2019 #9 Arty Wood Blocks: Vintage Dreams with LPC {by Jennie Atkinson}

 2019 Topic 9: Arty Wood Blocks

It is always intriguing to see a limited colour palette that seems so full of life. Maybe it's because Jennie lets the images speak for themselves or maybe it's simply the clever tiny pops of colour that add dimension to this vintage styled arty block.

Hi everyone, it's Jennie (Live The Dream) with you today with a post for the new theme of Arty Wood Blocks.

I absolutely love these latest Lynne Perrella stamps and despite their size I found they were perfect for wrapping around a chunky ATC block. I wanted to showcase the stamps themselves in black ink on a sepia style background. Lynne's illustrations are so beautifully drawn and I didn't want the fabulous detail lost in a coloured background.  It is a very straight forward project and came together quite quickly as you will see!

I have combined Lynne's stamps LPC043 with Alison's Dreaming & Doing Collection (EAB07) not always using the full quote but just the parts which fitted onto the ATC.

I painted the block first with white gesso and then Fresco Acrylic Paint (Chalk).

 Once this had dried well I then blended Distress Oxide Vintage Photo quite heavily around the edges of the block and then left areas in the middle lighter where I thought the images would probably go. Although I spritzed with water and got some lovely water effects these were all totally lost when I did the next stage!

I stamped my images and quotes on tissue paper in Archival Jet Black ink but whilst I was adhering them with the Multi Medium (Matte) I lost all the lovely Oxide effects ........ 

I love working with stamped images on tissue. The edges just disappear into the background and it is very easy to layer elements on top of each other. This was very useful for the quotes.

I love being able to wrap everything around the block; it looks so creative yet is so easy!

I did feel that the finish was lacking something so I did put a light layer of crackle medium over the whole block. You can see it in places, so it adds a little interest but doesn't take away the detail.

The block is elevated on a wooden cotton reel painted with the Chalk Fresco Paint and decorated with smaller elements from the two stamp sets. There are lots of opportunities in Alison's stamps for isolating a single word for a sentiment.

I hope this project inspires you to think about using some of the PaperArtsy detailed stamps on tissue paper as it really does allow opportunities for layering and ensures that the beautiful detail is not lost.

As always thank you for joining me and I am looking forward to seeing more arty wood blocks over the next couple of weeks.

Jennie x

Blog: Live The Dream