A Valentine Unlike Conventional Hearts

Remember that ornery little skull??? Well, he was MOST DEMANDING as far as being dressed properly......

I promised a finished piece from one of the samples I had used in the gel tutorial, and here it is. I am hoping--reeeeeeally hoping!--that today is NOT the day DH decides to look at the blog, because it is my gift to him tomorrow.

HA! I won! Free makeover, and now I be a Pirate Skelly!!!

That ornery little skull I had to keep an eye on was just a pip to dress properly. He was totally into the Cap'n Jack look.......what's a girl to do??? Just give in and dress 'em! LOL! And I had to have just the right bone to hang from the bottom, plus I couldn't find the coins I wanted and settled for this one. It's okay, but you know how it is when you want something else and can't find it. I need those shelves like they used to have in garages; all the little jars with their lids nailed to the shelf. Believe me...SOME DAY!

And, providing I am not laid lower with this current migraine, I want to put a little something fun up here for my readers on Valentine's Day itself....
This has been a delightful journey through process; I'm not sure how I will follow it up.
I may have to take a few days off and get back to work hard on my Michael deMeng class. I have enjoyed that thoroughly and it soon will end. I am hoping he will have another, because I would sign up immediately. How ideal; work in your own studio and get the benefits of class time when ever you have free time. Economical, fun, educational.
In fact, a goodly portion of what I learned from the class made this Valentine. I could have done one without it, but numerous techniques are in the final product that I learned along the way, between the laughs.
That's what I always hope to provide here, laughs and some learning fun!
So I'm out of here for now~~and remember, love isn't just for Valentines Day or for a Sweetie~~it is for everyone.


Pax....

One Last Splash Of Glitter........

I know this cannot compare with the last post, so let's not even go there. No eye candy, just nominal art.

*SIGH*

Sorry kiddies.

Alas, a boring heart....no Pirates.....

As with most of what I do, occasionally things just take off in another direction and it is NOT what I had in mind. This is the case with the post today; the four heart stencil that seemed like a good idea but was a devil to pull.
I started with a simple scrapbook paper heart, then wanted to use the gold German Glitter for contrast. I do want to add here that the gold glitter is made up of metallic glass and yellow tinted glass, which disperses color when added to the soft gloss gel. (as I found out....)

I did tape this stencil due to wanting straight placement....I could just see it take off....NOT.

Well, first off, I almost could not get the stencil OFF. I mean, those little edges were just not nice at all. I pulled and gently wiggled, and added some spicy words to see if that would help (it did NOT, btw....), stomped my feet and threw a little fit.
After a bit more easing, I finally got the foam off and had to readjust the edges of the gel with the palette knife. Yes, you can do that. It requires a light touch. A very light touch......and yes, the temptation to throw this one in the trash occurred to me several times.

But I decided to let it dry and see what would happen. The problem was simple; I had put so much gel on, it ended up drying without the paper showing through as I had envisioned. So, lesson learned. If you want the glitter AND the background to show, don't pack it so full.

Yeah, yeah, it could be worse....maybe not.

Hmmmph.
While I was waiting and waiting (and waiting.....) for this to dry, I decided to do a very unsophisticated sample chart so everyone could see the other possibilities for additives to gel. I even remembered to write on the back what I had used.....will miracles never cease.....LOL!

1. Fine German Glass Glitter in black

2. Black glass beads (no holes)

3. Fine German Glass Glitter (black) mixed with Budgie Grit

4. Used and dried green tea from tea bags


5. Used and dried coarse loose tea

6. Crushed flakes of leftover mica sheets (they're too expensive to waste!)


7. Gold German Glass Glitter (notice the yellow bleed into the gel)

8. Commercial Golden Black Mica Gel Medium


I wanted to put one of the specialty mediums on the board to see how the other items stood up visually against the real deal. And frankly, I think they do okay. #3 probably comes the closest to the Mica Gel, but it also has a lot of the texture of the pumice gel when you touch it. I probably should have done a wash of paint over half of each sample, but remember, it's ME and I have a short attention span. (and I've been working on several other things at once too....ack!)
I will say the coarse loose tea is wonderful if you are doing a 3-D type area and want to imitate weeds, twigs, etc. Just add the right color paint afterward.
Next post, I will wrap this up with the one completely finished canvas, so that you can have an idea of where these can be taken. I am really hoping my husband does not decide to check the blog, because it is his Valentine gift and I would like to surprise him......*wink*!!!
I've had fun with this tutorial, and hopefully you have been able to learn a bit along the way.
Of course, gel medium is one of the best collage mediums out there, though I recommend matte for that purpose. I probably will do one post on the Diva Gels; the ones you cannot mess with, but are worth the cost.
It won't have cool pictures of Cap'n Jack.
Life is hard.
Sometimes you just have to deal with words. ;-D
Okay....one more piece of eye candy......

"I likes me gel additives too...Savvy???"

Now go make art!

Pax....

More Heart Art....And Assorted Sundry Items

Sorry folks...life has gone on a whirlwind again after my post that I would be right back with some aging I was doing on the heart and background. This is going to be a basic, no frills explanation of what I have done.

