Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Artful Celebrations: The Influence of Street Art with Trena Brannon



Hello Beautiful!
My artful piece was inspired by the creativity of street art.



I looked up artful in the dictionary. 😊

adjective: 
1. (of a person or action) clever or skillful, typically in a crafty or cunning way.
"her artful wiles"
synonyms: sly, crafty, cunning, wily, scheming, devious, Machiavellian, sneaky, tricky,  conniving, designing, calculating;
antonyms: ingenuous
2. showing creative skill or taste. 
"an artful photograph of a striking woman"
synonyms: skillful, clever, adept, adroit, skilled, expert "artful precision"

The description made me think of how people who paint on buildings and huge spaces have to think in a truly creative way – a way that is beyond a controlled environment.  Below are the steps for my faux street art – a little piece of a building that will hang in my creative space.
Step 1:
I painted a thin coat of a medium shade gray onto a canvas panel with a sponge, being sure to paint the final strokes horizontally.

 
Step 2:
After it totally dried, I painted a thin coat of a lighter shade gray with a sponge, being sure to paint the final strokes horizontally.  While the paint was still wet, I lightly wiped with a baby wipe through the Intersecting Brick Circles Stencil (S137) stencil in random areas to create the illusion of a brick wall.

Step 3:
After that layer completely dried, I used a sponge to paint the first face through the Shadow Face (S559) stencil
 

Step 4:
I created a mask out of a piece of scrap paper.  To make the mask, I sponged color through the face stencil onto the scrap paper and cut it out creating a side of the face shape. After the first painted face dried, I laid the mask over it and placed the stencil next to it, lining it up to overlap with the first. I then sponged in color, adding a face outline with a thin paintbrush.



I repeated Step 4 until all the faces were finished.


Step 5:
Using the Brush Alphabet stencil (L645) and a paint pen, I created the word “COMPASSION.” I practiced on a scrap piece of paper before adding the letters to my canvas.  First – making sure I spelled the word correctly. 😊 Then deciding how I wanted to outline.


Step 6:
To add some interest and perspective to the “building,” I added a fire hydrant.  I drew it with a pencil first, used a red marker for the outline and then erased the pencil.




Step 7:
At this point, I decided to have the first face be a full face. I flipped the stencil over and positioned it as mirror-image and sponged in the matching paint color.  Using a small round brush, I drew in a hint of the left side of the face. I also painted the fire hydrant.




Step 8:
I absolutely love the November StencilClub Her Story set SC-11-2018 and wanted to incorporate the cool word design from Pam Carriker. I spayed a light white mist through the 6x6 stencil in two different areas.



Step 9:
To really make the letters pop, I added a vivid pink over the paint marker, being careful to not paint over the black lines.



Notes/Tips:
  •  I used dry sponges to apply paint - with a small amount of paint dabbing most of it off.
  • Since I’m right-handed, I turned the canvas upside down to sponge the faces.
  •  I cleaned my stencil in between paint, first wiping off with a paper towel, then spritzing with alcohol to get all the paint off. I wanted the colors to remain pure as I applied them.
  • Before outlining, I allowed the paint/ink to dry, wiping off pen tips before putting away.
  • Be sure to move your artwork far away from where you are cleaning, otherwise, you will get some splatters and sprays – that may or may not end up enhancing your piece. Hehehe
  •  I shared my second attempt at creating this piece. The first time I tried to make this piece, the implementation did not align with my vision. Sometimes that’s ok, the implementation turns out better than my vision! In this case, it did not. 😊 I decided to start over. I repainted the canvas gray. I learned a lot from the first try – what not to do.


 Supplies I used:
  • Substrate:  canvas board
  • Paints/Inks: Liquitex gesso and acrylic paint, Jane Davenport acrylic paints, Golden fluid acrylic paint, Pebeo high viscosity acrylic, Mister Huey’s color mists
  • Other: sponge, Tulip handle sponge, #4 round paintbrush, Sharpie markers, Derwent Graphik line painter
  • Stencils: S137, S559L645November StencilClub 6x6 stencil










I hope this post inspires you to create something artful that makes your heart smile!
Thank you so much for reading.
Take care and STAY POSITIVE!
Trena

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