Tag: tutorial how to

DIY Encaustic Tools and Painting

Posted on by Faith

Awhile ago I did an encaustic mixed media piece created with Crayola and acrylic paint. Though I liked the way it turned out I thought it might be even better toned down a bit. I decided to go back and make it less abstract. The first step was to gather all my tools.

DIY Encaustic Art Tools

All you need is above and they are easy to acquire, household tools I used to melt wax and crayons for encaustic art. Since these are household used in encaustic painting, you will have to be careful to monitor the heat.

  1. Small glass jar or empty aluminum tea candle
  2. Coffee mug warmer or tea candle oil warmer
  3. Crafting iron
  4. Toothpick or small scraper such as clay tools
  5. Wax paper or Parchment paper

With those basics I was able to warm blues and greens then smooth them over the crafted canvas.

.Dollar Tree oil/wax burner .Small glass bottle of Crayola melted crayon

I mentioned in the original entry that the painting is on Viva Paper towels. Let me explain; the paper towels were layered with wax then gesso and Mod Podge until I had a nice surface. Continue reading “DIY Encaustic Tools and Painting”

Copyright Revisited

Posted on by Faith

Well, Facebook is going to close the account I’ve been using for quite some time because I won’t upload ID to them, however, I’ve had a second FB account since around 2015 that has been unused for months. I went ahead and transferred friends and groups to the 2015 account. Lets hope this is enough to satisfy FB because I don’t have a 3rd account. If FB decides to close down the 2015 account then I’m off FB for good. As I changed things over, a copyright issue came up.

I made a girl mad because I told her she can’t put my art on her blog without written permission and a small user fee. She said she gave proper credit. I said, the art says All Rights Reserved. She thought I was upset with her and said it’s not like we’re talking about Monet. I ignored her snark. She told me it was exposure. She used that word exposure as if somehow that word makes everything better. My eye is twitching right now. lol

Question. Would you be okay if a random company took your FB photo or a photo of your kid you put on your FB page and put it in their ads without telling you? You let them know that you’re in business and that using your image for free is against your long stated policies. They say they can use it because they found it on the internet. Continue reading “Copyright Revisited”

Room Divider Art Display and My Own Infomercial

Posted on by Faith

So you have a room divider meant for family photos but you’d rather do something artsy with it, try filling the spaces with original art. In my room divider I’ve added such original works as the encaustic mixed media painting called “Fall Tree“. Beautiful blues are displayed acrylic painting in “Abstract Waves“. I’ve also showcased original watercolor paintings such as”Rich” and “Hush Be Still“.

Living room 2017

Can you spot “Bruised Reed II” or the painting “She Flows”?

Room Divider Art Display
Room Divider Art Display

I’ve fallen in love with “Blue Wonder” and “Altered #7” so I framed them until they find a permanent place to live. Also on the wall is “Landfall II” , “Purple Tree” and my favorite painting of all time, “Little White Dress.” Little White Dress is digital art created forever ago with my computer mouse.

The below gallery shows a few paintings up close. In a different entry I’ll discuss and show better images of the painting “Nesting Place,” a beautiful orange, gold and turquoise painting of birds and flowers. You can spot it here on top of “Nesting Place II”  Continue reading “Room Divider Art Display and My Own Infomercial”

How to Remove Unwanted Embellishments and Stickers

Posted on by Faith

What if you like a painting but you don’t want it mounted on the board or you wish to remove an embellishment on an art piece? Well, let me tell you how.

Blues GardenLet’s start with this painting as an example. This is called Blues Garden. The painting is an emotional art therapy piece created in blue, gray and rose, with a wash. I’ve drawn a young woman with her head to the side and several flowers around her. I do like this painting, especially framed, but I have mixed feelings concerning the largest sunflower at the bottom. First of all, I put it there because to hide the words “No Peace” written in white crayon.

Lets say a buyer likes the art, but too has reservations about the sunflower. Well, lets show how to remove it.

Before you begin, you must figure out if the embellishment has been given a permanent seal or is raw such as the sunflower in the painting Blues Garden. Some embellishments, dye cuts, stickers and additions look best without a seal and are on the final art piece in their raw, natural form. Other additions have an obvious finish. You should not attempt to remove these as it will tear the image.  Continue reading “How to Remove Unwanted Embellishments and Stickers”

The Reconstruction of Sundrip

Posted on by Faith

There is a lot of restructuring to do as it relates to art made available for sale. There is a lot of work involved in just getting art on the net. It needs to be photographed or scanned then filed in individual folders. After that I have to resize, crop to show detail and mark them as the exclusive property of Sundrip. Then each painting has to be uploaded to my Etsy shop with appropriate categories and keywords. This can be a long and tedious process.

While I lay in this very spot for several months it occurred to me that art should be signed and sealed before it even hits the net. I should have pre-cut mounting boards and stabilizing cardboard. It would also be in my best interest to standardize art sizes. I was good for painting on just about any surface but that complicated things for me. If I stick to standard sizes for pre-cut boards I think that will be a great help in getting orders out faster.
And dang it, I need a stapler! I keep saying I prefer not to use one but I’m gettin’ me a stapler, now dang it!!

Continue reading “The Reconstruction of Sundrip”

Recycled Ornaments

Posted on by Faith

I ran across some small ornaments that I thought might be fun to paint. The original ornament is made of glass but with an adobe clay overlay, acrylic paints and water proof seal I was able to come up with a whole new look. The clay overlay strengthens the ornament making it harder to break which I like because I’m a bit clumsy sometimes.

How to:

Basically what I did was paint on the clay then I let it dry. I  painted on a base color, let that dry then added various layers of partially transparent acrylics. This let the base color come through but in different shades. The final color added was to the very top which was allowed to drip down the sides . What I didn’t do was spin the ornaments because that’s a less controlled technique. I wanted the colors to blend in places but not to have a spun appearance. I think dipping helps control the paint and lets it drip down nicely. Of course when you dip you’ve got build up at the bottom so just take a small cloth (not a napkin) and dab the bottom so that you don’t have that little drop of paint drying under the sphere. Once it’s dry spray it with a seal and dab the bottom the same as you did with excess paint. Viola, there’s your redesigned, up-cycled ornament.

Continue reading “Recycled Ornaments”

Square Box Junk Hiders

Posted on by Faith

They’re made of acrylic oil and saw dust on square wooden boxes. The “hiders” can also be arranged on the wall vertically or diagonally, matching edges as you want. I like to make large earth like wall collages out of them by matching up the browns to look like an island and the blues to appear as water. There’s no set way to place these squares.

To get a better idea of what the texture is please see the pieces called Rolling Hills, Out West and Three Oceans.

To create an abstract painting with sawdust follow these simple steps:

Items you’ll need:

Continue reading “Square Box Junk Hiders”