Sunday, June 19, 2011

Beauty of Life

Well howdy everyone!  Happy Father's Day to those of you who are fathers.  Okay, so some of you are dying to find out who would win the print of Dearest Heart.  And the winner is....Shondra Brown!  Thank you to everyone who responded either on my blog, twitter, or facebook.  I appreciate the support.  Stay tuned for future giveaways.  Congratulations Shondra!

Now, I'd like to share a project with you that I have been working on.  It's my first 3D painting, and I was so excited as I watched it come alive!  Quite some time ago I painted this canvas red, and I had initially envisioned a flower on it, but not the one I ended up painting.  I had envisioned trying a more traditional painting, not mixed media.




Then, one night I was journalling about my Life is Music and Music is Life paintings when the idea for the Musical Flower came into my head.  I wanted to do something that stood off of the canvas more, but the petals had to be fairly sturdy.  I couldn't just use regular painted paper.  I was afraid that the paper would droop and not hold its shape well.  I also wanted it to be fairly sturdy so that I could make it stand up well.  So I chose antique music sheets for the petal.  I put a couple of layers of gloss on it before painting each petal with acrylics and using the paint and colored pencils to add shading.




After the painting and shading, I added another layer of gloss.  The petals underneath did really well.  But they did not need to stand up off of the canvas.  While the top petals were thick and sturdy, I couldn't get them to stand up as well as I wanted them to.  So I attached each petal to a small piece of wire with metal glue.  This type of glue dries fairly quickly, but does not completely set for 24 hours.  I let each petal dry so the glue was no longer sticky, but not completely set either.  Then I bent and positioned each petal carefully.  I did ruin one petal that was no longer usable by trying to pose it before the glue was completely dry (but not set).  Once the petals were in place - again using metal glue, I sewed them onto the canvas at the base for extra support.

Next was the center of the flower.  I wanted the center to stand out, but not be the focal point.  I found a white and brown streaked button and added a few layers of yellow acrylic wash to it.  I also used acrylics to shade it.  Then I sewed it in the center.


This also added more support for the petals.  Once the center was painted, I added a couple layers of gloss.  Then I took my acrylic paint, darkened it, and added the shading around the flower's center.

After the flower was assembled, I took a shipping tag, stained it with ink, applied the words I had ready, and added embellishments with colored pencil.  I believe God has truly given us a beautiful piece of art in the world, and I find awe in it every day.


The last thing I added were the ribbons.  The green symbolizes the earth, and the white brings out the petals more.

This project was so fun to watch come to life!  I would say that my first 3D painting was a success, and that there may be more to come!  Stay tuned, because in keeping with the nature theme, I am making a mixed-media sculpture that I would LOVE to share with you all!  Until then - have a blessed time!  Peace ~S

4 comments:

  1. Lovely piece, Stephanie!! And I adore the new look to your blog!!!!

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  2. this is beautiful. the flower looks beautiful and the red bakground gives it a stunning look.

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  3. thank you all for commenting on my painting! I truly appreciate it. I have tried to leave messages on some of your blogs, but it's not working correctly, so i will have to see what I can do to fix it. See you all soon! ~S~

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