mixing it up

For those of you with a lovely long weekend, Happy Memorial Day! I hope you’re having a wonderful relaxing day.
In the summer I love relaxing at the lake. It’s my favorite place. Today I’m mixing things up here with a mixed media canvas. I’ve been dying to try out this popular trend and so here is my version and my first try at it. It was a little out of my comfort zone but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. This is a medium I’d like to find more time to explore.

My canvas is 24″ square that I picked up at Michael’s and I’ve uses some great textures from my Gauche Alchemy kit this month. I just couldn’t leave without creating one last fun project. The wavy lace inspired a lake scene. Can you believe the lace was actually a deep, dark royal purple?!  The clouds have been created from some burgundy fabric, the butterflies from some silver foil confetti and the sand is some red corrugated paper.

To get the paint to adhere well to all the surfaces, you need to prime them with a thick coat of gesso. You can see in the above photo that I’ve covered the textures enough to cover up 99.9% of their color.

Then the fun begins…painting over the surface with layers of paint. I like mixing the paints right on the canvas and just adding color until I get the look I’m going for. To add further interest and to highlight texture, I’ve sponged on some Distress Ink and added areas of Crackle Accents for an aged look.

You can also find this project todayon the Gauche Alchemy blog.

Supplies: canvas from Michaels, corrugated paper, lace, butterflies, buttons, vintage sheet music and fabric from Gauche Alchemy, Picket Fence Stamp set by Lily Bee Design, Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso, Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paint in Classic Teal, Sable, Traditional Tan, Sky Blue & Blank Canvas by Ranger, Chipboard Banner by Maya Road, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, Tumbled Glass Distress Ink & Barn Door Distress Ink by Ranger, Crackle Accents by Ranger, Thickers by American Crafts

Have a beautiful day!