Fun with Seth Apter & StencilGirl

Welcome to the StencilGirl blog hop featuring Seth Apter's newly released stencils.  

I love incorporating stencils subtly into my art for an extra layer of texture and interest.  I started with a canvas I had already prepared with collaged papers and paint - it was waiting for inspiration.  I immediately saw Seth's stencils in this to finish my vision.  In my mind they were just "enough" to add that final touch but still allow the background I created to shine through.

I sketched out my girl reaching for the sky.

I used Golden Fluid acrylic Titan buff and Titanium White with Seth Apter's Techo Insiders Star Stencils and Seth Apter's Urban Outsiders Stencil.

I used some Burnt Umber on the abstract ground and background with Seth's Techo Insiders Tag stencil and the Urban Outsider's stencil again.

I finished up with the details on the piece.

And this is how she turned out.

I may add a word or phrase later or just leave her like this.  I hope you enjoyed. Be sure to keep hopping along with all the artists listed below.  Also if you leave a comment, you will be entered for a giveaway!

Blog Hop Order

StencilGirl Talk

Seth Apter

Mary Beth Shaw

Mary C. Nasser

Carolyn Dube

Gwen Lafleur

Kirsten Reed you are here

Janet Joehlin

Maria McGuire

GIVEAWAY

$25 StencilGirl Gift Certificate to one lucky winner!

All comments left on the hop list participants posts will be entered. 

One comment per blog. 

Comments close on July 24th @ 11:59PM Central.

Yee Haw!

Oh I was feeling kind of spicy when I made this next piece.  As you know I have a "thing" for feet…love to paint and photograph them.  Love what our feet, shoes and posture say about our personalities. So it is no surprise, I decided to paint myself a sassy pair of cowgirl boots!

I started out with my wood canvas, sketched my boots and then for AH-mazing texture…added some wood icing + StencilGirl stencils.  I used Nathalie Kalbach's Crackle Stencil on the body of my boot.

I used Seth Apter's Numbers stencil in my floor and around the canvas for some fun textured elements.

And I used Carolyn Dube's Wonky Eyes stencil in my dress.

I actually kind of like it all wood and natural, but I HAD to add some color!

And this is what we got !

I found this fun quote on Pinterest! Love it!

The numbers "5678" sound like a perfect lead into a line dance, yes???

So my only wish is they sold these boots. Because this cowgirl would so be wearing them!

Have a kickin' day!

It's a Busy World

Lately my world has been moving at a clip I find hard to keep up with...seriously. I have 16 waking hours in a day and I feel like each day I have 20 hours worth of 'stuff to do'.

I don't think I am alone.  All the technology in this world have made the world a busier place, especially if you are running a business (or two, like me) and have to maintain or create websites, blogs, and social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr)...not to mention write and photograph content for them.  Sprinkle with a dash of volunteering (did I really raise my hand to do that??), parent meetings, soccer games, husband traveling and it feels even busier.  Add in the usual suspects of grocery shopping, bill paying, cleaning, landscaping, and cooking and it can feel like a busy world.

I think that is why this piece evolved. I really wanted to carve out some time to create art but I was feeling overwhelmed.  My mind kept racing while I was trying to paint ~ the whole time thinking about things I should be doing.

Meet my new piece ~ Busy World.

Here is a quick photo tutorial showing you steps I took while creating her.

(1) I first started with a 12x12 canvas covered in book paper and painted in green and blue.

(2) Then I took Cecilia Swatton's Link stencil and added more white texture with titanium white paint.

(3) I then took the Seth Apter Numbers Stencil from StencilGirl Products and stenciled through with Raw Umber.  After that, I sketched out a woman figure.

(4) Using a palette knife and white paint I add in paint on the canvas. After it dried I decided to use light molding paste instead to ramp up the texture.

(5) After the molding paste dried, I added in some blue paint.

(6) I decided to paint the background white, leaving geometric shapes open with the background peeking through.

(7) I reinforced the circles by going around the inside with my green Faber Castell pen.

The rest of this post is a photo progression of the piece as it continued to evolve, using the same palette of paint.  

I think there are so many options with this piece and with this stencil you can continue to add, take away. It's art after all!  I purposely did not give my woman a face or hair...I wanted her to look "lost" in this busy world with lots of balls in the air.

Hope you enjoyed!

Welcome to Music City! (...and a blog hop!)

Howdy Gals (and guys)!

Today we are going to celebrate the city I live in ~ music city! For those of you who don't know where that is, it's Nashville!   (well I actually live in the suburbs, but close enough) 

I LOVED playing around with Seth Apter's Numbers stencil available at StencilGirl Products.  There are so many possibilities in adding texture or interest to any creative project and I can tell already this will be one of my "go to" stencils. But I am going to show you today how I used it to make a guitar.

So let's begin..

(1) First I took tissue paper and glued it to my wood.  After dried, I layered the background with Mary Beth Shaw's Greek Key stencil in white and in gray.

(2) Then I added in blue with Seth Apter's Numbers stencil. 

I repeated in various places with the stencil again using white.

(3) I then cut out old sheet music in the shape of a guitar. I used a ripped piece of corrugated cardboard for the top (don't know what that is called). I don't play guitar! ;) I glued them to the board using matte medium.

(4) I then did a light white wash over the guitar to fade the music.  It wasn't so important to me the songs I chose, and I want it to have appeal to everyone and not be based on what song music I used.

(5) I then did some light washes of paint in umber and blue to highlight the other areas of the guitar and begin to bring it to life.

(6) I used paint, Faber Castell pens and black ink pens to define the details a bit more. I also used Seth's stencil again to add some texture behind the strings of the guitar.

(7) I took some old chipboard scrapbook letters and laid them out to spell "me & my guitar".  I painted them with raw umber and glued down in position.

 Now you're ready to play!!

 

If you have any questions ~ please sure to let me know! I hope you found this little 'musical' stop fun.  Come back again Monday for a BONUS tutorial using the Seth Apter Numbers stencil again with a whole new project and a whole new look!!

Are you forgetful like me? ~ then make it easier "one less thing to remember" and sign up to get my blog delivered straight to your email box! That way you can do the tutorial whenever you are ready. It's soooo easy to sign up...(look above right on this page...type in your email address!!)

Be sure to keep following along the Hop to learn more new fun and exciting ways to use the stencil!
Here is a list of where to go:

StencilGirl Talk

Seth Apter

Carolyn Dube

Kirsten Reed  (You are here)

Marjie Kemper * Go Here Next!

Janet Joehlin

Corrine Gilman

Linda Cain

Mary C. Nasser

Maria McGuire