The Aviary: Mixed Media Monday

Happy Monday bloggie friends, Norma G. here to share a little Mixed Media Fun with you!

I hope you a super fun weekend!! Mine was great because I had a chance to get back in the studio and paint. It's been awhile since I've done a canvas or at least it felt like it anyway, lol.

So today I have a very special 12x12 canvas to share with you. I did this canvas in remembrance of my mother so it was a very emotional process and I hope you like the result.

The inspiration for this piece was this beautiful photo I found of my mother smelling a gorgeous bouquet of red roses. Initially I knew I wanted to use an old photo for my canvas so I started digging through the box of photos that I inherited when my mother passed many years ago. I was looking for old black and white photos to transfer onto my canvas but this photo really caught my eye and so it was settled; this would be focal image.

I started out by layering my favorite shades of pinks, reds and blues to the canvas then I attempted to transfer my image. I say "attempted" because as you can see, I wasn't very successful. I tried a new transfer technique using Golden Fluid Matte Medium and I missed a step along the way. The technique I usually use is with Regular Gel Matte but I wanted to try something new. The wonderful thing about art (especially mixed media) is that it doesn't have to be perfect so I pressed on. I added some joint tape (that's what the tape with the little circles is) then some more layers of paint.

Since my image didn't transfer completely, I decided to use a second copy. (I should mention that both images were copied using a laser printer and regular copy paper.) I cut my image out and adhered it to the canvas. Next I sprayed a thin coat of Fixatif to seal my canvas, this allows me to continue working on the canvas without smearing any of the water soluble layers. Since my image is black and white, I added color using Tim Holtz Distress Markers. I added some color to the dress, cheeks, lips and roses.

From here I added layers using the Paper Wings Productions Melange Women and Bird Melange sets. I stamped Diana and an angel onto cream colored cardstock, colored them in with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut and attached to the canvas. I also stamped a sentiment from the Bird Melange set directly onto my canvas.

I added a second angel watching over my mother and crown from the Royal Melange Stamp Set.

I stamped a bird from the Bird Lyrics Stamp Set directly onto the canvas and outlined it with a white gel pen to add some definition to the image.

To balance out my composition, I added some doodling and corrugated hearts. I applied some paint to bring out the texture of the cardboard and added butterfly wings from the Wings Stamp Set.

Here's a nice side view of the completed canvas.

I hand wrote "always Remember" with India ink and a white gel pen; and with that I was done. Completing this canvas was a real journey for me. At one point I had to just stop and walk away but I'm so glad that I did it. Art is such a wonderful way to express what we can't always get out with words.

Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope I've inspired you get those paints, inks, photos and stamps out to create something from your heart. If you're interested in learning more about a particular technique I've used, just let us know so we can include it in an upcoming edition of Tutorial Tuesday.

Have a Wonderful Day and don't forget to join us on Wednesday. Amber will be here to share a new project with you for What's Up Wednesday!!

Until Next Time :D