Sunday 30 December 2012

A Perk Me Up Project!!!

Christmas day seems ages ago now and apart from a few poorly sick people (me included) Christmas Day was magical. There were 13 of us this year and we all descended upon Kelly, my oldest daughter, as she has the biggest house. The children were all so excited on Christmas Eve and Amillie who is four was probably the most excited but sadly on Christmas day she was not feeling at all well. She would perk up after every dose of medicine and then slowly go downhill and have another snooze, I felt so sad for her as she is the one who makes the most of everything. I am glad to report that she is now much better and it's just me that has been feeling rubbish ever since. I got so fed up with just sitting around, I decided to head out to my studio and make something just for the sake of it.....no deadline....no theme....just pure self indulgence. It took best part of three days to complete but it was so nice to just sit and fiddle around.


This project was all about the paint, Fresco Finish paint. I started by covering a canvas with some 12x12 scrapbooking paper, making a bit of a collage which I stuck down using Claudine Hellmuth's Matt Medium.

 
Then I started adding layers of paint. The trick of course is to actually see through the paint so that you can still see some of the paper below so after adding my first layers of Fresco Finish paint which had been watered down, I dried it thoroughly and pasted a thin layer of matt medium over the whole thing. this seals everything underneath the matt medium and protects the paper. After all, paper is not really designed to withstand the many layers of wet paint, so a gentle helping hand is always a good idea. The other bonus to doing this is that you can always wipe back to this layer if need be.


I'm a little bit in love with big foam stamps at the moment as they are fantastic for adding interesting layers. I used two different ones here, one giant leafy one that I got from Leandra at Paperartsy and the other one is a Donna Downey one. I applied some Honey Dew Fresco Finish paint to the stamp with some cut'n'dry foam and printed it on top of the matt medium along with some stencilled images too. When dry, more layers of paint were added, this time I used a baby wipe to apply my paint, that way, I get nice, splodgy patterns.

Now for the embellishments. This was one of those white and very pretty windows by Prima and one of Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts as a window sill. I painted it with Chocolate Pudding Fresco and added some Classic Treasure Gold for highlights. The image is a Lynne Perrella one (LP008) and I coloured this with my trusty Prismacolor pencils.


Another Lynne Perrella image, this one is from LP004




The main image here is from LP001 and is one of my favourite Lynne Perrella images.

I hope you can see the texture on this arch (the arch kit is by 7 Gypsies and the trim at the bottom by Tando Creative) it was achieved with another old favourite.... Ferro which I applied with a palette knife. I then sprayed it with some Fresco paint that I watered down in a spray bottle and sprayed over the texture. When dry, I rubbed some Classic and Spanish Copper Treasure Gold over the high points. If you haven't got any Treasure Gold yet, you need to get some of this stuff, it's a seriously amazing product!!! I use it on everything, it makes everything look rich and luscious.



The doors had the Ferro treatment too, only this time the Ferro was scraped through a stencil before all the paint was applied.

 
 
And finally, the bits'n'bobs that add those finishing touches to a project. This is the bit that I find the most time consuming, searching for the right items that look balanced and work well together.


I really enjoyed making this piece, I just need to go and tidy up the mess that I made in the process!! In case I am not back here before the end of the year, I would just like to wish each and everyone of you a very happy and creative new year.

Lin x

27 comments:

Viv said...

Fabulous project. Sometimes think I spend more time looking for bits to finish stuff than actually making - have been sat here looking at a half finished canvas for two days! Happy New Year

Anonymous said...

Ooooh Lin -- it made me gasp! I'm just off to make a late lunch and looked at my mail in passing -- found this wonderful piece you've been working on. Wish I were a fly on the wall, hoveing and watching all the time. Truly gorgeous. Happy New Year!!! Lots of love - Missie Sally xoxo

Helen said...

That is so lovely, Lin! Sorry you had a grotty Christmas but glad you're all on the mend now. Luckily so far I have avoided the colds and sickness that seems to be doing the rounds! Happy New Year to you and Mark.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful piece of art.
Lovely colours and your finishing touches are stunning as ever.
I wish you a happy, healthy and creative New Year.
Margriet

Trish said...

