2015 #19 Clock Face {by Darcy Wilkinson PA.Signature Designer}

2015 Topic 19: Faces

Hi everyone, Darcy here with a 'face' project. When I sat down to work out what I might do, I decided right off to combine a face with a clock face... With so many faces appearing over this fortnight it was a challenge to come up with something that wasn't being done by anyone else.. so I chose to do a skull.

I think this can be a tricky theme for some people, it's not everyone's cup of tea so please don't worry about doing a perfect, 'real' face. I certainly haven't.  Just have a go, these are challenges after all, there to encourage you out of your comfort zone. Interpret the theme any way you want to, what is the worst that can happen? It is only paint and paper. Have fun with it. x 

This is an MDF clock from Rob, the MDF man.

Step 1: Seal the clock, back, front and sides with watered down PVA glue, sand and repeat. Next I painted the whole thing with 2 coats of black gesso. once dry I rubbed this back in patches to bring back the buff colour of the MDF. I then brayered on a little Chalk, and finished this stage by stamping with a number stamp from ESN07 and Toffee Fresco paint.

Step 2: Using Chalk I painted out the area that would become the skull. I then added the darker shadows with Little Black Dress. Working from dark to light I used the following paints: French Roast, Squid Ink, London Night,Toad Hall, Mushroom, Glass Blue, Honey Dew.

Step 3: When the skull was partly done I added the butterfly wing and eye. For the butterfly I used Eggplant, Lavender, Glass Blue . For the eye I used Hey Pesto, Hyde Park, Caramel, Glass Blue. 

Step 4: I refined the shape of the skull, adding more shading. Once I was happy with the shadows and highlights I was able to add the cracks with a very fine paintbrush. 

At this point I also added the veins to the butterfly using a black prisma pencil. To make the eye glassy, I added a dome of glossy accents. 

Step 5: After waiting eleventy-seven weeks for the glossy accents to dry, I was able to carry on working. I masked off the side of the skull and then stamped these fabulous gates from Urban Snapshots: Wrought Iron (Plate) 2USWI2. This is an A6 size stamp.

Step 6: Now to add some flowers. I blanked out the area using Chalk. At the same time I also stamped the scrolling border from EDY07. 

EDY07. 

I began blocking in the flowers using several shades of purple and also bringing in the Glass Blue from earlier. The scrolls were done with shades of grey. I wasn't too worried about staying within the stamped lines. I wanted them to have more of a painted look, rather than stamped, so the outlines were just a guide. 

Step 7. I wanted the gates to stand out a little more, have  a little dimension. However I had to be careful and not add too much dimension, otherwise the clock hands would not be able to move around. I decided to go over all the stamped lines of the gates with Liquid Pearls in Onyx Pearl. 

Step 8: Now to add some more butterflies and moths. This one is from Urban Snaphots: Nature (Plate 4) USNT4. 

Again I didn't want it to look stamped, but the stamped outlines are brilliant as a guide. I stamped in black archival and then built up my colours and shading. Don't forget to add shadows underneath something like this. 

This butterfly is from HP1301. it has a very busy collaged background, so to get just the butterfly I stamped it out onto painted tissue paper. This butterfly will have its wings closed, one behind the other. So the same wing is stamped onto light paint and also onto darker paint. 

HP1301.

Here he is in place, the darker wing behind.. also a shadow of the wings. Don't forget his little legs need shadows too. 

Step 9: To finish off the flowers I added shaping and contouring using Pitt pens. I then added droplets of glossy accents.  As this is right on the outer edge I was able to add a '3D' butterfly. This one is from HP1506. It was stamped in a light grey paint onto black card, then I turned this over and blended some blues and purples onto the card and then stamped again. This means the wings can stand up and there will be detail on the underside as well as the top. 

HP1506

This is my favourite section. The shading all came together nicely, I like the moth and butterfly and the shadows of the butterfly's lil legs just makes me smile. 

All that was left to do was add the clock mechanism and hands and set the time. I love this clock and the combination of skull, flowers and butterflies. The MDF is a great surface to work on, beautifully smooth, and at 15 inches across this is a really big clock . Some things I feel confident in drawing, others I don't, but having the stamps there as a guide is a fantastic way to get the correct shapes into place before painting. 

Try painting over your stamped images, even the outlines, you will end up with a very different, more painterly effect. 

Hope you enjoyed that, just in time for Halloween!

Darcy x

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We would love you to join in with challenge #19: Faces If you are inspired by any of our guests who blog with us over the 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 Faces link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Oct 25th winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.