Michelle G Brown | Mixed Media Art

Janelle Nichol’s Online Class: Glow-Paint Using Watercolors and Acrylics for a Fantasy-like atmosphere

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This article is written by Peg Rounds

All of the details have been added & the project is now finished

The “Glow” class by Janelle Nichol is perfect for the beginner who wants to learn how to do a mixed media canvas to the advanced person who would love to have some more creative ideas to use.  The class is an online class and is easy to sign up using the Skillshare website.  I found the site really easy to use and get around on to find the videos every time I signed into it.  The class is broken down into 14 videos which is helpful in going through it step by step and you are able to go back to a video and view it again if needed.  The only downside I found was at times the sound was really low and I would have to turn my speakers way up to hear.

Janelle does an awesome job walking you through the supplies you will need and what you can use if you don’t have the same things.  She has a dedicated video just on the supplies, but be sure to also look below the video for a print list as not everything is covered in the video.  There were a couple of things she used in later videos that weren’t mentioned in the supply video or on the list such as magenta paint and chunky glitter so if you can watch through the videos before starting that is very helpful to make sure you have everything.  I didn’t have the glitter and couldn’t get it so I substituted for a glitter I hand on hand.  I, also, could not find locally the same types of materials she suggested for the dress so I have a different type and color for mine.  By using the list and video she has created, you will find that you have many things on hand already and for those that you don’t, you will be able to readily get from your local craft stores.

One of the beginning steps is to create color and texture using Distress Stains and Mod Podge on the patterned paper.  It is fun to watch how these beginning steps help lay the foundation for the rest of the piece.  The heart in the corner of mine was not knowingly created and I found it after the piece had dried.  It was fun to see what happened with it as the layers were added.

Scripted Paper with Inked with Blue & Brown Distress Stain

After several more layers of paint and Mod Podge, you will really start seeing the canvas taking shape.  Again, Janelle does a wonderful job at showing you how to create the fairy to attach to the project.  If you don’t think you can draw a fairy, don’t worry she’s got it covered with the addition of printable pieces to help you create your own.  She, also, helps you with creating the wings which are really easy to do, too.

The fairy & her wings have been attached and the painting of the waistband and hairband are done

You will learn how to finish the fairy and then move on to how to paint the details such as her hair, the waistband and headband.  You will, also, find out how to add shading to her dress, skin and wings.

The trees have been painted and the another layer using sequins have been added to the piece

I found this to be an excellent class to take and the finished project is well worth the time and effort put into it. The videos are easy to follow and the items used are already on hand for most mixed media artists or are easily obtainable.   I would recommend it highly for everyone who enjoys creating mixed media pieces from the beginner to the advanced.

You can jump straight into Janelle’s Glow; Create a Mixed Media Fairy here

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Peg Rounds has been seriously creating many types of art since 2007.  Her focus has become mixed media, card making and jewelry making.  She is often found on social media sites Pegs Crafting Corner where she enjoys sharing all that she has created.

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Disclosure: Access to this course was supplied by Janelle Nichols for the purpose of review. All opinions are that of the MixedMediaArt team. Some links on this page may be affiliate links and any purchases help to support the ongoing work by MixedMediaArt. 

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Mixed Media 3D Flowers

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This article is written by Barbara Rankin

Barbara shows you how to make these beautiful 3D altered art flowers using simple household products.  All you will need is a roll of heavy duty aluminum foil and a roll of paper towels, along with some white gesso, acrylic paints, and flower dies or punches.  Barbara will also show you several ways to colorize and alter these beauties, and how to apply them in your art.

Spread some white gesso over the foil, lay paper towel on top and continue spreading gesso over the paper towel, ensuring the two adhere to each other well and there are no air bubbles.  You may find that you need to do this in sections before the gesso dries. Do not worry about wrinkles; they add texture.

applying gesso to paper towel and aluminum foil

Add DecoArt fluid acrylics in colors of your choice.  I used Phthalo Green-Yellow, Cerulean Blue, Titanium White Primary Yellow, Cadmium Red Hue, Primary Magenta, and Quinacridone Violet.

adding fluid acrylics to paper/aluminum foil

Spray DecoArt white mist through a damask stencil.  The white spray mist will pick up some of the color beneath it and give you a lighter shade of each color.  Perfection is not necessary because this is all going to be die cut into smaller pieces.

