Adorn Your Art with this New Design by Jennifer Evans

Jennifer said, "When I started making my own jewelry, I thought of it as a way to experiment with colors and textures. I love vintage jewelry and the look of gunmetal, silver, and hammered gold. Gemstones fascinate me. I have such fun playing with these materials that I thought, 'Why not have a jewelry design to work with in my 2D art as well?' You can have fun "designing" your own creations using markers, metallic paint, or anything that shimmers. Wouldn't it be fun to stencil the outside of a gift box?"

Adornments LL1011

Available Now at www.stencilgirlproducts.com

Guest Designer Frieda Oxenham

A bit of sparkle never goes amiss at this time of year and I love taking a peek in all the lighted windows as I’m passing, admiring the decorations. That was the inspiration for this spread. Here is the tutorial:

1.     In your art journal (I used the large one by Dylusions) brayer white gesso onto a spread.

2.     While the gesso is still wet brayer on small amounts of 3 different colours of acrylic paint (I used blue, red and green) and spread the paint out across the pages.

3.     Remove some of the paint with a baby wipe through stencil L027 Fade Horizontal.

4.     Brayer on more white gesso randomly and take it away with a baby wipe through the same stencil used in step 3

5.     Repeat step 4 but this time using blue acrylic paint.

6.     Repeat step 4 but with green acrylic paint.

7.     Stencil on the page still using the same stencil, green acrylic paint and a cosmetic wedge.

8.     Spray onto the pages through stencil L600 Mosaic Flowers Repeat using gloss spray (mine was by Dina Wakley Media).

9.     Using red acrylic paint and the same stencil as in step 8, stencil flowers onto the spread.

10.  Using blue acrylic paint and the same stencils as in step 3 and step 8, stencil more flowers and small dots on the pages.

11.  Repeat step 10 using green Stencil Butter.

12.  Stencil on green leaves using the same stencil as in step 8.

13.  Using stencil L163 Window Ledger 9 roughly mark out (in pencil) the window shapes on metallic tissue paper with gold dots, cut out the shapes and glue them with matte medium, onto the right hand page using the stencil as a guide.

14.  Stencil onto the right hand page using the same stencil as in step 13 and using dark blue/green acrylic paint , making sure the metallic dot tissue paper appears in the windows.

15.  Stencil on the left hand page using stencil S954 Solitary tree as shown, using the same paint as in step 14. 

16.  Add the text (quotation by Don Shapiro), using your preferred method. I did it with a Dymo Writer using self adhesive tape.

17.  Outline trees, windows and text with a permanent white paint marker and outline the leaves with a sparkly green gel pen.

18.  Stencil on text to the left hand page using white acrylic paint and stencil L318 Wall of Words.

19.  Spray sparkling bronze spray paint onto the windows through the stencil used in step 3.

© Frieda Oxenham 2023

Field Desk UpCycle

Good morning!

It's Jane Bellante here- excited to be back with another stenciling tutorial!

I recently took Mary Beth Shaws class called "Living Mixed Media" here in Wisconsin at Shake Rag Alley.  It was such a great experience (and class!!) and the town was filled with galleries and studios.  Truly an artists dream! 

While there, I visited an antique store and found a vintage field desk for ONLY $20!!! I knew that this would be my next project for StencilGirl- I mean, it was a blank canvas just waiting for some stenciling.

I really love Jennifer Evans' 12 x 24 stencil "Daisy Wildflowers". I've used it in many ways, but being that this is a field desk, I thought it was perfect for my project.

I used some chalk style paint, some fiber paste, some metallic paste and some decor waxes to create a bright and pretty cover for my field desk. Now I just have to figure out what supplies to put in there!

You can watch the full step-by-step tutorial right here,  I hope you enjoy it!!

Supply list:

Daisy Wildflowers stencil by Jennifer Evans 

Paint Pixie Magical Chaulk Paints in Marshmallow and Violet Lemonade

Paint Pixie Forcefield Sealer

ReDesign by Prima Stencil Fiber Paste

ArtsSyVille Embellishments Metallic Paste

Prima Marketing Art Alchemy Metallique Wax - Rich Copper

Tim Holtz for Ranger flash card "Inspire"

Leave me a little note below and let me know what you think!

You can find me at janebellanteart.com and @janebellanteart on all social media channels.

Thanks for being here!

xo, 

Jane

Fabulous New designs From Jennifer Evans and an In-person Workshop!

Check out Jennifer's latest designs and the Paint with Periwinkle Workshop Jennifer is co-hosting this fall in Colorado.  

When I begin an abstract, I usually start with mark-making. I create a series of expressive wide and rough marks made with charcoal or pastel, followed by thin and whispy pencil marks. Before the addition of paint, I stand back and look at the main shapes created by the overlapping marks. Although we recognize geometric shapes, I prefer a rougher, more organic look. These stencils are the result.

