Hello
Beautiful People!
Trena Brannon here
today to share with you some of my favorite ways to use alphabet and word
stencils in my artwork! Alphabet stencils are so versatile. They can be used in
the background, as a focal point, and/or give a voice in your artwork.
Idea1:
Bookmark Tags. These are special bookmarks for a
special birthday party - my grandson’s first! The party happened back in
February and we had a great time! I would have never guessed my house could
hold that many people. :) I customized
each tag with the child’s name and
attached it to their goodie bags.
For
the background, I used a paintbrush and sponges to add watercolor randomly on
mixed media heavy stock tags. I made several warm and cool tags. After the tags dried completely, I added
interest and texture with stencils [SC-06-2019, SC-08-2019, SC-11-2019]
and acrylic paint.
After
that layer dried, I added each name with the Brush Alphabet L645 stencil
and a variety of white and black pens, including Jane Davenport paint pens,
Faber Castel Pitt pens and white Shapie Paint pens, to the tags and drew little
images to make each tag special.
Idea
2: Greeting Cards. For the background of these two A2
size greeting cards, I used Squares Overlapping Filled L781 and alcohol inks over golden gel medium -
regular gel (semi-gloss) onto Yupo paper.
Click here to
see a video of the full steps for the alcohol ink technique. I fussy cut the words. I just love the results of the blending,
contrast and texture! The words are
from Positively Positive S643.
The
next greeting card is 5 1/4 inches square.
The background is made with alcohol inks on Yupo. I used canned air to
create the shape of the flower petals. The words made with the gel medium
technique as described above. I cute them out with a trimmer. The words are from I Get to Choose L648.
In
the A2 size greeting card below, I stamped the daisy. The vase is a die cut
(MFT) of some design paper I had in my stash.
I used a Tombow marker through the Opportunity and Progress S642
stencil. The stamped image is from RubberNecker
Stamps. The watercolors are by Hydracolour.
Idea
3: In an Art Journal. Creating in my Dylusions
journal, I used soft pastels (variety in my stash including Diane Townsend and
Pan Pastels) through Mod Ovals and Circles Large Stencil L271
and the large stencil from Stencil Club November 2017 - Fragmented,
and added some mark marking and blending to create the first layer of
background. I sprayed it twice with a fixative (SpectraFix), letting it dry in
between coats. I added the next layer to
the background using the pastels through Frazzled and Ruffled Feathers Stencil and
Mask M073 - using both parts of
the stencil, in a few random spots. I love how soft the edges are with the
pastels. Because I had sprayed the first layer with a fixative, the second
layer did not blend - allowing the detail of stencil to shine. I sprayed the
fixative over the second layer and let it dry - two coats, letting it dray in
between.
For
the words, I dabbed a tulip sponge dauber in a VersaMark ink pad and lightly
pounced it through the My Mind S641
and These Jeans L647
stencils. Next I used a make up sponge to spread pastels over the VersaMark.
The ink is tacky and holds on to the pastels which creates a darker shade. I
really dig the softness of the technique!
Idea
4: On a Canvas. I started by painting
gesso over a 8x10 canvas board from a previous project that had layers of
acrylic paint and some circles made with a bathroom tissue roll. I used a dry sponge technique with white
paint through Brush Alphabet
L645
stencil to add another layer of interest to the background. After it dried
completely, I drew/painted the vase and flowers with oil pastels (Crayola,
Cray-Pas Expressions and some generic ones) and colored in the word joy
from the I Get to Choose L648
stencil.
The scratch designs were made with a tiny
screwdriver.
Click here to
see a video showing you how to use alphabet and word stencils in your artwork
highlighting various techniques and art supplies.
TIPS/Suggestions
on using Alphabet/word stencils:
NOTE: I listed the
supplies I used, however I recommend you use whatever supplies you have in your
stash. You may be happy with the results and not have to spend any money. :)
1.
be mindful of your paper and supplies, wet
supplies will run under the stencil on watercolor paper. When you want a
painterly look, the results will please you. If you want a crisp look, the
results will be different than you expect.
2.
when applying paint, use a dry brush or
dry sponge and dab off most of the paint to get crisp lines. If you want a
different, more painterly look, use a slightly damp brush or sponge - totally
up to you, go for the look you want.
3.
press the stencil firmly to the surface
and follow along the letters just as you would if you were writing the words
with your handwriting - as with all stencils, be mindful of the tiny bridges
that make the connections for the stencil.
4.
use a thin paint brush or same color
marker to connect the letters to each other to make them look seamless
5.
if needed, smooth the letters with a thin
paint brush or the same color marker
6.
for words/phrases "in the center of
an area," count the letters and start in the middle. I actually write them
down so I don't get lost along the way. hehehe
7.
for words ending at a specific place,
start at the end of the word
8.
I encourage you to take your time, just
like with hand brush lettering
9.
Use a light color paint to apply your
words/letters through the stencil and then trace over it with black or white or
a contrasting color.
10. recommendation:
test your technique on scrap paper before you apply on your artwork.
11. Have
fun!
Thank
you for allowing me to share with you today!
Take
care and STAY POSITIVE!
Trena
#trenabrannonart
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