DecoArt white mist sprayed through damask stencil

As you can see, this disguises the separation of colors and makes it all cohesive.

photo of colored/stenciled sheet

Die cut flowers with any flower die.  I used the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die.  You could also free-hand cut them.  You will have a nice selection of tattered floral pieces that all work well together.

die cut flowers from each colored section of paper/aluminum foil sheet

Use two sets of the flowers from the same or similar colors to make a single, fluffy flower. Before layering the petals, ink the edges with Vintage Photo distress ink. This will give some added depth and dimension.

Photo of the die cut petal shapes used to make a single flower

Layer the petals, largest to smallest. Make a hole in the center of each petal and add a decorative brad to keep them together.  Pinch and twist the petals to form a fluffy and full flower.  I used tweezers in one hand so I could grab each petal easier, while pinching them with my other hand.

Flower formed with help of tweezers

Here are all three flowers from this one sheet.

three finished flowers

Here are a couple of cards I made using two of the flowers.  I can think of many uses for these. I think they would look absolutely lovely in a mini album, scrapbook, page layout, or canvas.

two cards using two of the three flowers

two cards using two of the three flowers

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Barbara is a mixed media artist who loves to teach.  She loves to learn new techniques and to share her knowledge with other artists.   She is a contributing artist in a book:  Make it in Minutes: Mini Albums, and has been published in several paper and online magazines.  She is currently on several design teams:  ColourArte, Sin City Stamps, Altered Pages, Gina’s DesignsLasercuts, House of Cards Monthly Challenge Blog, and Craft Hoarders Monthly Challenge Blog.  She has served as a design team member for The Robin’s Nest and Creative Paperclay®, as well as guest designer for Craftwell USA, Unruly Paper Arts, and Gina’s Designs.

She lives in the Memphis, Tennessee area with her very supportive husband of 32 years, and her two Yorkies, Chloe and Zoe.

You can see more of Barbara’s work on her blog at Black Hole Art Studio or via Facebook – Black Hole Art Studio

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Clock Work Inspiration Canvases

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This article is written by Peg Rounds

Some days just don’t go right and other days do

There are some days that everyone has things that just don’t go right.  I know I sure do, but I sometimes need to make it a point to stop and think that every day isn’t like those days.  I decided to create these inspirational canvases so that I can see them and remember that there will be good days and not so good days, too.  These are really fun to make and can be done with any inspirational reminder that you may need so be sure to make some of your own and place them where you can see!

Begin by painting the canvas with a base coat.  This will be the paint color that shows through.  Allow it to completely dry.

Next, die cut a piece of acetate with a die cut machine to create the stencil pieces that you will be placing on the canvas.  Spray each piece with Easy Tack by Krylon so that they can be easily removed.  Place them in position on the canvas.

Die cut acetate to create a stencil

Dab paint, using a second color of paint, into the open areas of the stencils so that the paint gets into the smaller areas.

This is the second step to painting the canvases. First use a dabber brush to dab paint into the open areas of the stencils after they are applied.

Now, paint straight brush strokes across the entire canvas from top to bottom to cover it.

Allow the paint to dry and carefully lift upward on the edges of the stencils to remove them.

Lay those aside and begin the work on the spiral pieces that will be the inside springs.

Start with a piece of jewelry wire.  The length will depend on how large you will want the spiral,

Curl one end of the wire using a pair of pliers,

Create a loop in the end of a piece of jewelry wire.

Continue to wrap the wire until you have all of it wrapped into the spiral.  As you work each new wrap should lay beside and against the last one.

Wrap the jewelry wire so that it creates a spiral

Take the pliers and grasp the center of the wire and lightly pull it up and outward to create the pieces that have sprung.

Pull the center of the spiraled jewelry wire out.

Age the coils by applying a patina to them.

Allow them to dry slightly and sand them with a fine sand paper to shine them up a little.

Create the second canvas in the same way, but when creating the coils do not pull the centers outward or patina them.

Finish both of the canvases by adding the inspirational message using wooden letters and attach everything with glue.

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Peg Rounds has been seriously creating many types of art since 2007.  Her focus has become mixed media, card making and jewelry making.  She is often found on social media sites pegscraftingcorner where she enjoys sharing all that she has created.

