Andy Skinner: THE MIDNIGHT RIDERS- by Candy Colwell

It's Here!!!

Andy's NEW August Release is here and you're going to LOVE all of the new products from Creative Expressions.

This spooky scene was created on an 11 3/4" x 5 3/4" canvas. It features many of Andy's new Mixed Media Transfers, Stamps and other mediums. So sit back and we'll go through the steps of this Halloween Creation I call "The Midnight Riders".

Here is just a sampling of Andy's new stamps that I used on this piece: Skeleton of a Horse, Pray and Imperial Rover from Andy's first release. I stamped these images onto Specialty Stamping Paper (you can also use heavy weight cardstock) with Permanent Black Ink and heat set them. Then I fussy cut the horse and several of the skeletons so I could cut the elbow and knee joints and reposition the arms and legs to fit the activity I had in mind for my skeletons.

I completely covered the canvas with dictionary pages using Matte Medium on the canvas and then again over the canvas to seal it. I used a brush to apply the Matte Medium and then heat set it in place. Next, brushed some of Andy's NEW Cosmic Shimmer Lava Paste from his first release onto the canvas and brayered over it to produce a very cool texture similar to tree bark. Then I heat set to dry it.

Now the canvas looks like this; full of wonderful texture and that luscious vintage text peeking through.

Using a combination of acrylic paints, water and a brush; I colorized the canvas with spooky purple and orange tones. I painted the sides of the canvas with black paint and ran my finger dipped in black paint along the top edges of the canvas to "frame" everything in place.

On the left side of the canvas, I used smaller brushes to create a spooky old tree and some bats flying around. Some of those bats would later be transformed into sinister skeleton heads flying around thanks to Andy's NEW Transfer Sheet.

Using Permanent Black Ink, I stamped Andy's Grunge Wallpaper stamp from his first release onto a piece of white tissue paper and tore it into sections that I then glued onto the sky area of the canvas with Matte Medium. This made the sky darker and more eerie. The white tissue blends into the canvas so that you cannot see it at all: a perfect way to add details onto textured surfaces!

I die cut this section of fence using TIm Holtz Grunge Board and gave it a basecoat of Cosmic Shimmer Lava Paste. I heat set it to give a lot of funky texture. Then I brushed over the fence with Andy's NEW Creative Expressions Strata Paste: a thick textural paste with what looks like Mica Flakes in it. This also gives a whole other look to your textured pieces! This was then painted with an off white acrylic basecoat followed by an almost dry brush effect Burnt Umber acrylic paint for aging. I then added some light gray acrylic paint dry brushed on the fence and also added to the tops of the fence. Next was a light coat of a dark green acrylic paint to represent old, musty moss growing on the fence. You can see the finished fence in other pictures.

As I said, I fussy cut the horse, bicycle and skeletons. The skeletons elbow and knee joints were cut apart and repositioned for them to be riding a horse and also riding a bike. I found another little witch hat stamp I used to put on their heads and added some stripped black crepe paper coming out of the top of their hats. I added a black pole and "The Witching Hour" banner thanks to Andy's NEW Transfer Sheet! I painted inside the bike wheels to better blend them into the background. Aren't these skeletons just hilarious?

I also die cut some grave stones out of Grunge Board. They were painted with the Strata Paste and heat set. Once dry, I painted them with Acrylic Black Paint followed by a dry brush of a lighter grey paint. They look like creepy old stone headstones. The tree was also highlighted with a lighter grey acrylic paint and a knothole was added in the trunk of the tree.

Finally, I glued all of the pieces in place using Andy's NEW Creative Expressions Cosmic Shimmer Quick Grip Glue. It's awesome stuff and dries clear!

FInally, I added the skeleton bodies to three of the flying bats. The pumpkins along the fence are from Andy's NEW Transfer Page, too! The skeleton heads are from his Alchemy Plus Transfer Pages from his first release. But, instead of using them as transfers, I scanned them, sized them to my canvas design and printed them out on heavy weight cardstock. Then I colored the pumpkins (with colored pencil)s and cut them out as well as the skeleton heads and glued them in place. I think they are so cool and really finish this spooky "Midnight Riders" canvas perfectly! Here you can also notice the mossy old fence sticking out from the canvas by little stacks of adhesive pop dots.

Andy's new line of products through Creative Expressions is super fun and innovative! Be sure to check them out!