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Create A Mixed Media Blooming Tree

Sunday, February 7th, 2010 by Alyice

The sweet and incredibly talented, Lisa Fulmer, of Lisa Liza Lou, just purchased an original mixed media canvas from yours truly!

This is what she purchased…

I call it “Longing For Fall” because I seriously cannot take much more of this winter and I desperately long to see the changing of the seasons. I truly hope she likes it.

Oh, and by the way… this mixed media painting was created using scrap materials. I am a firm believer in getting every last morsel I can out of my supplies—and thanks to Lisa’s blog, I am always challenged to think outside the box when it comes to using my scraps.

How To Create A Mixed Media Blooming Tree

For this particular project, I was down to the last of my modeling paste and I didn’t want it to harden so I lathered a nearby canvas with it. While the modeling paste was still wet, I inserted paper strips, a tree stump, and flowers. Once dried, I painted the canvas.

When the paint dried, I glued on some course turf (the stuff railroad modelers use) and clear beads. And just before I sprayed the canvas with a high gloss varnish (three coats), I sprinkled glitter onto the sky.

Here’s a tip: Every time you use paper in a project, set the leftovers aside. Then on a day when your creativity is low, take your scraps and cut them into various shapes and objects. The next time you want to work with paper, you’ll have plenty of pieces to choose from!

Keep Creating

Posted in Art How-Tos, The Wall Art | 1 Comment »

Make An Old Canvas New Again

Monday, November 16th, 2009 by Alyice

In February, I created an “Inspiration Board” using a canvas, green and gold acrylic paints, Mod Podge®, a few magazine images, and pictures of my husband and kids. It wasn’t anything elaborate, and it surely didn’t scream “I have artistic talent”, but it was therapeutic. Last month, as I starred at that canvas, I realized that I was in a different place in my life and it was time to say good-bye to the messages written on that canvas, and create something new—maybe even eye-appealing.

So I took that canvas into my art room and created this beauty!

Supplies:

An unwanted canvas
White Gesso
White tissue paper
Paints: acrylic, watercolor, or oil (your preference)
Acid-free glue: GAC 100, Yes!, Mod Podge® Matte, or stick glue
Aleene’s Jewel-It® glue
3-D items: i.e. fake flowers, metal pins, anything that brings your vision to life
Sand paper, fine
Paintbrushes
Kramar® non-yellowing varnish

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There is really nothing to repurposing an old canvas:

If the canvas has a varnish finish, sand it to a dull finish with a piece of fine sandpaper; avoiding images or areas you’d like to maintain.
With a large paintbrush, paint three coast of Gesso over the canvas—allowing each coat to dry before adding the next coat. You can get away with one coat if you plan to use darker paints.
Allow to dry.
Glue tissue paper over the existing images with Mod Podge®. Don’t forget to crinkle some of the tissue paper before gluing so that some areas obtain more texture than others.
Allow to dry.
Paint the base of the canvas.
Allow to dry.
Adhere 3-D items to canvas with Jewel-It® glue.
Allow to dry.
Use a thin paint brush to paint inspiration words, quotes, names, or dates.
Allow to dry.
Hang the canvas on a wall, in the room you feel the canvas belongs, for two days. As you pass by the canvas, pause long enough to explore the canvas. Does it need more work? Or is it telling you that it’s done?
Seal canvas with spray varnish.
Allow to dry.
Hang back on your wall.

Keep Creating

Posted in Art How-Tos, The Wall Art | 1 Comment »

Upcycled Canvas

Friday, November 13th, 2009 by Alyice

Three weeks ago, I heard about two companies offering a free 8×10 canvas to new customers. All the customers had to do was pay a modest $14.95 for shipping and handling, upload their image, and wait for the canvas to arrive.

Always on the lookout for a good bargain and a great company to recommend to my colleagues, friends, and family, I opted to give both companies a try. The second company, Canvas Brothers, did such a great job with my canvas that I immediately twittered about it—and followed up with a thank you note to the company’s staff! (They even took my suggestion and got on twitter.)

The first company, however, was a huge flop—and not even worth mentioning here! Aside from the lousy quality of the canvas, their customer service sucks. It took me over a week and five emails (2 via their online form, and 2 via my email account) to get a single response from them, I was even polite when contacting them, stating what I felt the problem was with my canvas, sending them photos from every angle, and asking how the issue could be resolved.

Copyright 2009, Alyice Edrich
Original image for 2nd company
Wanted a little black to show on front and all black sides
© Alyice Edrich, 2009

When I finally did receive a response, there was no apology for the crappy job and no attempt to make right what was wrong. What I received was an email that simply stated they had done their best job and had I wanted something better I should’ve went to a professional service.

Huh?

At $50, per 8×10 canvas, I was pretty sure I was paying for a “professional service”. Okay, so I didn’t technically pay for the canvas, but I had every intention of sharing their company with my circle and possibly buying more at some point in the future. So even though I received my canvas “free”, had I bought it from the company, I would have expected better treatment as a customer.

To be fair, the print quality was good. I was pleased with how the print matched the image I sent in. What I wasn’t happy with was the bubble wrap envelope it came in or how crappy the image was placed onto the canvas—as though someone thought so little of me as a customer that he/she just threw the canvas onto the wood frame and slapped in some staples without so much as checking to make sure that it was aligned correctly.

Part of the image fell off both sides of the frame, as well as the top of the frame. It was set onto the frame slightly crooked, the corners buckled and were folded twice, and the back looked as though a child had come along and cut up the canvas for them! Normally, I wouldn’t have cared if the back looked crappy since it would be sitting against a wall, but it just gave me one more reason to be disgusted with my sample.

You know, I looked at that canvas, then the other canvases I own, and I just couldn’t believe that this company thought the poor workmanship was “their best”. Ah well…

After a few days of staring at the canvas, I got a brainstorm. Cut it up! Take it off the wood frame and place the images, separately into two matted frames. Now—instead of one Christmas present, I had two! So I guess you could say that I turned a bad situation into a positive, saved the landfills, and essentially upcycled.

Keep Creating

Disclosure: This is “my opinion”. It is not an endorsement, express or implied..

Posted in The Wall Art | 1 Comment »

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AlyiceEdrich.com
I'm a freelance writer, mixed media artist, SMVA, and the owner of The Dabbling Mum.

Copyrights

All material on this blog belongs to Alyice Edrich, unless otherwise noted. No project, artwork, or text may be reproduced or displayed elsewhere without the consent of the creator. That includes making derivative works for resale. Please use project tutorials for personal use and/or gifts only.