Pretty Paper Pretty Boxes In Green

I was counseled by a gallery owner on how to market  my  art so it would actually sell.

A very generous owner who is interested in showing and hopefully selling my humble work.

Her idea was to attach copies of original collages to gallery wrapped canvas or wooden boxes that are freestanding.

I really like the box idea. I think it would be cool for my pieces to be able to sit on a shelf next to books because I use a lot of words and vintage book pages in each piece. I shopped at Dick Blick and purchased some 5x7 and 8x10 American Easel Wood Painting Panels. 

These are not cheap. I need a husband who can do some light woodworking between doing the dishes and massaging my feet.

teehee.

Moving on.....I gesso'd these first.

First up is the box for "Man Business".

This is a print of my original 

Vintage Book Page Art. 

See etsy link in upper right corner if you wanna buy it.

*yes, that was a shameless plug*

In my studio, where I can usually find NOTHING,

I came across this red mesh bag that I think held onions or lemons at one time.

I save everything. 

I thought it could very coolly represent

fishnet stockings. Cuz fishnet stockings

come in handy when your mind is set on

"Man Business". 

Over the white gesso, once dry, I used a spatula and placed a layer of Golden's Self Leveling Gel down. I had the mesh cut and ready to lay down, smoothed it with the spatula and sprayed a light mist of alcohol on top to eliminate air bubbles. Which mostly worked except for when it didn't. 

The Gallery owner said these boxes on display will help sell the matted prints.

Geez, I hope she's right. 

Here's the process in pics:

In the above photo I am holding the print that when sized correctly, doh!, will fill the front of the box. 

The next set of boxes are COLORFUL!!

The first box is gesso'd and then sprayed with acrylic paints thinned with water, and glimmer mists for a touch of well, uh, glimmer.

This next box is covered with my hand painted paper towels I made 100 years ago in an amazing class given by Traci Bautista at Art and Soul Virginia. I think it was actually 2007. I've been hoarding these. Too pretty to part with. But it's time. Time to try to sell this stuff I've spent millions of dollars learning how to create and another million dollars on the supplies to make them!!

This back (below)

which should be the front is a napkin. I decided to think outside the box, teehee, and put the print over the whole in the box in the back. If it's standing on a shelf the back should be covered right? Well one worked out, the other was an EPIC FAIL. stay tuned for the Gorey Details.

The last of my paper towels...crying....

I think The Universe KNEW I was being stingy about using my paper towels, cuz, well this is the one that turned out to be the EPIC FAIL.

The suspense is growing now, can you feel it? I knew that you could. 

Below pics show a technique I learned from my newest favorite book,
Surface Treatment Workshop,
by Darlene Olivia McElroy and
Sandra Duran-Wilson. 
The supplies I used are pictured. For more detail go to Amazon and get the book!!
Now here is the start of the Epic Fail, 
I forgot to seal the ink jet print!!
So when I did the soft gel pour, the 
inks ran!! It looked like crap, so I poured off all the gel into a cup, and laid a transparency of the same image over top. 

 

Gel pour:

Drying:

It almost worked! When I hold the piece at one angle it looks ok.

If you look closely to the side tho, you can see The Lump. Where the transparency didn't adhere. At this point I'm not sure if I should try and "pass it" or if I should tear it off and reapply the image. 
What say you, wise artist friends?
BTW, I used Yes Paste to adhere the images to the wood. That stuff is great! Just make sure to put wax paper over the surface of the image and brayer from the center outward.

Due to the epic fail, I chickened out of doing gel pours on the next 2 pieces. Instead I brushed on a thin layer of self leveling gel.

Done!!

The next pic shows 3 8x10 boxes, in this case, the images are laser copies. Clear gesso on the sides. Next step is painting the sides.

Next post will be the story about the magnet debacle....
xoS

Bird on Blue

Last summer I painted this puppy outside 

on a beautiful day. 

I added some stenciling, which blobbed up

here and there. 

So, I wasn't so thrilled with it.

And it hibernated in the back of my mind and the back of my studio

for a whole year.

Inspiration finally struck. 
I love the technique in which 
Angela Cartwright extends her painting
outside the photographs in her book, 
Mixed Emulsions.

(see page 41)

In the photo above, 
I've adhered the image of the birds
to the canvas, and rubbed up most of the white paper paper on the front off. 
So the surface looks very textural and grungy. I then painted over the image, 
and painted the background white.

