Art Journal Prompts: Week 07 - Fill Your Heart With.....

Good Afternoon All.

The prompt for this week was the phrase 'Fill Your Heart With.....'


I went for the quote:

"Fill Your Heart With What's Important And Be Done With All The Rest"

Like my Steampunk box that I did for the CROP challenge, I didn't want to go with something that was really bright and colourful for my heart sentiment so I went back to what I know which is dark and grungy.

One of my favourite Mixed Media artists Andy Skinner has done some amazing things with grungy hearts so took my lead from him to create this masterpiece:

It's got a really nice distressed background that looks like its been through the mill.  This and the crackled heart really I think go hand in hand with the quote that I used.

This weeks materials are:

Prima Heavy White Gesso
DecoArt Acrylic Paint - Silver Metallic, Quinacridone Gold, Paynes Gray, Pthalo Turquoise, Gold Interference
DecoArt Antiquing Cream - Carbon Black
DecoArt Crackle Glaze
Treasure Gold Gilt Wax - Renaissance
Table Salt
Silicone Glue

Firstly prime your page with some gesso to give some stability as we are going to be working with a lot of wet media today and allow to dry.

Paint a layer of the silver acrylic over the page ensuring that you have good coverage, then heat dry with a heat gun.

Make a loose wash using one drop of the Pthalo Turquoise and one drop of the Paynes Gray.  This stage of the process we need to work pretty quickly so that we get a reasonably even coverage on our page.  Using the wash cover the page entirely working in stripes from the top of the page to the bottom.  Sprinkle the salt over  the wash, more heavily in some areas than in others.

The salt technique is an old water colour trick to remove some of the colour in the small areas that the salt is present.  In our case we are using it to create the effect of pitting in the metal.

Normally you would leave this to dry naturally, however it can be heated with a heat gun if you can't wait.  Either way once the piece is dry rub all of the salt off (it can be kept for the stage further on in the process).

Make another wash using just the Paynes Gray; brush this on in even stripes again working from the top to the bottom of the page and allow to dry.  Don't worry about brush strokes as in this layer and the next we want them to show as they make the overall look of brushed metal.

Brush on another layer of the Paynes Gray wash and use an old dish sponge to streak it down the page, then allow to dry.  This will really enhance the look of the brushed metal.

Make a wash using the Quinacridone Gold and paint this over the page.  Working quickly sprinkle the salt left over from the first use over the the wet page and leave to dry.  Once dry again brush off the salt from the page (this time it can be discarded).

Using a fairly dry brush streak some of the Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide over the page to add some highlights and brightness.  You don't want to be too heavy handed with this as the colours wont create as nice a visual blend.

Stamp the quote using your Black Archival ink, then give a quick blast with a heat gun to ensure it is set.

We are now going to move onto the heart which is going to serve as the centre piece for our page.

Paint the heart with two coats of Deep Madder to ensure a nice even coverage; while the paint is still wet sponge on a little of the gold acrylic to add some interest.  If you go too heavy with the gold then you can sponge over a little more of the Deep Madder to tone it down.  Once this has all dried lightly streak on a little of the Gold interference paint, then allow the piece to dry completely.

Gently brush on a thickish layer of the crackle glaze over your heart.  Try not to work the glaze too much as you add it on as this can affect the crackles.  You then need to leave this to dry and crack, and depending on the relative temperature and humidity of the room it can take up to several hours.  DO NOT be tempted to heat dry this layer as you will stop the crackles from appearing.

Once the piece is completely dry and crackled, paint a layer of the Black Antiquing cream over the whole lot making sure that you get it down into the cracks.

Using a slightly moist paper towel wipe back the antiquing cream until it just shows in the cracks, then lightly streak with some of the Treasure Gold wax.

Take the wire and wrap it around the heart, making sure that you go through the bumps at least once.  You can as  you wrap the heart add some beads to create interest; if you do decide to add them then don't go for bright colours, use something which complements the overall tone.

Use some silicone glue to stick the heart down to your page (this encapsulates the wire ends and should stop them from poking through your page.

You will need to leave your page to dry for several hours so that the silicone glue can set off.

Any questions or comments on this weeks project leave them below.

Good Bye Until Next Time