This was one of those projects where I had no idea at the start where I was going with it other than it was going to involve Black ExpandIT! I took a 20 x 20 cm (8" x 8") piece of wood backed canvas and covered it with a thin layer of black gesso. I then added some Magenta and Yellow acrylic paints in patches and streaks for contrast.
When these were dry, I used a technique that I learnt from artist Seth Apter: Painting on to pieces of paper and using these to transfer the paint on to the main piece: It leaves a very textured layer without covering what is underneath. I started with white gesso to brighten the piece.
Then, using the same technique, I added back more colour:
With the depth of layers built up I felt it was ready to add the ExpandIT so I stencilled some on in random places around the edge.
Once this was heated and puffed up I decided to add more contrast again. In mixed media you can't have too many layers so I used a sponge and stencil to add more white gesso around the edges and, for a focal point, I used DesignIT paste in Glossy White spread through another stencil.
Back to black! I shadowed the stenciled letters with a black pen. and used a different part of the stencil to add more ExpandIT. You can see in this photo the 'before' and 'after' of heating to expand the paste.
Finally, to balance the bright white in the centre, I added yet more stencilling and palette knife marks using the Glossy White DesignIT paste. I'm not sure that I won't add more embellishment to this piece at some point but I am going to call it done for now. I love the depth, as you can see through all the different layers, and the different textures given by the ExpndIT and DesignIT paste.
Thanks for stopping by today.
Karen
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So much to love here...especially all that texture.
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