Embrace Your Flaws, a mixed media painting by Sue Plumb

Hello stencil lover!

It's Sue Plumb here, and I am very excited to share my first project created for the StencilGirl® Creative Team. To kick things off, I was tasked with the theme of "an abstract or summer artwork". Both of these sounded fun to me, so I was torn between the two. My answer? Combine aspects of both themes into a single project!

Before I launch into explaining my process for this mixed media piece, I should probably tell you that I LOVE working with color! My favorites to work with are blues and greens, but I generally enjoy working with any colors that are bold, bright, and beautiful.

I began my artwork by gathering a variety of papers to create a collaged background - book paper, music paper, and tissue paper; and tore them into pieces. Working on an A4 sized piece of 270 gsm cardstock, I adhered them randomly around the page using matte gel medium. The collage provides an interesting background to work over, adding extra depth and texture to the piece.

Now it was time for color! When I think of summer I picture the tropics. Lush greenery, brightly colored flowers, and the sun shining down. I decided to translate this into my piece by using bright acrylic paints. I chose warm tones to start - pinks, orange and yellow - and applied the paint using a silicone spatula in an entirely random fashion.

With my abstract color layer complete, it was time to think about the composition of my piece. I wanted to introduce some of the imagery that came to my mind when I thought of summer. I started with the Dream of Palms Mask by Cynthia Silveri to begin building my foreground layers. I applied green acrylic paint using a sponge in the diagonally opposing corners.

To build further on the foreground, I applied a darker shade of green paint with my spatula around some of the edges of the page.

After the paint had dried, it was time to switch to ink to further build my layers. I selected the Floral Mandala Lace stencil by Kristie Taylor, as it had a section I thought would add some interesting detail to my piece. 

Using only a selected area of a stencil (rather than use the image as a whole) is something I often do when creating artwork like this. It also influences my choice when purchasing stencils; as I find smaller details within larger designs that I know will give me more value from my stencils.

I used a sponge to apply teal ink through the section of my stencil; layering it over the green paint to mimic the foliage of my summer-inspired lush greenery.

I then repeated the same process, this time masking off a single image from the Blades stencil by Terri Stegmiller to represent a flower; which I stenciled several times on my piece.

Now it was time for a focal image for my artwork. I had a printed paper napkin that featured beautiful colored parrots on it that I thought would be ideal for my tropical inspired piece. I carefully cut around the larger parrot and a few of the leaves before separating them from the backing layer.

To ensure that the image was not lost against the background, I lightly sponged some white acrylic paint onto the page where the parrot's head would be. I also sponged some randomly over several areas in the center of my page, just to strip back a little of the color.

The parrot and leaves were then adhered to the page using matte gel medium.

To add further depth and variation to the foreground, I used a small paintbrush to add some teal paint amongst the foliage.

At this point, the page was all quite flat and needed some dimension to help lift it. I chose the Heartfelt stencil by Desiree Habicht, as it had some leaf shapes I wanted to use to finish off the foliage. 

I masked off the first leaf I wanted to use and applied some shimmery teal colored texture paste through the stencil using a palette knife. I repeated the same leaf several times on each of the foliage areas before drying it off with a heat gun.

I then repeated the process with the other leaf design and a light green texture paste, layering it over the teal paste before again drying it off with a heat gun.

From the same stencil, I was also drawn to the cluster of abstract style flowers and decided to use this shape to add further textured detail and some contrast in color using a lilac colored paste. I repeated the same flowers on three separate areas of my piece. 

After the lilac paste had dried I could see the piece needed some shadowing to help bring the focal image to the front. I used a water soluble pencil to draw around the outline of the parrot, then blended it out with water. 

I also added some small stamped dot detail to the background using black ink, which helped to tie in the black from the shadow outline.

At this point, I wanted to add some extra stenciled detail to help lighten the piece and tie it all together. I used the Organized Chaos stencil by Cat Kerr and white acrylic paint to sponge some random spots over the top.

To finish off, I felt it needed some text, so I added the large embrace your flaws quote and the two smaller phrase stickers. I also added some hand-drawn scribbles with a black pencil.

I am so happy with the result of this piece - all the bright colors and layers just make my heart sing! 

Despite my love for this piece, I decided that keeping it for myself wasn't the best use of it. A good friend of mine is running a charity art auction in July to raise funds for "United in Compassion". This Australian organization advocate on behalf of cancer patients for better access to medicinal cannabis as an alternative therapy to alleviate their suffering. 

