Friday 4 September 2015

2015 #16 Stencilled Circles {by Ruth Mescall}

Topic 16: Circles


Hi everyone, Ruth here from a love to create joining you this evening with a post about ‘ever decreasing circles’ using lovely fresco paints and grunge paste. To me the possibilities of using circles in art are endless and I was partly inspired by a couple of quilt designs I’d seen that used circles and lines of stitching. I wanted the finished piece to have texture and dimension so chose grunge paste which is a lovely stone colour to start with. I decided to stick to a neutral colour palette with a touch of treasure gold to create my piece of wall art! 


Step One: Firstly I coated a piece of grey board with gesso. Once dry I created a brayered background using Fresco Chalk Acrylic Paint in Snowflake, Chalk, Nougat and Stone. Then some stamping in paint and antique linen distress ink with Eclectica (Ellen Vargo) Collection (EEV06) and (EEV02). I also masked off 3 thin vertical lines which I stencilled with snowflake paint

EEV02
EEV06

Step Two: I die cut several decreasing (or increasing!) sizes of circles out of acetate. I would use these to stencil paint through and also create my focal points of Grunge Paste stamped circles. After spreading a layer of paste through the acetate I left it in place whilst I stamped the image, this gave a crisper outline. I used images from Eclectica (Lin Brown) Collection (ELB15) and (ELB16) and moistened the stamp first.

ELB15

ELB16

Step Three: Using the same paints plus Taupe I built circles up on the board. I stencilled the large circle first and then positioned the 3 grunge paste circles. The rest of the circles in varying sizes and colours filled in the gaps. Tiny circles and grunge paste motifs were made using PaperArtsy Stencils by Lin Brown (PS001) (PS002) and (PS005).


Step Four: The tiny grunge paste circles had a layer of taupe underneath and then the grunge paste layer was bumped to give some shading. It’s starting to come together now.
.

Step 5: The final step is to use Treasure Gold in Florentine to highlight all the texture. I rubbed my finger over the areas rather than a brush. As you can see treasure gold picks up every single bit of texture from the grunge paste.


My favourite elements are the almost fossil like impressions from Lin’s stamps and when you add treasure gold…yummy! I also love the idea of masking an area off to create a defined shape for grunge paste before stamping into it, why not try squares or ovals instead, or stencilled paint circles in vibrant colours? Hope you’ll be inspired to join in with the challenge, there’s still time to explore the possibilities of circles.

Ruth x

Twitter @argeum1

This is stunning Ruth, so delicate and beautiful. Those Grunge Paste circles remind me of Sand Dollars. The crisp outlines really define the shapes and provide excellent contrast between all the neutral shades. Thanks for joining us this evening ~Darcy

Did you know that you can play along with us on the PaperArtsy blog to share and explore with us how you interpret the current theme. The current topic is Circles, and if you are inspired by any of our contributors on the blog this fortnight, then please join in and link up your creativity HERE.

All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Circles challenge link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Sept 6th, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

19 comments:

JoFY said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JoFY said...

I love this- lovely colour scheme, calming. x

Gerrittina said...

Looks great!

Craftyfield said...

This makes a change... very tranquil, subtle colour scheme, great for a home décor piece.

Hazel Agnew said...

This is stunning Ruth! So clever! Absolutely love it! Xx

Unknown said...

EXOTIC - STUNNING - FABULOUS... j.

CastleKelly Crafts said...

Just beautiful Ruth x

Words and Pictures said...

Oh my word, Ruth, this is utterly beautiful, from that subtle brayered background to those wonderful Grunge Paste circles and gently decorated bubbles around them. Fabulous delicate neutral tones, and the hint of gilding takes it onto another level. Magical!
Alison xx

Helen said...

really love this, Ruth - fabulous neutral colours.

Lauren Hatwell said...

Wow! That's so incredibly beautiful Ruth. Lx

Deborah Wainwright said...

Ruth this is beautiful. The subtle colours are gorgeous and I love how you have stamped into the circle. Hugs Debs xx

craftytrog said...

Beautiful!!! x

experiments in paper said...

Beautiful, Ruth! Love your neutral palette with that touch of gold - so elegant! xx Lynn

sarascloset said...

Wonderful, soft, soothing---just lovely to look at; I could see this beautiful piece of artwork in a museum! LOVE it!

Diana Taylor said...

Absolutely beautiful - such gentle colours - LOVE it!!

Kirsten said...

That is so beautiful.

SueC said...

Beautiful Ruth! Love the stamping into the Grunge Paste and the blend of the neutral colours is fabulous. Sue C x

Unknown said...

Ooh, missed this gorgeous design from Ruth but had to leave a belated comment as it is so stunning! Wonderful neutral tones and fabulous texture....absolutely beautiful!

Hugs
Lesley Xx

Dorthe said...

So very beautiful, Ruth, the stamped circles looks stunning with the treasure gold, and the leaves, too, -almost looks as a part of an old tapestry from a castle !!
Hugs, Dorthe