A wonderful piece of art Lin.
I hope you feel better soon, and Happy New Year!

Linda M. Cain said...

Love it!!!!!!

Kath Stewart said...

absolutely stunning Lin but I can image the debris that was left behind after creating such a masterpiece...hope you feel better soon...happy new year when it comes...hugs kath xxx

Ann B said...

Beautiful work of art, and isn't it good to have a good play, especially after days of food and family. I have been watching Leandra's videos on Fresco Finish paints and I clearly need lots more - and some Treasure Gold. Well you have to spend your Christmas money on something.
Ann B
Xx

Daniele said...

such a wonderful project, so many layers of paint to create this masterpiece
happy new year to you and your family
hugs

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Gorgeous project, love every detail. Happy New Year, Shirley

Anonymous said...

Lin, this is truly amazing. And so, so beautiful. A very happy New Year to you & all the family.

Rebecca said...

Gorgeous work
Happy craftin
Rebecca

Lin said...

Love love love this Lin!! so many lovely colours and textures..do we see a class coming from this??

Hope you are felling better now and that Amillie is fully recovered.

wishing you and Mark a happy new year!!

see you soon
Lin xx

Scrumplescrunch said...

Hello Lin
This is just gorgeous and I am feasting my eyes constantly on all the details. Oh how I would enjoy spending three days making something so beautiful, I am so inspired.
The colour palette is soft and warm, and the texture makes me want to touch the screen.
Thank you for all the details on how you made this, many of the products are new to me so that was interesting in itself.
Hope you are feeling better now, and I wish you all the best for 2013.
Smiles:)
Sue

Astrid Maclean said...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! Stunning project!. Those stamps are out of this world!

finnella03 said...

Happy New Year Lin and family, hope you are better soon and glad you had a nice Christmas.
Love the project and thanks for the steps so I can have a go at making something similar. Will have to have a go after work tomorrow.

Rachel

Jean said...

This is so beautiful, I love the gorgeous colours and all the fabulous details and embellishments. Jean x

Gillian .... said...

Sorry you were feeling ickky over xmas (hope the hot toddy worked)! Lin this is soooo beautiful, love the layers of paint,textures and wonderful images. This really is a feast for the eyes. xx

Brenda Brown said...

Wonderful results from your playtime Lin and thanks for sharing all the steps. Hope you feel better very soon.
Wishing you and your family a very happy new year and everything you would wish for yourselves.
hugs {brenda} xox

PeggyR said...

Love the project. Hope you have a wonderful new year.

Anne Essex said...

Simply gorgeous. I want to try the idea of painting over scrapbook papers in my new journal.

Laura Spano said...

Once in a while, I remember to go down my reading list and WOW- this project caught my eye immmediately. Not only is the project gorgeous and inspiring, but you provided a tutorial. I love all the layers and dimensions. Thank you for showing your process- gorgeous!

Kate Yetter said...

This is stunning!! Thank you for sharing all the details of your project. You have inspired me to start layering more paint! Amazing work!!

Michelle Webb said...

Lin this project is astounding! really, so much detail, so much to feast your eyes upon. I love it all, all the rusty bits, all the texture and of course all the layers. Really love the stamps too of course. Michelle x

annemarks said...

I love this project. Thanks for the details of how you did all the layers which is very useful info to me as I am new to acrylics. Thanks for the inspiration :)

Sophie said...

Mein Gott, Lin...
Was für wunderbare Arbeiten.
Du bist eine wahre Meisterin für die Perrella-Stempel.
Ich habe noch nie so wunderbare, fantastische und kostbar aussehende Kreationen gesehen.
Unglaublich schön.
Danke für die herrlichen Anregungen.
Ich bewundere deine Kunst und Fantasie.
Herzlichst Sophie

WendyK said...

Wonderful canvas Lin, just love all the details and textures. The colours are yummy as well.