Hello my wonderful friends!
I’ve decide to be brave, and share a piece that is both unfinished, and very personal…
A few months ago, I was having a really bad day. I was sitting in my car in an empty parking lot, and.. well, let’s be honest… I was crying. As I was sitting there, I noticed an old, weathered brick wall. It was one of those moments when things just snap into place in your mind… That brick wall represented SO many things to me…It called to me… I had to get a picture of it.
It wasn’t long before that urge to have a photo of it became this intense desire to do a canvas… A canvas telling a story…
A story of a self-discovery…
A story of healing…
A story of having enough faith to take down the walls, and learn how to trust again…
MY story.
Each shape, color, and texture were chosen for specific reasons…. together they say the words that I can’t say in words, no matter how hard I try.
There are other parts of the story begging to be painted… this is just a start.
The blank canvas was scary to me. There was so much I wanted to say… what if I couldn’t translate all my thoughts and feelings in a canvas? What if I fell short? What if it wasn’t “good enough”?
But there was this quiet little voice that said… take down the walls of fear and self doubt that are holding you hostage, and just go for it.
I listened, and I’m glad.
When I shared my WIP with my Unity DT friends (the most AMAZING bunch of ladies!), they wanted to know how I did it…
so…
Step 1: Base coat your canvas with some acrylic paint.
Step 2: While your canvas is drying, stamp, color, and cut out the desired image(s).
I’m using Beautiful Soul.
(it’s still black… don’t mind that blue in the corner… I was getting crazy reflections off the semi gloss surface!)
Step 3: Mod Podge it on. I like to give the whole canvas a good once over with the Mod Podge, just so it all blends in, and you don’t see the glue marks when the light hits it.
Step 4: Soften the edges by pouncing some of your background color over the edges of your image with a scruffy brush or sponge. It doesn’t take much, just blend those edges in a little.
Step 5: Lay your stencil over your canvas, and use masking tape to block off any areas you want protected.
Step 6: slather on some embossing paste. Because I was looking for a rough weathered texture, I didn’t try to fill in all the bricks perfectly.. I kinda just let things happen.
Step 7: Carefully remove stencil and allow to dry… if you are looking for a little more texture, feel free to use a heat gun to speed this up. Just be aware that the paste will bubble with heat.
Step 8: Scrunch up a rag or paper towel and set it over the image to protect most of the stamped image
Step 9: Spray on some color. I used a combination homemade sprays (All Purpose Ink by Tsukineko with water in a mister bottle) and a black Sharpie in my Tim Holtz marker spritzer.
here’s a close up on the texture
Rhinestones surround a caged bird…
My piece isn’t finished yet… but then again, neither is the story it tells…
Mos Def said:
“Good art gives people a vocabulary about things they can’t articulate.”
Reach into your soul, take down the walls, and say with art what there are no words for.
This story and process gives me goose bumps…just awesome.
So beautiful and great work. Tks for explaining how you made it.
Gorgeous! Thanks for the how to!
Wow! Definitely a work of heART!
Touching story, photography and canvas art. Thank you for sharing the process Kassi. It is stunning!!!
Kassi, sorry you were having a rough time a few months ago; I hope things are much better! This canvas art is stunning! It's great that we have access to creative tools to express our emotions…it is much healthier than other alternatives. Thanks for sharing how you created this beautiful work of art…I've been wanting to use a mask and modeling paste! You always give me so much inspiration!
I love this. Thanks for sharing your story and canvas. Such wonderful inspiration
Beautiful story and artwork!! Thank you!! 🙂
This is beautiful.
This is wonderful!
This is beautiful, Kassi!
Beautiful! Art is such a great outlet for our emotions.
This is amazing!
Such a fabulous piece, loved that you were able to put this piece together and share the process. Thank you so much for sharing with us.
So beautiful!
Thanks for sharing your art and soul. Have a wonderful day.
So beautiful! Thank you for sharing such a vulnerable piece of you <3
Amazing. Nothing else to add….just amazing.
Just amazing. Thanks for sharing this with us.
It is these hard-to-share pieces that touch the rest of us the most. Thank you so much for reaching down and finding the courage to share, because your canvas is amazing!
This is a gorgeous canvas, very moving and emotional! Thanks for sharing and I hope things are getting better for you. Everyday we are growing, changing and becoming more of the person we are meant to be.