Here is my finished framed piece, which will be passed on to be auctioned and hopefully raise some funds for this very worthy cause.

Don't forget that you can play along with the StencilGirl® theme challenges too!

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this with you. Until next time, happy creating!

You can also find me on my channels here:

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Dotted Leafy Swirl Painting by Linda Edkins Wyatt

Hi! Thanks for visiting the StencilGirl® blog and checking out my first official post as a member of their Creative Team!

My roots are in cloth...I started sewing as a kid, making doll clothes out of old socks, mending and embroidering my own jeans and shirts, then moved on to making my own clothes when I was about 11. My mother was a quilter and basket maker, and my sister a home economics teacher, so they were both strong influences on me. I became a fabric designer and worked in New York's Garment Center for many years, then later transitioned to newspaper layout design.

For as long as I can remember, during school classes, business meetings or long phone calls, I have always doodled. I usually end up with swirly, leafy shapes and dots. Time permitting, I add some checks and diamonds and turn my little 3-inch sticky-note drawings into Zentangles.

For my StencilGirl® Design Team debut, I decided to embrace my roots and instincts, work with my favorite colors and shapes, and create a giant, doodle-inspired geometric painting. I pulled out a 12"x12" canvas, my drawing pencil, my favorite colors, and got to work.

First, I sketched out the basic design: a giant doodle similar to the sticky note doodles taped in my idea journal. Knowing that the paint would obscure the pencil lines, I went over them with a magenta non-watercolor colored pencil, which would get covered by paint but still be slightly visible--a trick I learned from a Jane Davenport video.

Next, I mixed up my favorite acrylic paint colors and started filling in the shapes. I didn't pre-plan where I would place the colors, I threw caution to the wind and went with my instincts. Along with my favorite shade of turquoise, I added a darker and lighter turquoise, a lime green, and a buttery yellow. I debated about adding other colors but decided to keep it harmonious. Here are some of my painting process steps:

Step by step process of adding color to the design.

When the colored shapes were in place, the overall effect was nice but very flat. I decided to add some freehand yellow brush strokes and spots of color to liven it up.

The painting, before any stencils were added.

Next, I looked through my StencilGirl® collection to find just the right designs to enhance the painting. It was hard to choose! I wanted to add texture, contrast, and visual interest to my painting with stencils.

An assortment of StencilGirl® designs were considered for adding interest to the painting.

Using blue painter's tape and deli paper, I masked off around the shape I wanted to fill, then slowly and carefully applied black Archival Ink through several StencilGirl®stencils using a finger dauber. Sooooo much easier and neater than hand-drawing the tiny squares, diamonds, and dots on my little sticky note Zentangles!

Here are a few photos of my stenciling process:



The last stencil I added was a little circle with an x through it that was part of the Stencil Club January 2019 set, called "Mash Up" designed by Mary Beth Shaw and Seth Apter. It's amazing that such a tiny little shape, spotted around the painting, was the stencil that really tied the whole painting together!

The almost finished painting

After all the stencils were added, it was almost done. But... the painting looked like it still needed some more texture. I have long admired the abstract paintings of Danish artist MiMano. Her paintings have bold, splashy color and great detail made with tiny dots and lines. Thinking of MiMano's style, I decided to add some small dots by hand with a Bic white-out pen, green and turquoise TomBow markers, along with black, lime, and turquoise Nuvo drops. The small accents of Nuvo add some shine and dimension and made the final painting sparkle. Here are some detail shots of the dotted and stenciled areas:

Detail shots of the stenciling and hand-painted dots

While searching through my files, I discovered one of my first textile designs, made in my senior year of college (quite a few decades ago)! I had made my own silkscreens--carefully lining up the screens for each of the three colors--and printing them on white cotton with thickened dye. It bears a striking similarity to this painting, which makes me think that the next step will be to send the design to Spoonflower, print some yardage, and make myself a summer dress!

Linda
Mixed Media & Fiber Art Blog

One of my first textile designs (left) bears a striking similarity to my latest painting (right)

Stencils used: 

Stencil Club, March 2019, by Ann Butler, large stencil 



Stencil Club, January 2019, Mash Up by Mary Beth Shaw and Seth Apter, medium stencil 



Stencil Club, April 2013, Stitchery by Mary Beth Shaw, medium stencil 



Grove Street by Nathalie Kalbach

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