Using stencils to mask abstract backgrounds

Hi All, 

Niamh here from the bottom of the world! I have been playing around with mark making and abstract backgrounds for as long as I remember - its one of my favourite ways to practice making art. But occasionally it doesn't always look great! This is a brilliant way to rescue a page/background or something you are not a fan of easily. 

To start with, create a background, any will do (watch the video below to see how I created this one). I would highly suggest though that to do this technique you use permanent mediums (acrylic paints, permanent inks, markers, collage etc). If you do use something that is water reactive - seal it first with a spray varnish or coat of gel medium. 

To create this effect, I choose an open, organic shaped stencil that was easy to trace around. I deliberately only drew around the larger spaces, leaving the small triangular spaces as areas I would paint in. I then removed the stencil and painted in the gaps with white gesso. This wasn't painted thickly, so you can still see the colours through some areas, but I liked this effect. You can always add more coats if you want a pure colour. 

I often get asked - why spend so much time on the background if you are going to paint over it. And I get it - I really liked the background I made. To quiet that thought, I often take a photo of the background before I do the masking, so I can print it out again in the future to use as collage fodder or inspiration for another day. By using the stencil over the top though, I can create little frames and snippets of colours and marks - and this gives the piece an overall focus. 

To sharpen that, I draw around the open spaces with a black stabilo all pencil and smudge it with my fingers to add a shadowed effect to the frames. I then stencilled out a quote from the rainbow quotes stencil and stapled it to the page to complete it. 

I hope you have a go at masking with your stencils - it will completely change the way you look at them in the future!

Here is a video with the step by step process for you to follow:

Here is a link to the stencils I used on this page:

Rainbow Quotes

Pebble Path

Happy Creating,

Niamh

Thank You Cards for the Hardest Goodbye

Hello stencil friends! Nicole here, sharing a project that has been a bit difficult to create, because it’s so close to my heart. We said goodbye to our sweet kitty Grayson at the beginning of March. He was our buddy for almost 19 years. My husband found him at work, belly exposed basking in the sunshine at about six weeks old. It took a live trap and some hot dogs to catch him, and he never ate a hot dog again. 

 

Grayson was a legend. He played fetch, chirped at birds, kept us entertained, often sleeping with his belly up, and was the softest gray fluff ball with the cutest bean toes. He was never a lap kitty until the last year or so of his time here, and then he became my buddy. I spent hours each day just holding him. He is truly missed.

Since sending art in the mail is a gift I love giving others, I wanted to create special thank you cards for several people including his vets, friends who brought us much needed chocolate cake, sent flowers, and cared for us (and him) in his passing and over the years. 

 

Honoring him through my artwork brings tears to my eyes even as I write this. Honestly, this was my third attempt to figure out just what to do. I think (I hope) I got it right this time.

 

After all my other attempts, I decided to just keep it simple. My idea was to use his photo collaged onto some stenciled gel prints. As I began to plan and think about my concept, I decided to create papers in rainbow colors as a metaphor to the rainbow bridge poem about losing a pet. This metaphor soon reminded me how much Gray was our own rainbow, an unexpected gift that we never planned for.

Wiping away tears, I began to make the gel prints. I grabbed my 6x6 gel plate and cut white copy paper down to fit it. I also grabbed six different 6x6 stencils, one for each color. In the end, I added a seventh one as I needed to make some more red prints.

I set out a rainbow of my favorite paint to gel print with, Golden’s Open line, because it stays wet just a bit longer. The down side is that the prints take a little longer to dry (In other words, you need some extra table and floor space!).

I printed each color with the same simple process:

1. Brayer some paint onto the gel plate, sometimes mixing a couple different hues of the color

2. Place the stencil on top of the plate

3. Pull one print

4. Remove the stencil (place the wet side up off to the side)

5. Pull another print

I repeated the process using different hues or combos with the wet stencil face up for contrasting color. I also cleaned the plate and the stencil on papers for additional layering.

 

For each color, I switched to a different stencil. I also kept in mind the color order of the rainbow when choosing the stencil so I didn’t have two circle designs next to each other.

 

It's always hard for me to write out the gel printing steps and details, so I also added some commentary to the video tutorial. Check it out below:

 

While my papers were drying I picked out some photos and sent them off to the printers. I used a photo editing program to put 2-each of the same photo together on the 4x6 photo surface. This way my prints of Gray would be about 3x4 inches to fit on my 4x6 card front.

 

When all the papers were dry, I made rainbow stacks and picked out the right color values that went best together. 

This is when I discovered I was short a few red pages. So, I printed a few more reds with another stencil that I wanted to use anyway!

With all the rainbows complete and the photos picked up, I began to create the cards.

 

For the base of each card I used a 4x6 heavy index card. I ended up having five photos that I felt worked best for the cards, so I created five different rainbow patterns to fit each photo.

 

Since I wanted them to be whimsical and fun, I mostly used scissors to cut the papers and a paper trimmer when I wanted strips. Then, I used matte medium on the front and back of each paper to secure them to the index card. When the matte medium was dry, I trimmed off any excess paper.

 

Design One: rays cut from the paper

Design Two: a rainbow-like shape

Design Three: long stripes

Design Four: I used the triangles left over from the long stripes to make a pinwheel

Design Five: short stripes

I counted the cards and realized I needed a couple more. So, instead of tossing all the scraps into a bin to use later, I used them to create unique patterns on the cards. It was a puzzle to figure out.

