Mixed Media Art. Photography. Inspiration.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Turquoise Crackle Bird Collage


Hi there.  I've got a fun little collage to show you.  It has tons of texture, turquoise, AND a bird.  How could you go wrong with that combo?!

It was a gift for my blog friend Mandy.  She won a drawing I had a little while back and I was so happy that she won.  She was with me from the very beginning of my blog and ever since then she's been one of my biggest cheerleaders.  I wanted to reward her with more than just the 4 greeting cards that she won, so I made this little birdie collage especially for her.  


I had enlarged and then printed out parts of my "Branching Out" painting onto watercolor paper for another project and had some left over.  I thought that it would be the perfect base to start a collage.  I glued down a small strip of a vintage dictionary page across the background.  I then drew out the bird silhouette onto paper and cut it out, then brushed Distress crackle paint onto it and set it aside to dry.  

What is that pretty strip of scalloped goodness going across the center you ask?  Sometimes I wipe excess paint from brush onto an index card, and if I like how it looks when it's all covered in paint I keep it to use in a collage.  Quite a while back after one was all covered and gritty with dark metallic grey and turquoise paint I used it to test out a new border punch that I bought.  I loved how it looked with the paint splotches so I put it aside in my scrap box to use later on a project.  I knew it would be perfect for this.



After that was glued down, I tinted heavy gel medium a dark metallic grey, then I troweled it through a stencil. The photo below was taken with my iphone while the gel was still wet to see where to place the bird.  It was a bit too busy so I wiped some of the stenciled gel away before it dried.  Then I glued down the bird, added a bit of paint here and there over the back ground bits and outlined the bird to make it stand out more.  Phew.  Done!

I'm linking up with Paint Party Friday for the first time!!  I've been wanting to join in the fun but haven't been able to until now.  Whatever shall I wear? ;-)  If you'd like to join in with your own paint projects or just see what everyone's doing what click on the link above.  See you there!




28 comments:

Unknown said...

Fabulous work! Love the turquoise!!

Mandy said...

What to wear lol...the beauty is....you can wear anything...even your jammies ...thanks so much esther ..i love my wonderful gifts..you are a wonderful artist and a wonderful friend...xxx

Anne Manda said...

Beautiful collage, I especially like the colors and the decorative strip! :))

Anonymous said...

Oooh, lucky Mandy! This collage is just stunning Esther!

Diane said...

Extremely cool--I love it!!

Peggy Parker said...

Love your collage - lots of movement and interest!

Lesley Edmonds said...

Oooo GORGEOUS!!!!! Love it!! How's your foot now?
x

Lisa Graham said...

Hi Esther,
you are so good at texturizing your pieces. I am so partial to nature and this piece is really lovely.

Daniele Valois said...

ok, gorgeous. really really really gorgeous!

Deb Ammerman said...

Wow, this is fantastic. I have some crackle stuff, but I have yet to try it... I guess I am a little intimidated by it, one of these days I will get up the courage. Love the colors and your composition is wonderful! :)

Catherine Denton said...

Oh I love this! Turquoise has to be one of my favorite colors and all your texture is delicious.

P.S. Your signature link worked!! YAY. *throws confetti*

Christine said...

lovely collage!

Abela said...

I liked the collage, I saw it on the blog of Mandy, and thanks to the translator, I thought she did it. Saludos

Anonymous said...

You are so right E...you can't go wrong with texture, turquoise and a bird.
Stunning work as usual. I love everything you do, and though I lack your talent and wide range of art supplies I have never heard of, you have inspired me to, from time to time, dabble with some gesso, textured paper, paints, and stamps.
Cheers,
Leah

Carol said...

Totally cool!!!! Love it!

jgr said...

Hi E,
Thank you for your comment today, I'm glad to discover you and your lovely art! Texture and turquoise are an awesome combo. I'm sure Mandy is happy to have such a treasure.

wandamarie.blogspot.com said...

you brought a big smile to my face esther! thank you so much.
i perused around all over here and love your work too! and you do have a looseness along with control, something that sweet lady jgr up there told me one time...haven't been able to say that to anyone till now :) i like your textures and your performance! annnd, i see you've taken julie prichard's class...she has helped me grow soooo much! annnd, LOVE it that your husband brought you home smashed copper!!!

Anonymous said...

Love the colors and all that juicy texture! Fabulous piece. Happy PPF! :-)

DVArtist said...

Nothing like a Turquoise bird to brighten the day. This is awesome!!
Love the crackle paint.
Nicole/Beadwright

Maria Ontiveros said...

Awesome texture, and I love the text print.
Rinda

Crystal said...

Beautiful textural piece! :-)

Thespoena McLaughlin said...

I love all the layers and textures you've got going there. Hugs!

carlarey said...

Wow...this is so beautiful. All the layers just make you want to stare and stare at it.

Jen @Sadie Inspired said...

Such great texture!! Turquoise, texture, and birds - how can you go wrong? I love it.

Lisabella Russo said...

I love the colors and the dynamic motion, wonderful! Happy PPF.

Kristin said...

I LOVE IT!!! I saw it on Mandy's site and was wowed! LOVE the blue crackle so very much it hurts ;) BRAVO! xoxo

sharon said...

Gorgeous collage, and my favorite combo, turquoise and birds!
Thanks for your visit and kind words!

Deb Ammerman said...

I finally got up the nerve to use the crackle, and it turned out great! See "Trust the Creator" on my blog. I was a little nervous at first, what if it spoiled all the work I had done, but I took a chance, and it turned out just fine! Thanks for the encouragement and support! Did you try a zentangle doodle thing yet? ;)