2021 Topic 11: Twinkle Twinkle with ESA {by Jenny Marples}

   2021 Topic 11: Twinkle Twinkle

With a really achievable 'painting over an image' technique from Jenny, this lovely fairytale inspired page has layer upon layer of lovely ideas. The twinkle of stars from embroidery and a night-time paint effect adds a clever emanating glow
~ Keren

Hi everyone, it's Jenny (Pushing The Right Buttons) with you today, and I'm here to share a collage piece which took a decidedly fairy-tale twist as the Twinkle Twinkle theme pushed through. 

Seth Apter stamps were used to enhance the main image, picking up on the theme and helping to suggest what may be around it rather than needing to draw in the whole scene.

Continuing to focus on architecture I experimented with a different method for creating the focal image of a window, one which doesn't require you to draw the initial image.

Before we take a look at that let's begin with the collage style background which made use of stamps from two of Seth Apter's stamp sets, ESA02 and ESA18.

Having kicked off with layers of manuscript, white gesso, asemic writing in pencil and brown ink I wanted to add some stars to evoke those that might be seen in a night sky. To give some control over where they would be on the page I stamped the stars onto wet strength tissue using Sour Grapes Fresco Finish Paint before applying this to the background with a generous amount of matte gel medium.

To emulate the look of bricks on the edge of a tall building I stamped Seth's interconnecting blocks border in a continuous strip down the centre of the page using a dark blue ink.

It's always good to add extra layers and textures to build a 'frame' around your focal image and draw attention to it. I'm sure I am not the only one to have an ever-growing collection of unused scraps which can be called on to do this. Try dividing those scraps into colour families and putting them into transparent page pockets so you can find them more easily. I chose some leftover teabag paper stained with Limoncello Infusions and a crumpled piece of tissue that had turned brown on the edge.

Now for the window; I wanted to try painting over a printed image rather than drawing one this time. Several years ago I took a photo of this window on a visit to Auxerre in France. After printing it onto photocopy paper I stuck the image onto card with matte gel medium and applied some Grunge Paste around it to replicate the look of an aged wall. The photo was taken during the day but I wanted to make it look like night had fallen so I began by adding a base layer of Slate Fresco Finish Paint around the bricks framing the glass. Alternate layers of Baltic Blue and Slate Fresco Finish Paints were then applied on top, with less and less paint used each time until I had the depth of colour required.

The bricks around the window were painted with Surf's Up Fresco Finish Paint, dry brushed and edged with more of the Slate to deepen the colour. In my original photo the walls around the window were 'pebble dashed' with no bricks exposed. To leave it this way made the window look like it was floating so I added some bricks beneath to emulate those stamped onto the background, giving them the same paint treatment as those around the window. Finally the dark glass in the window was over-painted with Sand Fresco Finish Paint to make it look as though a light inside the building was shining through. I added extra highlights with an iridescent gel pen and Snowflake Fresco Finish Paint, also applying tiny touches to the bricks and window ledge before outlining the main elements with a fine black pen.

 

To add an extra touch of texture I coloured some cotton fabric with Wolf Eye Fresco Finish Paint before over-stamping it with the large text stamp from Seth Apter's ESA13 stamp set in Iceberg Fresco Finish Paint.

Prior to adding the cloth and window pieces to the background I layered them together and hand stitched the three stars around the window. Once in place on the collage background splattered the whole piece with dilute Snowflake Fresco Finish Paint to give the impression of a starry night sky - it was at this stage that the collage turned from having a simple architectural feel to one that looked more like an illustration in a fairy tale book.

 

Going with this fairy tale theme, and as a way of finishing the piece I stamped a phrase from Alison Bomber's EAB16 Magic & Wonder stamp set onto card and cut around it before mounting it at the base of the window.

Here are some final photos of the finished piece.

If you feel less confident with drawing a window I hope you have a go at painting over a printed one, remembering to take time to build up the layers of paint and drawing around the finished elements to make them stand out. And if you are then going to add your painting to a background try using your stamps to suggest other parts of the building and surroundings.

Thank you so much for stopping by.

Jenny

Blog:https://pushingtherightbuttons.blogspot.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenny.marples.73
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jennymarples73/