Evans Abstract 1 - L981

These rectangular shaped designs include spheres and curved intersecting lines. Use this stencil to block off areas by using just a portion, or the whole design. Play with negative space by adding color around the spheres. If you're working on a large substrate, continue building the abstract out from the center (like a web).

Evans Abstract 3 - L965

If you're working on a long vertical (or horizontal) canvas, stack these stencils on top of one another (or side by side) to continue the movement of lines. As you build your abstract, notice what you "see" -- what shapes could be combined and which should stand out? My example uses pastel and colored pencil to outline shapes for emphasis.

Evans Abstract 2 - S965

I love a square abstract. Especially ones that can be used on a 6"x6" canvas or on a Gelli plate. This abstract introduces triangles to the rough sphere shapes.

Cherry Blossom - S966

I love to paint cherry blossoms, both the full tree in bloom and the individual blooms. They are so vibrant and cheerful. Although this stencil could be used for any blooming branch by altering the color palette, my artwork sample is inspired by the traditional bright pink flowers.

Loosestrife - S967

This stencil design was inspired by yellow loosestrife from my mother's garden. It grows in a vertical spire. Yellow flowers always brighten the mood. For this design, I zeroed in on one single bloom (macro style). It's amazing what details you can see using the zoom feature on your camera phone or using a macro lens on a traditional camera.

Flowering Branches - S968

Inspired by the point of view of looking up a single cherry blossom branch, this stencil can be repeated for a border. Use the design in typical fashion, then clean your stencil, flip it over and repeat the design at the top or bottom of your first imprint. (Refer to example for visual).

Jennifer's stencils are available now at stencilgirlproducts.com.

New Art Tutorial by Frieda Oxenham with StencilGirl® Products

While cleaning up my studio (yes, I do occasionally do this!) I found a blank Seawhite A5 Concertina sketchbook. No doubt I bought it for a reason, but I had no idea what that could have been, so I decided to use it for my own purposes. And I have made a start with this project. In this tutorial I’m only working on the first 6 pages or so and l will continue to fill it up so expect to see more of it in the future. Whenever I had left over ink on the stamps or paint, I spread it around on future pages in order to avoid blank page syndrome.

Here is the tutorial:

1.     Gesso about 6 pages with white gesso, spreading it about with a large brush and a brayer for texture.

2.     Select some of your favourite rubber stamps and a permanent black inkpad and stamp randomly over all the pages you’re working on.

3.     Using a selection of acrylic paints brayer the randomly over the pages. Also use baby wipes and your fingers to add paint.

4.     Using a variety of different colours of Distress Crayons, rub it on the pages and then remove it again through stencils S942 Reflecting Rainbow, S943 Rows of Reflecting Rainbows and S952 Past Lumber Cross Section using a cosmetic wedge.

5.     Add some washi tape with text on it here and there.

6.     Using different colours of IZink dye spray, add it to the pages you’re working on through stencils S951 Small Tree Cross Section and M086 Techno Insiders Circle Stencil. 

7.     Drip acrylic ink onto the pages and let it drip. 

8.     Brayer on more white gesso. 

9.     Using stencils L960 Big Tree Cross Section, M076 Let Yourself Bloom. S948 Cosmos and S947 Hydrangea Bouquet with black acrylic paint and a cosmetic wedge.

10.  Colour in the flowers with watercolour markers. 

11.  Glue on the vintage text and outline with a black pencil

12.  Edge the papers with a permanent black marker.

© Frieda Oxenham 2023

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

 

It's March in St. Louis and I, Nancy Curry, am all about the next seasons coming.  Apologies to those reading this who are approaching the colder times of year, or are still in the cold now.  The only season I really don't like is winter, but I really enjoy spring into early summer when things seem all new again.  I enjoy the spring holidays of Easter and Mother's Day especially, and always try to find interesting ways to share what I do with family members.  To that end, I plotted this project starting in January. Luckily, the big box stores seem to be ready to move on to spring quickly so I was able to find what I needed easily.  I'll list materials and stencils here before you watch the video. 

Materials: 

bamboo plant labels

acrylic paint (craft or fine art)

cosmetic sponge

palette/plate

brushes (thin and one for tint mixing) and a toothpick

gesso or white acrylic

scrap paper 

permanent marker (very thin) to sign if desired  

verbiage:  either alphabet stamps and permanent ink, stickers or printed herb names 

Krylon Kamar Varnish and Krylon Gloss Varnish or similar

Stencils: 

               Floral Frolics                         Woodland Blackbird                    Wild Daisies

 

This project could easily be done with many types of stencils and have any kind of vibe you'd like.  Let your imagination go wild and think outside of the box looking at all sizes of stencils. So many stencil parts will shine when used by themselves. You can prepare these sets in all quantities for gift giving so it makes them a convenient and interesting practical gift.  

 

Without further adieu, please enjoy my foray into functional art:  

 

                             

 

As always, it's been my pleasure to create for all of you.  For more of my tutorials, follow me on Instagram or Facebook, and for artwork to purchase, my store.  

xoxo

Nancy