Positively Trying New Techniques, Face 13-17

29 Faces is about trying new things, and this piece is all about that.  Here are the steps that I took to create Faces 13-17.

Step 1: On a canvas board, I sketched the faces and scene.

Step 2:  Using old atlases, I used gel medium to collage grass.

Step 3:  Modeling paste and a stencil help to add texture to the cat.  Note to self, be sure to clean off mist spray before reusing stencils.  The cat has a chartreuse coloured body for now. 

Step 4:  Flowers are collaged on after drawing and cutting them from old atlas pages.

Step 5:  Acrylic paint assists me to paint this little house.  The three windows on the second floor would be where my art studio would be if I lived in this house!  The house in the photos looks red, but it is more of a pinky-orange.

Step 6:  Paving stones are cut out, again using old atlas maps, and then collaged onto the path.

Step 7:  I decide to add dimensional fabric paint as grout for the stones on the path.  I also add a few details to the flowers.

Step 8:  Using pages from the Nancy Drew book that I have turned into a journal, I collaged around the trees, house and cat to make the background.

Step 9 and 10:  Using British Columbia atlas pages, I create the trunks and branches of the trees and begin to frame the faces in the trees. I also use acrylic paint to make the sky.  Today's sky looked somewhat like this, mare's tails and wind.

Step 11:  Next I cut little leaves out of Quebec atlas pages and collaged them.  I also added a bush to the front of the house.

A close up:

Step 12:  Now the tricky part, painting the faces and adding paint to the trees to add cohesion and human qualities and bark.

Step 13: Creating the face behind the cat on the tree with paint.  It sort of looks like she has a cape.  

Step 14:  This is my favourite face, besides the cat. It went very smoothly and only took me one try!   Hallelujah!  I like the way it looks like it is part of the clouds.

Step 15:  The tree face next to the house is completed.  Now that I look at it closely, it sort of looks like me. Weird, huh?

Step 16:  Deciding what colour to paint the cat, my first cat in acrylics, was the hard part.  I decided to use colours of my cat, Painted Smile, the cat I drew yesterday.  I was originally going to paint the drawing I did of her yesterday, but decided I liked it with pencil, so today I thought I should be brave and try to paint a cat.  I used shades of grey, mixing white, blue and a smidge of black.  I added blue highlights, red and pinky orange colours to connect the cat to the sky, house, flowers, rocks and trees.

Step 17:  Finishing touches to the house are added.  I decide that I don't like the the blue window panes, and paint them white.  I use a white gel pen to add shingles to the roof, and curly-cues to the front of the house. Lattice is painted, stained glass details are added with a Sharpie and a door knob in silver.  Steps to the house are painted.

Step 18:  The flowers are outlined with dimensional fabric paint to add texture and shine. The cat's eyes are tweaked, too.

Step 19:  A butterfly and a few purple flowers are added using an old map from Montana.

Step 20:   A few touch ups here and there.

Step 21:  Deciding enough is enough before something goes wrong and trying to take a clear photo of the finished picture, I declared this picture finished!