Layers with Stencils by Sandra Duran Wilson

Hi Everyone! Sandra Duran Wilson here, and I am thrilled to be contributing to StencilGirl as a guest designer. I am an acrylic painter and sculptor and I incorporate multiple layers in my work. Some layers are barely visible, just peeking out through the others. Acrylic Painting for Encaustic Effects, my fifth book, uses some of these multi-layered techniques. I paint on Ampersand panels and for this project I am using Claybord. It has a very unique, smooth and absorbent surface which works beautifully with stencils. Come take a look.

Supplies

Surface: Ampersand Claybord- I used 14" x 11"

Ink: purple and white

Paints: fluid acrylics and inks-I used Quinacridone gold, Quinacridone magenta, green gold, transparent pyrrole orange, teal, sepia, white, indigo and Baltic green

Pastes and Gel: Golden Polymer medium gloss, light modeling paste and soft gel semi-gloss

Stencils: 9x12 Tangled Pods, Fantasia and Organic Roots

Tools: palette knife, brush, sponge, cotton swab, spray bottle of water, spray bottle with isopropyl alcohol 70% and masking tape
Other: collage paper-I used mulberry bark paper that I had painted

I begin by spraying water onto the Claybord surface and rubbing the water into the clay until it is mostly absorbed. Spray on more water and place the Organic Roots large stencil by Carol Wiebe on top of the wet Claybord. The moisture will hold the stencil in place. Then drop both violet and white inks onto the surface and tilt the panel to let the inks flow. If needed, mist with some more water.

Add more ink and water and tilt until you have adequate coverage, then lay flat to dry.

When dry, remove the stencil. You will notice that the stencil leaves a ghost image around the design.

Mix a small amount of Quinacridone Nickle Azo gold with water and brush over the area to add another layer of color and depth. Let dry.

Do the same using Quinacridone Magenta. Let dry.

Mix together Green-Gold and white and using a wet brush paint this mixture onto the unpainted section of the panel. While the paint is still wet, spritz some alcohol onto the surface. You will see the paint move away from the alcohol drops and create an opening. Let dry.

When this layer is dry, apply Transparent Pyrrole Orange with a wet brush and repeat the alcohol spray.

Add diluted orange on top of the dots area. Let dry.

When everything is dry, brush on a thin layer of Golden Polymer medium gloss and leave flat to dry.

This gloss layer will act as what I call the Precious Preservation Layer. It protects the underlying layers.

Place the Tangled Pods stencil by Cecilia Swatton on top of the section painted orange and tape in place.

Mix together Golden Light Modeling paste with Teal and Baltic Green. Apply this mixture using a palette knife. Remove and clean the stencil immediately. Let the painting dry.

Place the Fantasia stencil by Cecilia Swatton onto the lower section and tape in place. Use your palette knife to spread a thin layer of Light Modeling Paste. Remove stencil and clean. Let the paste dry.

Here is what the layers look like so far. We have some areas veiled and others that show multiple effects.

Mix a tiny amount of Quinacridone Magenta with white and paint on top of the dry paste. Let dry.

Place the Organic Roots stencil on top of where it was originally. Offset it slightly. Use the pink paint mixture you just made and mix a small amount with Golden soft gel semi-gloss. Randomly spread some over the roots area. This will give the layer a wax look. Remove the stencil and clean. Let this layer dry.

This is what the layers look like now. You may adjust how much or little you want to veil the original layers. By offsetting the stencil, you see the original lines on one side of the shape.

I notice that there is a space on the Tangled Pods section where the paint mixture seeped underneath the stencil. Because I have a dry layer of gloss medium below, I can use alcohol on a cotton swab to remove this paint mess-up without disturbing the paint layer below.

Now, I place the Tangled Pods stencil back on top of the original location. Mix teal with sepia and add water to dilute the paint. Dab a cosmetic sponge into the paint and lightly rub it across the top. You want to create visual depth by adding another layer of broken color.

Go back over the Fantasia stencil area and add orange and magenta to highlight the shapes. I even distressed some areas so underlying layers could peek through.

I finished up by adding some collage paper that I painted with diluted green and sepia. I also mixed some indigo blue with Polymer medium gloss to make a glaze which I added around the edges.

I hope you have enjoyed creating history and mystery with stencil layers

and check out my website, books, DVD’s and classes.

Thank you.

Sandra Duran Wilson

www.sandraduranwilson.com