share that my very first article is in the upcoming Nov/Dec issue of Somerset Studio magazine.  WooHoo!  In this article I shared my ONE WORD for 2013 that I tried to incorporate in my everyday life rather than making a slew of New Year's resolutions that even I know I will not keep.

This is a photo of the project I created to showcase my word, BALANCE.  It hangs on my studio door so it is the last thing I see at night and the first thing to greet me in the morning.

I emailed a big thank you to Rick St. Dennis (http://www.zibbet.com/Rick1949) this morning since his "Euro Clown" clip art is what really makes the piece stand out.  I adore his work and love the instant gratification of clip art emailed to me within minutes.

I hope you get the chance to take a peek at the magazine when it arrives at Barnes & Noble or your local scrap booking store.  Thanks so much for stopping by, I always appreciate the visit.  Take care ~ Renee

Balance::Still working on it!

My word for the year 2013 is "Balance".  I have a feeling this will be a constant thing to strive for this year.  To keep the thought foremost in my mind I made myself a sign that is hanging on my studio door so it is the first thing I see in the morning and usually the last thing I see at night.  I used clowns as the focal point of the sign since I usually think of the circus and clowns with all their juggling acts, etc when I think of balance.  (Or the girl standing up on the horse's back or the tight rope walker........it could go on and on.)  And so I continue my quest.  At least I've started watching my diet.  I became a gluten free vegetarian a couple of months ago and have cut out most of the refined sugary things in my diet.  People ask if I'm a Vegan but when I heard they don't wear leather I decided I'd rather be a good vegetarian than a naughty Vegan.  Enough about food already!

The sign starts with my big art crush right now:  watercolor paper 140 lb coated lightly with gesso and allowed to dry.  Imagine Crafts very generously sent me their newest addition to their Kaleidacolor family collection of five-ink color pads, Tomato Vine and the individual Memento colors that are in that pad.  These colors include Morocco, Love Letter, Bamboo Leaves, Espresso Truffle and  Peanut Brittle.  I took a brayer and inked it up with the Kaleidacolor pad then ran it across the dried prepared watercolor paper.  Time to spritz with my little water bottle sprayer.  I allowed the colors to run together and blotted them just a  little not too much or you risk removing all the color.  Now for the Fireworks!  That would be Tsukineko Fireworks! Dandelion yellow spray ink.  I allowed this to run and then blotted off the excess.

The clowns are digital images called "Euro Clowns" by Rick St. Dennis.  He has the most amazing clip art on his site.  I started coloring them in with Memento Markers and then fancy cut out the images.  For their faces I used copic markers, then added a little glitter with my Gelly Roll Starz pen through out.  The letters for my word were stamped on a plain, scrap piece of watercolor paper using StazOn Black ink.  I used a Julie Balzer Honeycomb stencil and a dauber to lay some Espresso Truffle lightly onto the surface.  To attach the word and the image firmly to the paper Matte Medium seems to be the best adhesive.

To finish the project I used an old credit card to draw lines in black, white and red acrylic paints.  A chevron stencil to put a translucent design over the project randomly, Pearlescent stencil paste by Dreamweavers is my favorite paste.  The final touch is the delightful hanger to hold it in place on my door.  Here are a few photos.

In the meantime, stay balanced in all parts of your life, you get more done that way!  Great sharing with you today.  I will post my first official Imagine Crafts/Artists in Residence assignment on Sunday, Feb 3rd.  I would like to invite you to stop by and take a look at my answer to the challenge of using their new Kaleidacolor Tomato Vine ink pad.  I will have three challenges each month from them for the entire year of 2013.  If you have comments or suggestions don't hesitate to leave them in the comment section, I love to read what you think!  See you later, have a great weekend.

SDC 73::Hanging Decorations

We have snow coming this way.  Wet snow.  That's the worst kind from what I hear.  I personally do not shovel snow so I really can't say.  If my husband is out of town during a snow storm my wonderful neighbor, Archie, comes over and does the driveway for me.  Out of sheer gratitude I bake him his very own Coconut Cake once a year, whether it snows or not.  Gotta cover all the bases.  His wife called me last year to say whatever I put in that cake it had turned him into a snarling beast whenever anyone got near his cake.  I guess the growling was fearsome.  All his.  Hmm, I think I'll bake 2 cakes this year for them.  If Archie isn't home my friend Ann's husband, Dave, comes over so he can play with Joe's John Deere snow machine thingy.  Dave's taste leans heavily toward cookies.  So, if he is cleaning the driveway it's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies with nuts and Craisins that will be baked when he calls to say he's on his way and sent home with him.  Joe says he wishes I could just say he's out of town.  Not gonna happen.
I have so many things to be grateful for.  A wonderful husband and great friends just to name a few.  Otherwise this old lady would probably just sit at home since I really can't see myself shoveling snow.  Really.  I would look ridiculous in my stiletto boots, etc. out there moving snow around.  It's the California girl in me I'm afraid.  I can't give up the shoes.
Stampotique is having a challenge this week called "SDC 73::Hanging Decorations".  My submission is a wall hanging on a recycled paper bag.  The clown stamp is by Paula Best, the phrase is by Hero Arts.  The monkey was a tiny treasure found at Brimfield a few years ago.  I just cut out an umbrella shape and did a Zentangle-ish handle on it.  The metal crown and star are by TH.  Rhinestones by Queen and Co.

Renee Zarate::SDC 73

A little up close photo so you can see the monkey.  He's so cute.  Everyone on the east coast, hang in there, let's hope the storm isn't as bad as they are predicting.  Hope all the rest of you have some sunshine in your world today!