Growing Peace, Joy, Faith & Love

Hi! Kirsten Reed here showing you today a great way stencils can create a background for your art.

I will be using Carolyn Dube's Union and Linked stencils from StencilGirl Products.  I have used two sizes of the Union (the 6x6 and the 9x12) for variation in my background.

The Union stencil is also the Deal of the Day over at 

StencilGirl Products today!!!

I had no "plan" on what I was going to create, which is often the case when I come to my studio.  I began by putting paint on my board and moving it around. 

I loved the colors of blues, greens in combination with the white and wood peeking through so I decided to stay in a monochromatic color palette for the most part.

Once my background was dry, I began layering the stencils in different directions in random areas all over the canvas until I was happy with the results. I used both paints and sprays for variation.

Here is a close up:

Here is my background once I finished "layering".  You can see the different sizes, colors and directions, but it doesn't feel too crazy because I used the same stencils repeatedly. It was at this point, I decided to paint out the flowers growing the words I had randomly written on the canvas:  peace, joy, faith, love.

Here is a close up:

And here is the overall piece once I finished.

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and will consider looking at stencils at a way to enhance your own style of art!  For more information, other tutorials and stories, please visit me at my website Kirsten Reed Designs or follow my blog Keystrokes & Kaleidoscopes at Bloglovin.

Make your day a bright one!

Kirsten