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Filed Under: Mixed Media Painting Tagged With: , , , ,

Digital Quote Collage with Martice

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This article was written by Martice Smith II

Digital Quote Collage with Martice

SUPPLY LIST: 

  • Image editing program/software (Photoshop, or a free program like Picmonkey)
  • Monoprints / collage
  • White cardstock
  • Pigma Micron pens, black (05 and brush)
  • pencil + vinyl eraser

Creative Hand-lettering:

 

photo example of Martice demo of creative hand-lettering, using a pencil

Write your favorite quote on white cardstock.

Have fun with this! Write some words bigger than others to put visual emphasis on them.

Made a mistake? No problem! I like using a vinyl eraser to remove mistakes and accidental graphite smears.

(TIP: place a sheet of paper under your palm to prevent smearing. Saves time on cleaning up your final image!) 

Creative hand-lettering, using Pigma Micron pens

Trace over your quote with black Pigma Micron pens.

I traced the entire quote with 05 and a brush pen for a faux-calligraphy look. Add variety to the design of your letterforms. Making the downstrokes thicker will give the letters more visual weight! Finally, erase all pencil lines with a vinyl eraser. 

Now, let’s dive into the digital realm of this tutorial! 

STEP 1// Scan your monoprinted/collage background and your hand-lettered quote. These should be two separate documents.

(TIP: Adjust the settings so that your image is black and white with high contrast.)

STEP 2// Launch Photoshop. Open your monoprinted/collage background. Duplicate the background layer.

Next, create a new layer.

Using the rectangle tool, draw a rectangle large enough to fit the quote.

Fill the rectangle with a light color. (I chose yellow as my fill color.)

Lower the opacity to 48% or play around with the opacity level so that the monoprinted/collage background barely peeks through.

STEP 3// Select the brush tool then choose white for the brush color. Outline the rectangle with white dots.

Rearrange the layers: Click and drag the yellow rectangle on top of this layer of white dots. (Now the dots look as though they’re behind the yellow rectangle. Cool, huh? 😉

STEP 4// Import your hand-lettered quote into this document. 

Set the blending mode to Multiply. (Cycle through the various blending modes to see which one looks best for you.) Position the quote on top of the yellow rectangle.

(TIP: You’ll want the quote to stand out from the colored rectangle, so that the words aren’t competing against the image behind it. Black letters are best to work with.)

STEP 5// Add a layer mask

The purpose of a layer mask is, simply, a non-destructive way to edit an image. It gives you more control over certain parts of an image so that it only changes specific parts.

Take a look at the final image, below. Notice how you can see through certain parts of the yellow rectangle while other parts or more opaque?

Martice's completed, digital quote collage

To create a mask, just click on the layer with the yellow rectangle, then click the rectangle icon, next to the ‘create a new fill or adjustment layer’ thumbnail, at the bottom of the Layers panel  (See screenshot, below).

Screenshot of 'Add layer mask' icon, at the bottom of Layers Panel in Photoshop

STEP 6// Select the brush tool. Use black for the brush color.

With this approach, you’re removing color where you don’t want it. Or in other words, you’re erasing the yellow.

Switching the brush color to white adds the yellow back in.

(TIP: You can change the opacity, shape and size of the brush strokes by accessing the brush preset menu. Here’s how I remember which color to use: Black conceals, white reveals.)

Troubleshooting Tips: 

  • Did you remove too much color? If so, change the color of your brush to white. Paint in where you want the color to re-appear.
  • Vary the size of your brush to get as detailed as you wish.
  • If you make a mistake, simply alternate between black and white to “conceal or reveal” the color.
  • Try adjusting the Opacity of the brush to reduce the impact of the adjustment in some areas.

STEP 7// Merge layers and crop!

Merge all layers together. For this example, I gave myself one inch borders on the top, left and right sides and 2 1/2 inches on the bottom for visual weight.

STEP 8// Save and name your document

I hope this tutorial encouraged you to try your hand at digital art making! Feel free to ask questions, if you’re unsure about a specific step. I’m always happy to help 🙂

Happy creating!

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Author bio:

Mixed-Media artist, designer, and instructor Martice Smith II

Martice Smith II is creative director of Martice Smith II – Illustration & Design Studio and online boutique owner. As a published multi-medium artist, Martice shares her passion as an educator and design team member for multiple manufacturers, where her tutorial topics range from merging traditional art with digital techniques, to fashion illustration, to creative hand-lettering and more.

Martice is committed to helping you create + live your most soulful, wildest + colorful dreams…to the maxx! Discover more tutorials on her blog and join her colorful museletter

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Filed Under: Mixed Media Techniques Tagged With: , , ,
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