As you can see above, the heart was adhered to the substrate with heavy gel medium, which I smoothed under the edge of the heart and let dry overnight. Then I needed something to make it become more *one* with the backing.

 

I mixed in some coarse white decorators sand into one of my gel mediums and carefully applied it to fill the small void that was left between the heart and the back from the thick layer of heavy gel underneath. I like mixing textures into my gels and will do a post on that specifically.

As with ANY GEL, these must dry completely before attempting to put a coat of paint over the top. I usually use a blow dryer to get the process started and then have to wait for the rest to cure on it's own.

Once dry, I used some fluid Pthalo (blue shade I think...) and dry brushed the straight color on.

I want to emphasize DRY BRUSHED, as this is an extremely intense color that can get out of hand really fast. It provides the feel of a shadow while also adding a bit of glow. Black and some of the other colors I used would not produce the same effect. 

I gently work a tiny amount out over some of the background paint, allowing it to become a bit of a green aura at the top.

This view from the top better shows how the Pthalo, feathered out, gives some depth to a busy area. The eye can separate the pieces better now.
One coat generally is not enough on the sides, so I went back in and hit the gel with sand a second time; much darker and now is both separating and tying the heart to the back.
I have also added some black mica gel to the heart so that it is not so stark red. The flame area required a bit more also.....dirtying things up and making it have some character. (an aside.....Black Mica Gel also has tiny bits of clear mica in it too~~it's a *two-fer*~~you get age and sparkle)

 

The final step was adding some micacous iron oxide to the bottom red of the panel. It settled into the textural depth and made the color pop more.

And that is pretty much how this was finished up to make a couple of very bright, very diverse, visually competing parts work together well.

As I mentioned, I will do a short post on things to add to gels for different textures. Yes, you can buy textured gels, but you can do a lot of specialized small amount batches and save a lot of money.

There are some gels you can imitate a bit to see if you like them before buying and there are others that you can dream up with what you have on hand or can scrounge at wonderful places like Dollar Stores and Overage Stores.

Okay, I'm off to fight the grocery zombies.....if I don't resurface you'll know I was caught in their Rampage of Carts (and cell phones....grrrrrr.......)
Have fun~~make some art!

Pax....

"La Nouvelle Orleans"--Finis!

Finally....the end of this journey. As I had mentioned before, rough emery boards come in handy for many things. I decided the top of the piece needed a visual *finial* and a small branch of two leaves and an acorn seemed appropriate.

But the acorn was roly-poly and I needed it to sit flat.

Enter the heavy emery board...some sanding...some checking......

.......A good portion taken off, down to the nut center.....

....And there you have it. A self-supporting acorn embellishment to go with the leaves!

And then I had those marvelous metal fleurs from Marie, which I knew just how to put to use, but they needed a hole driven through them with an awl, then a small esceution pin to hammer them in place. I really should have photographed one of these next to a penny so you could realize how delightfully tiny they are!

More grit and gel, and the addition of some leather salvaged from old gloves (very soft), the fleurs hammered into the wet mixture, and a trip to the.......

....handy dandy hair drier to get everything good and firm during this humid weather. I had several photos of the grit area being painted, but evidently the Photo-Pixies were in a humor that day and each and every one was out of focus. (couldn't be that I had my contacts out...no.....)

Below, I decided to add a thin layer of crackle finish to the four sides, just to bump up the texture a bit more. If you click any of the pics, you should be able to see all the detail much better. I coated this with some acrylic, working it in with an old brush and quickly rubbing off the excess so it would not dry. A lovely, light crackle-craze finish. Very subtle.

Okay, this is not so subtle. Sometimes elements just won't behave and you have to remind them who is in charge!!! That leaf was having NO PART of staying stuck down with the gel! It was most stubborn, so I called up the reserves.....and put them to work!

A while later, everyone was behaving nicely and the new focal piece for the top was in place and dry. All the leaves are outlined on the canvas with a bit of acrylic, smudged on and most of it wiped away; only enough left to look like a slight shadow.

Another view, with the corners finished and the leather aged and given a bit of the black mica gel. I liked the way it gave it a more fragile look, as though it was starting to flake.

This also shows off the layers of color drybrushed onto the grit only that was in the gel medium.

I felt the central background was a little too clean and plain, so I used the black mica gel there also, laying some on with a brush and rubbing it in with my fingers, to get it exactly where it needed to be.

Another close up with the addition of the black mica, and that delicious texture showing through the paint in the center! The only thing I really felt needed one more bit of bumping up color wise was the golden glow around the central elements. I felt the color was too close to that of the acorns.

 I added some Quinacridone Crimson mixed with float medium, so I could control the build up of the color and  it was perfect! That tiny bit of extra warmth brought the whole piece alive!

And finally, finally, may I present my labor of both love and insanity:

"La Nouvelle Orleans" 

......looking through Jackson Square (or as it was known before, Place de Arms due to the military keeping live armament there) to St. Louis Cathedral and the Cabidillo.

That ends this trip through process and time and city......thank you for your patience and for coming along. At some point, I hope y'all have the chance to see this beautiful vista in person, sipping cafe au lait and enjoying the Mississippi breezes and the soft notes of jazz floating on the balmy, magnolia-scented air.

I bid you.....

Pax.