In the photo above, 
I am tweeking the stencil. 
Adding an outline with pencil,

and a wash of more paint.

I love Golden's Iridescent Bronze.

Below you can see, 
I've written one of my most favorite poems in ink around the image.
Well, campers, Ranger Adirondack Inks 
bead up on top acrylic paint and NEVER dried.
I sprayed the surface with a sealer.
NOPE. No go. So I had to bag that idea. 
I didn't know it yet here:
I added dot stencils.

I ended up painting a thin white wash
over the words,
which got smeary but I like it. 

It looks like a hidden secret. 

Which in a way it is.

This poem is my soul's secret sanctuary.

In the photo below, 

you see how I've extended the branches 

past the image.  

What is the poem you ask?

It is by a 12th century Buddhist monk:

The wind whistles in the bamboo

and the bamboo dances. 

When the wind stops, 

the bamboo grows still.

A Silver bird 

flies over the autumn lake. 

When it has passed, 

the lake's surface

does not try 

to hold on to 

the image of the bird. 

Beautiful, is it not? I re-learn the lesson of this poem sometimes twice a day. teehee.

I am trying so hard to be an autumn lake. 

Care to join me?
xoS

Black and White and Green All Over

My fav part of the process. 

The background collage.

In my mind's eye I was thinking 

black, white and lime green. 

Wait till you see what I ended up with. 

Completely not black white and lime green.

See!! I told you!! I love drips! 

I am a drippy dame. 

Layers of paint, stencils and assorted blobs.

Now the fun part:

Using alcohol and a cotton swab,

unveiling parts of the collage underneath.

What I have so far:

Living with 

the work in progress 

for inspiration:

Next post will be about that 

bird painting in upper right corner.

I had a summer with productive spurts

combined with sluggishness!

And FINALLY

I finished my parent's painting,

The Orb.

Here I am with my baby, with mixed feelings.

Happy and Proud of what I created

but sick to death of it!!

Kind of like parenting

a kid who is about to turn 18. 

teehee.

The long view without

my noggin in the middle. 

teehee.

Thanks for looking, visiting and

commenting. 

May the Muse Be With You.

xoS

Ludicrous

Ludicrous.
$175
9x12 Wood Panel.
"She cried because she had considered a liaison with a ludicrous man who collected baseball jackets."
I am in love with collaging 
on a panel versus a stretched canvas. 
Duh. 
I picked up 3 for 40% off at Michael's. Micheal's is on my shit list. 
They do not stock Golden's Varnish.
And I want it NOW.

Stencil courtesy of Stencil Me Brightly.

Thanks for looking. 

xoS

Spray Paint is The Shit

I bought some AWESOME stencils on etsy.

The seller is Deidre Wicks and 

her shop is called

Stencil Me Brightly. 

egads, these are wonderful quality and 

I am hooked, hooked, hooked.

My favorite palette: 

red, white, turqoise, black. 

Sprayed on Acid free tissue paper. 

The tissue will no longer be sheer after spraying.

The spray paint is opaque. 

I thought I would have a "sheerer" result. 

I love what I got, tho.

Next time I will try acrylic sprays 

and see what happens. 

I am a newbie,

or spray virgin, if you will. 

So this is a learning experience for me. 

I had so much fun. 

I'm going to cover a canvas with this:

(and then add lots of embellishment) 

Sprayed some scrapbook paper:

The eye will be the center piece

for another collage.

Adhered torn pieces to a canvas:

Wrapping the collage around 

to the back of the canvas. 

Started doing that awhile ago.

Love the heart veins in her neck:

I have to get back to this painting or my parents will think I'm a procrastinator:

Yup, my muse just went off in a different direction.....had to listen!

Thank you, Diedre, for enabling my muse and making such a wonderful product! I have 3 more collages in the works!

xoS

P.S. Spray paint outside.

Wear a mask over your mouth 

and crappy clothes

cuz the wind blows the paint everywhere.

Also, wear big cheap sunglasses/goggles to protect your glasses/eyes. 

I got paint on my lenses and in my eyes.

Shame on me being an optician and what not. When the muse strikes 

I've been known not to wash or brush

until she leaves, 

but I usually have the sense to take

safety precautions!