Scrappy Chick Designs: Higher Than The Sky: Mixed Media Canvas Tutorial~

As some of you may already know, I am a Blogger Contributor at DecoArt. They have been making fabulous art supplies since 1985!

They have just recently released their new Media Collection, products that are formulated to work seamlessly together to create amazing mixed media art. I was asked to demo these fabulous products at the upcoming Gadget Girls Fall Mega Crop in October. So, I have been getting messy and creating.

So today, I am showcasing my first piece of mixed media art that I created using the Media Collection from DecoArt.

The Media Collection includes a multitude of products for all of your mixed media needs.

Project Recipe:

DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics- Titanium White, Burnt Umber, Primary Magenta, Dioxazine Purple and Phthalo Green-Blue
DecoArt Media Texture Sand Paste
DecoArt Media Modelling Paste
DecoArt Media Gesso- White
DecoArt Media Crackle Glaze
DecoArt Media Liquid Glass
DecoArt Classic Stencil- Southern Motif
DecoArt Americana Multi Surface Satin- Natural/Buff, Pumpkin Patch
May Arts Ribbon- Natural Burlap Ribbon (408-09)
Imagine Crafts- Gold Shimmer Mist
Glass Glitter
Cork Tiles
Hot Glue Gun
Cheesecloth
Foam Brushes and Paint Brushes

Instead of using a traditional canvas I started with 2 cork tiles that I hot glued together for additional thickness. I love the texture of cork.

At this point I also added some marks on the cork that reference the photo that I used, you can faintly see the marks I made in the photo below.

I used White Gesso to coat the entire front surface of the cork.

I also used Modelling Paste and the Southern Motif Stencil in the upper left hand corner of the tile.

Also in the above photo if you look closely you will see where I added some additional texture using the Sand Texture Paste. It adds great dimension and that great sandy texture.

My next step was to add colour using the Media Collection paints. I did a little mixing of colours with some of the DecoArt Multi-Surface paints to get the tones that I wanted.

I masked the bottom portion of the canvas and Gold Shimmer Misted the sky to add a little sparkle.

I also added another layer of the Sand Texture Paste.

While this was all still wet, I also added some chunky glass glitter. I wanted to add some sparkle to the water and sand. You can see that a little clearer in the photo below.

Probably what I found the hardest to do was wait for each layer to dry enough to keep working. I used my heat gun at times to speed things up, but other times I just had to be patient.

I inked the top portion of the canvas using my regular brown ink to pick up a bit of that Modelling Paste, stencil motif.

I also added a layer of glaze over the water portion of the canvas to add a great shine.

To add colour to my cheesecloth, I simply used all of the leftover paints on my palette. I then did a quick dip into a Taupe Liquid Rit dye bath. That got rid of any remaining stark white.

Let dry completely.

Here is the finished product, fully embellished and with my photo.

Using a hot glue gun, I added the knotted cheesecloth and shells.

I love how the Sand Texture Paste over the glazed paint looks like foam on the water. A mixture of the Burnt Umber, Titanium White and Primary Magenta paints made for the perfect PEI sand colour.

Another fabulous finishing touch was the May Arts Burlap Ribbon around the outside of my cork tiles, I think it really pulled the entire seaside theme together.

I used lots of different letter stickers to create the quote on my canvas, but they were NOT the correct colour to begin with. I covered the letters in gesso, then added colour when needed, and on the word SKY, I added the Sand Texture Paste.

I love how it turned out.

I used Liquid Glass to adhere the letters and words to the canvas.