Mixed Media Art. Photography. Inspiration.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

New Painting : The Chemistry of Copper



So what happens when I get into my studio regularly?

1.  I'm way happier, calmer, and happier (yes, I know)
2.  The house stays a mess
3.  I don't care about the mess
and most importantly...
4.  ART GETS MADE!!


We need more of my art in our house, so I decided to do a painting for our den.  I grabbed this 12 x 36 inch canvas and went to town!  



I wish the photos would show the colors better.  It's mostly this gorgeous grey/green with copper and verdigris blue accents.  It has a soft metallic luster that's not too shimmery... it's just right.  And of course it has... what?.... LOTS of texture!


So just for fun... because I love seeing other artist's processes... here are photos I took with my phone during the process.

Just ignore my feet ;-)






I started by gluing a bunch of papers down.  The main paper I used is from a vintage CHEMISTRY book. 
 I don't remember what my original plan was, but I thought the paper would still show through.  Hmmm... maybe next time.

I added layers of paint and stamping and liked it, but I started covering it anyway... that's just how I roll ;-)





I recently found a bunch of my old faux finish products hiding out in our garage and decided to start using them before they go bad.  They are BEAUTIFUL (and expensive) products by a company called Faux Effects.  I started by troweling their product Lusterstone (the light color in the photo above) through a stencil, then onto the rest of the canvas.  

Then I started adding a darker color (made by mixing Metallic Silver Palette Deco with a few darker colors to make this gorgeous metallic grey/green), and troweled it through a honeycomb stencil.  I then troweled more of this mix onto the rest of the canvas.  I dipped a wet rag into this mix and rubbed a thin coat of it over the whole canvas to tone down the contrast (below).  I also added touches of a verdigris blue color.











The final touch was adding the copper stenciling (Lusterstone mixed with copper).
Voila!  A great art piece for our den made with products I had just laying around. 


While I was working on this I started another small canvas using these products... and guess what?  When it's done I'm going to have a lil' giveaway.  Just sayin ;-)
So stick around!


20 comments:

Lynn said...

Love it, Love It, love it - I just love copper and all its stages of colour - from the bright and shiney glow of just polished copper through to pieces with that verdigris look. Your den is going to look just fab. It must feel good to have put some of those older products to use again too:)

Salvatore Valentino said...

wonderful work and very interesting point of view! I like the content and how you managed the idea and materials! For a chemist this art work is precious!! Very good work!!

Mandy said...

Girl...i love it..it makes me smile...your feet in it crack me up..my feet are so ugly i always mske sure they are out of view..lucky you with nice feet...hee hee hee...xxx

Diane said...

How beautiful this is. Love the work in progress too, and how you didn't get too attached to it. That's a problem that I have--I don't like to keep going because I start to like the layers that I've made.

Daniele Valois said...

This is gorgeous! Texture is incredible.

Ms. Becky said...

I'm happy you showed the process because it's interesting to watch an artist at work and I'm always intrigued by the creative process. love your toes too. the painting is rich and fine. and would look great on my wall too... :-)
happy weekend to you.

Jenny said...

Love your gorgeous canvas Esther... and all the scrumptious texture... fab process pics too...

Jenny x

Single Stone Studios said...

So fun to see pics of your process! Loving that honeycomb shape. It's my favorite part :)

Kristin said...

Oh my goodness! TG! This is gorgeous! I LOVE the swirls and beautiful texture and patinas. Love the feet too - thanks for sharing the steps - it's beautiful! xoxox

Lisa Graham said...

That is gorgeous! I love all that texture. That kind of art is what I like to call "mature art". Good colors too.

Lesley Edmonds said...

I am very excited at the prospect of entering your giveaway haha!!

I'm so glad you showed your process - I love to see how artists 'do' their stuff.

This is great! Love the colours and the texture. It'll look amazing hung!

(wish I could ignore the mess!)

x

Daniele Valois said...

Thank you for the picture compliment. Really nice of you! I do look forward to your next painting!!!

Lisa Graham said...

Hello again! Thanks for dropping by today! What I mean by mature art is that to make abstracts like what you do look nice, I think there has to be some maturity and experience that goes along to make it appealing and flow. If I tried to do art like that it would look like a second grader did it...I simply don't have the experience. I really think your art is beautiful. : )

Jema said...

I am drawn to your artwork because of your texturing. I like how you just freely go with the process, layering, and layering again. Way to recycle too! Thanks so much for sharing your process.

Kristin said...

Thank you my friend!
I have been thinking about you a lot lately - hope you are happy and well - and have a lot of paint under your fingernails!!! xoxoxo

Anonymous said...

I like the feet in you pictures. Great step by step, and as usual beautiful finished work of art.
Cheers,
Leah

My Life Under the Bus said...

Yummy yummy texture! Love it!

Jester said...

It's beautiful, and so interesting to see all your creative stages.

Jester said...

P.S. They are beautiful feet!
Thanks for popping by.

Renee Troy said...

The copper made all the difference. I so relate to your art. You are a kindred spirit.
R