Andy Skinner: BIRD OF HOPE ... THERE'S ALWAYS HOPE

Hello all of you mixed media art lovers!

Exciting News! Andy recently had a brand new release with Creative Expressions. In this release are fabulous brand new stamp and stencils that I could not wait to share with you!

I was very pleased with the way this 8" x 10" canvas board finished out. This could just as easily been an art journal page. I love the lush vivid colors of Andy's Cosmic Shimmer Artist Pigment Paints through Creative Expressions. They really work well to cover any surface and blend beautifully.

I began by using a large palette knife and covering the canvas board with White Gesso. I heat set that and then dropped several random dots of Andy's Cosmic Shimmer Primary Yellow and Primary Blue Artist Pigment Paints on the canvas. I spread the paints with a roller and then heat set the paint. I has some random spots of paint on the canvas so that is what you might see bleeding through the yellow and blue.

I combined Andy's Cosmic Shimmer Primary Magenta with an acrylic Titanium White paint to make a pretty shade of bright pink. Then, using a straight edge (if doesn't matter what type of straight edge you use), I basically stamped the straight edge into the paint and then randomly pressed it onto the canvas. I then spritzed the stamped paint with water and stood the canvas board upright so that the paint would run down the canvas. You can control the amount of drippage by tilting the canvas up or laying it flat and heat setting the watery paint. I also repeated this process using the Titanium White acrylic paint and a library card edge that I just ripped to create a smaller straight edge.

Upon completion of randomly straight edge stamping the canvas, I began adding little strips of fabric using Matte Medium to glue them in place. Matte Medium dries clear and also seals the fabric in place. I love the mix of textures and pattern that the fabric provides!

Next I added half of a square doily to the canvas. I really love the contrast that the white doily provides as well as yet another layer of texture and pattern. This was also applied to the canvas board using Matte Medium and a brush. Heat set to dry.

Layers! Layers! Layers!

Next I added two of Andy's new stamps from Creative Expressions! I LOVE THEM! The first was stamped with a bright magenta permanent ink. This stamp is called "Circle of Thorns". Then I stamped over it using Stream Adriondak Earthtones Permanent Ink and Andy's Mandala Stamp. I liked the way it looked but I wanted the Mandala stamp to have more of a WOW factor on the colored area of the canvas.

So, I restamped the Mandala Stamp over the first stamping using Embossing Ink and then sprinkled Andy's beautiful Funky Cold Patina Embossing Powder from Creative Expressions over the top of the stamp. I heat set it and WOW! I got that pop I was looking for!

I repeated this over all three of the Mandala stamps and added a circle rhinestone to the center of each using Andy's Quick Grab Glue from Creative Expressions.

Next I added even more layers of paint by stamping Andy's new Pebble Beach into some Titanium White acrylic paint that was spread onto my craft sheet (like an ink pad). This stamp was randomly added over portions of the canvas. I love the white over the color that still is able to peek through! Heat set and be sure to immediately wash off your stamp to remove the paint!

Next layer includes a new and beautiful 6" x 6" dotted bird stencil from Andy and Creative Expressions called "Fly Free"! I taped the stencil in place on the canvas and first stippled a layer of White Gesso to give me a white background to work with for the bird. I let that air dry. Then I added a layer of Cosmic Shimmer's Primary Yellow over the White Gesso. I removed the stencil and immediately washed it off to remove the dried gesso and paint. Then I let the bird completely air dry. Next I added Glossy Crackle (like Glossy Accents) over each of the dots on the bird to give it some "lift" and more definition. I noticed that some of the pink paint underneath bled through the yellow dots but I actually LOVE IT!

Here is a picture of just the bird stencil right after I added the Glossy Crackle to each dot.

Just for fun, I used Andy's Cosmic Shimmers paint bottle lid to add some circles to the canvas. This is fun an easy to do. Just pour a tiny bit of paint out of the bottle and spread it around with your finger. Dip the lid into the paint and then stamp it randomly onto the canvas area. I also did this with black paint. And I added more little straight edges in black randomly onto the canvas as I was preparing to add a black stamp...

I love the simplicity of this stamp. It's also one of Andy's new stamps from Creative Expressions and called "First Class". I added the words "There's Always" above the stamp using a black permanent marker.

Finally, I did some black marker work around the bird to better define him. I used a Graphite Pencil and a small water brush to add shadowing around the bird and blend it out onto the canvas. To frame the canvas, I dipped my finger into Black Acrylic Paint and ran my finger along the edges of the canvas to provide a border and pull everything together.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and you've learned something new. In these times, this canvas is a reminder that there is ALWAYS HOPE! Stay safe everyone!

Thanks so much for joining me here on Andy's Creative Team Blog! Now I'd like to provide you with a list of the supplies I used so you can have a play with this type of mixed media.