Monday, July 15, 2013

I believe in Angels.....Mixed Media Wall Art



Hello Friends,
Well I finally did it....I faced my "fears" and have been working on a Mixed Media Wall Art piece for my bedroom over the past few days.  I recently purchased a new turquoise quilt (with green stitching) for my bedroom and when I saw the colors for this weeks Mixed Media Color Challenge #3 I knew I would make a "FAMILY" piece to hang in my room.  Here is the inspiration photo:




For me this became a very personal piece representing our family. Our beloved "Papa Stuart" is represented with a pair of glittery wings way up in the sky and the saying..."I believe in Angels!".  Today marks 1 year and 5 months since he passed away from brain cancer.   When someone who is such a huge part of your life is no longer present it changes absolutely everything!!  I hope that the personal nature of my post doesn't bother anyone.  For me making this type of mixed media canvas is very personal and therapeutic.  These past 3 years have truly been the hardest of our lives as we journeyed through cancer with him and lost him in February of 2012.  I thank each and every one of you that has offered support to me and my son when I have shared some of the things he is going through and that we have had to face together. Your warmth, kindness and empathy are truly a blessing to me!

Here are some process photos of my canvas - you can skip to the end if you are not interested... : )
 Getting started was the hardest part....all that white space staring up at me. (In hindsight I wish I had gessoed a bunch of background papers to the canvas to get it started and then painted over them before adding my house etc.

 After creating my house from patterned paper and the fence from a die I decided to work on the sky.
I started with some cheese cloth at the top of my canvas and over-layed it with die cut clouds.


 Here you can see that I have added a tree made from tissue paper and some green cardstock leaves that I had trimmed by hand from some stamped cardstock.    I have also added gesso and some brown, aqua, and green paints with my finger and paintbrushes to several areas to begin to create dimension.  A scalloped border helps to define the roof of the house more. 
 This photo shows how I have added some roses with dimensional paste as well as some stamping using the chicken wire distressing stamp created by Mona for MFT.  I have also used some Glitz roller stamps and started adding some rub-ons too.


 

I couldn't find an angel charm or my stash of tiny silk wings in my stash last night so I hand-cut a tiny pair of angel wings to represent my sweet husband Stu as I know that he is watching over us in spirit.  I will probably change these out when I find them.

Here is Mama Bird watching over her eggs...next time I will distress the cheesecloth and color it before gessoing it!  Oops!  I need some PITT artist pens or something like them....
 I printed my sentiment on a piece of digital gingham paper because I couldn't find any stamps the right size for my canvas.  I smeared the word "where" when adding some gesso and aqua glimmer paint over the top today to seal the canvas one last time.  But really it is just distressed - right! :)
 Here is Papa Bird standing on the roof line of the house made out of buttons with some diamond Stickles added.  I may add some more shading to him as I think he still needs more dimension!
A close up of my "paste" roses.  I unfortunately don't have the right kind of "paint" markers yet for mixed media and couldn't draw in my flower between the roses because the aqua glitter paint by Martha Stewart still wasn't dry yet.  I opted to stop and take my pictures as I wanted to get this posted today.  I will finish the flower later tonight when I fix a few other shading/doodling issues.  My son's fever spiked again today to 103 degrees so we are headed to the Doctor this afternoon after a talk with the nurse.  He has been sick for 8 days now.....and Mommy is a wee bit on the worried side!



Thanks for taking a look at my first ever Mixed Media Canvas Wall Hanging.  I created a wired hanger from some trim I got at Michaels and hot flued it to the sides of my canvas so I can hang it.  I then added a beloved gingham bow to finish it off.

I learned SO SO much during this process.  I know what supplies I need to buy now and have a list of what NOT to do next time!!!!  LOL!  I made a lot of rookie "mistakes"....though there are truly no mistakes when playing at mixed media art from what I have observed on the You Tube videos I have watched!  It always comes together in the end - and most importantly it has meaning in my heart!

 I would love to hear what you think of my very first attempt at a canvas/wall art item!  I never think of myself as doing anything truly artistic with paint as I have family members who are very talented in this area.  I am more of a stick-figure girl myself with a lot of "crafty" in my heart.
 
Until next time...thanks so much for looking!
:) Jill

P.S.  The woman and boy pictured in the house's windows are my son and I.  They were hand cut from a roll of Prima Washi tape if you were wondering.....
 

17 comments:

  1. WOWZA Jill! What a terrific hanging! I love all the shimmery accents everywhere and textured background! Pure eye candy! Thank you so much for joining along with A Mixed Media Color Challenge!

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  2. Wow...Jill, this is just amazing! You are so talented and creative. Love it.

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  3. This is Amazing!!! Not sure if I have ever seen anything I like more in Mixed Media! So impressed!

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  4. This is Amazing!!! Not sure if I have ever seen anything I like more in Mixed Media! So impressed!

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  5. Just beautiful. I am sitting here thinking what a wonderful tribute to your hubby and love how you incorporated each of you in your piece! I have only done two so far, and just had a blast! You have inspired me to try one soon that I can incorporate my late hubby. I did tags in his memory and one of his mom too. I then sent a pair to my sil as she wanted a keepsake. Keep creating, my friend. You rock!

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  6. I think it's beautiful and so meaningful! You did a great job. I hope your son is okay. Thanks for stopping by my blog and isn't aqua just a soothing color!

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  7. What a lovely and meaningful mixed media project you created Jill! love all the textures, colors and materials you used here - this will be so beautiful hanging in your room with your new quilt - and it's such a lovely memorial to your husband Stuart!

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  8. This is SO beautiful, Jill! You did an awesome job! Love the colors and texture. And all the details are so wonderfully done. I know you will enjoy having this in your room--such a sweet remembrance of your husband. Hope your son starts feeling better and his temp gets back to normal soon.

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  9. Wow, this is really gorgeous! I love the step-by-step and the little touches you added everywhere. Definitely inspires me to want to create something like this now, too :)

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  10. I am in awe!!!! This is so gorgeous! I love how you and your son are pictured in the house! This is truly a work of heart!!! So many gorgeous elements in this wall art! I hope your son is feeling better. 8 days is a long time!

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  11. This is absolutely gorgeous. I hope you have a video up on youtube of it. And hopefully you will be doing a tutorial. TFS> ana

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  12. Over the top gorgeoussss!!! Loving every inch of this super creation, Jill! It's a winner!!! Take care and have a wonderful weekend, hugs1

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  13. OMG, OMG, OMG! Jill, this is so AMAZING! LOVE the meaning behind all of the details on your wall hanging. Jill, this is truly a masterpiece! Thx for playing with us at A Mixed Media Color Challenge!

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  14. What a stunning piece of art! I am sure you are very proud of it!

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  15. Jill - this is fantastic!! Love that you took photos throughout the process & this totally makes me want to get into a messy mixed media project. It is a beautiful, personalized wall hanging.

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  16. This is beautiful! I am so sorry about your DH....being a single parent can be rewarding but challenging! Glad you have your art & hobbies..so therapeutic! A lovely piece of work!

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Hello Friends! Thanks so very much for visiting Greenwood Girl Cards! I enjoy reading your comments!
Crafty Hugs,
: ) Jill