Mix media: Working with metals

This is a work of art that I made last fall.  I`m finally getting around to posting it!  I really enjoyed trying these new techniques: embossing metal, hand carving in metal, adding metal elements to canvas, using metallic felts and shaping metal wire.

I really enjoyed creating this one. It was full of new discoveries. This is a semi-abstract painting about a forest.  And its all about exploring texture in metal.


Metal Forest

 Here is a side view so that you can get an idea of how dimensional it is.  You can really see how the green metal wire pops out of the canvas.

Sideview

 This next picture shows parts of the two metals pieces that I embossed using an embossing tool. I added little details such as the little circles in the middle of the lozenge by poking the underside of the metal with the round end of a needle.  Careful: if you press to hard, you`ll make a hole!  I also added metallic colored paint on the metal.  To make it adhere better, I had to sand it down a little.  The second metal piece (bottom one) was also embossed using an embossing tool and painted with metallic colors.



Closeup

I made this ''fleur de lys'' using a stencil and a crayon-like embossing tool.  I followed the edges of the stencil, and chose not to fill in the middle.  I also punched out a hole in each corner.  To adhere the metal plate to the canvas I used a glue gun.  Once it dried, I colored over the glue with a permanent gold metallic felt.  I really love how it looks.

Closeup

This next picture shows the trunks of the trees and some grass growing in front of the tree line.  The trees were also cut with normal scissors and then embossed. I made sure to emboss in different directions to create some diversity.  I put the trees against the lighter side of the background to create a greater contrast.

The bottom grass background was created by embossing with a tool and the grass itself was hand carved out of the metal.  I lightly added paint to the grass to contrast with the background.

Closeup

Finally, I added these four metal pieces which are eyelets into the canvas.  I really liked the glue on the ''fleur de lys'', so I put some around the eyelets too.  I added a touch of gold glitter glue in the middle, and some stars over the forest were created.  I also added some wired mesh under the green wire.  This has an aesthetic function as well as a practical function.  I needed something to keep the wire in place.

Closeup

Hope you enjoyed!

Krysthle Poitras

Mix media: Working with metals

Black and white: cells and planets

I've been painting as usual.  I just finished taking a creative class called : Black and White, cells and planets.  It was fun even though black and white isn`t really my thing!

These two next mix-media paintings are my favorite ones.  The first is called "Puckered up" because it reminds me of a little puckered up face.  Maybe after eating a really sour candy?  I used string gel to create those smooth and unbroken white circle lines.  Also, I used several different types of fabric and paper to create the circles.  The objective was to create texture.  This painting was also just an exercise, but it turned out great!



Puckered up

  This next one was created over a previous exercise that I had done when exploring textures and materials.  I really didn't like the exercises end result.  I also had a lot of leftovers from cutting so many circles out of all these papers I used for another painting.  I figured that one ugly exercise + a lot of left over paper could = something interesting.  Indeed, it turns out that this is one of my favorite mix-media paintings ever! 

I really like how things from the exploration/exercise I did peer out from under all that paper.  I also like it because it's really 3D.  I call it "Squares and Cells".

Squares and cells

This next one is called "Comet", and if you haven't guessed why, it's because of the frilly tail that is located under the circle.  Now you might have a hard time figuring out the shape of this one, it's because the circle does indeed poke out of the canvas.

Comet

The closup reveals the materials used: some frilly ribon, fiber paper, some black and white lace papers, and black and white paper ribon.  I also used the string gel with some pearl colored acrylic paint over the white paper ribbon.

Comet closeup

This next one is called "The sheep". It"s pretty self-explanotory.

The Sheep

I put this closeup so that you may see the material used.  It's really paper maché material that hasen't been soaked in water.  To make it stay put, I put some acrylic medium over it.

The sheep closeup

This painting is called "Three little moons", because it reminds me of a planet with three moons in the sky.  An interesting tidbit about his painting is that I intentionally left some lace paper peer out from the edges.

Three little moons

And the last painting is called "Three little cells".  I used so many different kinds of paper to do the cells, which is what makes it neat.

Three little cells

Hope you enjoyed!
Krysthle Poitras

Black and white: cells and planets