Fruits Of My Labor....."With Love"

 

(Paris, copyright AMH-Lockard 2010)                       (Love Entwined, copyright AMH-Lockard 2010)

Well, finally!!! Some finished work to share....  :-)  It is with great pleasure that I write this post because I have been so happy with the pieces and also anxious for feedback on the different ones.  I am hoping, as you are reading this, that I am again ready for a day at the table, but that could still be up in the air. We'll see.....

(Damask Hearts series, copyright AMH-Lockard 2010)

These two presented opportunities I had not thought about when I covered the panels with the thin paper. I knew I would go for shading and the addition of some color, but then there was this particular *blah* with the patterened background. I wanted to preserve it, it was elegant in design, but it needed something--in the words of Emeril--to *kick it up a notch*. I sat them aside and worked on the other pieces. "Paris" was pretty easy....it made itself; I just applied the right colors and mediums.  "Love Entwined" was a bit more demanding in that I used some gel medium with color added on the bottom and had to wait and wait for it to be thoroughly dry before adding shading. The background though needed something else, and a bit of glitter paint seemed to add the magical aura necessary for this cheery and almost child-like heart piece.

And then I was back to the "Damask Hearts".

Hmmmmm.........

Somewhere in the back of my addled brain, I remembered buying a bottle of a crackle agent I had never tried, and after finding it, took a deep breath and painted it heavily onto the B&W backgrounds. And again, I waited.

These are products that cannot have the drying time forced. They won't crackle if they are hit with a hairdryer or heat gun...though I have singed a few pieces in trying this! And lost all crackle in the process. (it says on the containers....don't try and speed the process...I read that every time....)

I was very, very happy with the results. Enlarge the above photo and see what a lovely effect it gave! I felt it was similiar to a piece of old, crazed china or printed ironstone ware.

Then the outer edges were coated with very fine German glass glitter in black, the finishing touch to these elegant little numbers!

 

The final application to all the hearts is a heavy coating of high gloss varnish and sometimes a touch of glitter. That makes them pop from the backgrounds, which I occasionally vary by using a satin varnish, thus adding more depth and visual seperation.

And now, I want to get back to work......enough resting.....I want to paint and cover myself in gel and glue and generally make another creative mess!

We'll see. The health is first.

Hope you've enjoyed this description of how these progressed. It really is hit and miss, isn't it???  ;-)

Have a great creative day, a good Monday and for the whole week.....

Pax.