My final steps were to cut out my Gray-kitty photos and attach them to the cards with matte medium. I used matte medium on the top of the photos as well to take away their glossy finish and secure them to the background.

Next, I used a tape runner to stick my card fronts to my gray cardstock bases. I also printed a little quote for the inside of my cards and lined the card with white paper to write on.

 

You can watch the cards come together in the video below!

 

I wasn’t so sure in the beginning, but I really love how these cards turned out and cannot wait for Grayson’s special friends to receive them in the mail.  

 

While I’m using these backgrounds to honor Gray, I think they’d be super cute without a photo, too. I could also see them with cut out kids photos, a stamped image, or bright summer florals. The possibilities are definitely endless.

I hope this inspires you to dust off your gel plate and create some simple prints, make some backgrounds and get your hands messy.

-Nicole

Connect with me on

• Instagram
• YouTube
• My website

Stencils

• Circle Tile 6 
• Arrows within Rounds
• Monet’s Foyer
• Blades
• 4-Point Star Grid
• Journal Texture #12
• Abstract Botanical Grid

Supplies

• 6x6 gel plate
• White paper
• Acrylic Paint (I prefer Golden’s Open line of paint.)
• Brayer (or two!)
• Photographs
• Cardstock (for the card base)
• Matte medium
• Scissors
• 4x6 Index Cards
• Paper Trimmer

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's TWO new Collections from Carolyn Dube!

Strong Women (L955)

 

These three silhouettes represent the limitless imagination of childhood, adulthood when you put on your cape to manage everything that has to be done, and the wise woman standing with confidence, owning the wisdom she has earned through experience.

 

Whether she’s leaping a tall building or dealing with what life throws at her every day, she is a Heroic Woman!

 

Heroic Words (L957)

This stencil celebrates strong women because words have power! Designed to compliment the silhouettes of the Strong Women stencil. 

 

At the bottom of the stencil, there is a matching alphabet so if you'd like to add a letter or two to a word (for example, turn hero into heroes) you can easily do that. 

These are great words to add to cards, art journal spreads, collages, or scrapbooking pages, and they make quick backgrounds by just using parts of the words or overlapping words.

 

Rainbow Quotes (L956)

Rainbow quotes to brighten your day and your play! There’s a wide range of symbolism associated with rainbows from strength to hope to promise to peace to luck to new beginnings to eternal life to equality. 

 

I've selected some of my favorite rainbow quotes which are great for making cards, using in scrapbooks, on an art journal page, or layering in a collage.  

The quotes in this stencil are: 

If you have ever followed a rainbow to its end, it leads you to the ground on which you are standing.             - Alan Cohen

You are a rainbow of possibilities.  - Unknown

Love can form a double rainbow, connecting two hearts.  - Tom Baker

Your true colors are beautiful like a rainbow.  - Cyndi Lauper

Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends.  - Aberjhani

Friends are like rainbows. Always there to cheer you up after a storm.  - Unknown

 

 

 

Reflecting Rainbow (S942)

There's a secret to the Reflecting Rainbow stencil. Each half of the stencil is a mask for the other half. All you need to do it just flip the stencil. How does that work? See how in the video! 

 

A perfect and proper rainbow has all colors, but so many times when Carolyn stumbles upon rainbows every color isn’t visible. Sure, there’s a scientific reason having to do with how the light is reflecting off the water droplets and how the rods and cones in our eyes work, but the creative part of her prefers to see the magic and symbolism in perfectly imperfect rainbows.

 

A rainbow can mean many things from strength to hope to promise to peace to luck to new beginnings to eternal life to equality.  Whatever a rainbow means to you, you can add these to your art journals, collages, handmade cards, or any other creative play!

 

Rows of Reflecting Rainbows (S943)

 

Rows of Reflecting Rainbows honors Mother Nature’s grand display in the sky. Use the entire stencil, just one row of rainbows, or a single rainbow. 

The scalloped pattern is created by repeating a row of the design. Do a little on top to create a border, create a wide swath across the middle, or fill the entire page, no matter the size.

 

When adding a rainbow to anything you create, you are adding a bit of symbolism.  A rainbow can mean many things such as strength, hope, promise, peace, luck, new beginnings, eternal life, or equality.  Is this everything? Nope, rainbows can represent whatever you want them to, after all when you’re creating, you make the rules!

Carolyn's stencils are available now at stencilgirlproducts.com

Presenting Your February 2023 StencilClub Exclusives from Tina Walker!

Joining StencilClub means you have access to the coolest stencils around. Stencils that aren't sold anywhere else except to club members. Artist designs, made especially for club members.

Each month, you get the following:

• Two 9" x 12" EXCLUSIVE Stencils. 

Always Artist Designed

Sometimes there will be 2 designs, other times there will be multiple designs on two stencils.

• An EXCLUSIVE video for MEMBERS ONLY provided by the designing artist. It's a class in itself!

• A downloadable PDF with basic instructions to go along with the video for that month.

• Entrance into a SECRET Facebook group for MEMBERS ONLY! A place to share, inspire and talk all about stencils!

• Plus, as a MEMBER, you are eligible to purchase ANY past month for the membership price. Email Us with a list of which previous StencilClub sets of stencils you would like to purchase and he will provide you with a bill through PayPal.

• StencilClub members receive a loyalty coupon code each month good for 20% off stencils in the public collection. It can be used more than once.

StencilClub is only:

$25 USD - United States, monthly, shipping is included!

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Join by February 15th to receive this set!