One Boy's Trash is Another Boy's Treasure #craft #art #paint #mixedmedia

My next art | craft post is up on ParentSavvy. I'm really excited to share the steps of this one.

There are 3 main things you need for this:

1. Heavy Structure Gel
2. A Masonite Canvas
3. Light Weight Junk You Will Turn to Treasure

I was so happy! My work gave me a $5 coupon to use at Blick Art Supplies. I found Winsor & Newton Heavy Structure Gel on clearance. It was $7. I had my teacher's discount on top of that. It was pennies.

We had canvas laying around.

Isaak has a lot of of junk that he wanted to turn to treasure. 

Screens

Washers and Other Things

Rubber Bits and Rusted Metal

Rainbow Loom - Not Really Junk, but We Used Them
We Also Used String

A Spoon to Apply the Medium, a Pen or Something to Draw on the Junk to Cut Them Out, Scissors to Cut the Junk

You May Use a Paint Brush, or Foam Brush (Optional)

You May Use Paint or Sand (Optional)

Turning the Trash to Treasure

Figure out what you want to stand out, how things will look on the canvas, and if there's any add on things you'll use before you get started.

We kind of had it figured out here. We decided to make the white mesh the biggest thing on the page, also known as the focal point.

Using Heavy Structure Gel:

Once it was all laid out we started to use the gel. Important use something you can wipe off to apply it. We used a spoon. You can use a fork, a palette knife, or even a plastic comb if you wanted to. It holds it's shape really well, so a fork or comb might be interesting. You'll get lots of lines.

Apply it to build it up on things that have recessed areas. Everything else can just be stuck into it.

We lifted the screen up to re position it. The gel held the texture! It dries a lot faster than I thought. Not so fast that you can't re position things, but I was expecting hours of drying time because it's thick. Nope! More like 20 min. When it dries, things are down for good!

We could have stopped here:

The little circles are Rainbow Looms.

But decided it needed something that would make one thing travel to something else. I told Isaak, "It looks like a Thomas train set with all the buildings, but no track.

We added string:

We could have stopped here:

We Chose to Paint it!

Gold and Silver went on! Isaak sprinkled sand in the wet paint in areas.

Blobs of silver paint went inside the Rainbow Loom circles.

It's Finished!

I would have worked on it more to add reds and teals to enhance the metal look, but Isaak hit his limit. I think it looks cool. Seriously a monkey could have done it with us.

It can go vertical or horizontal. Which way would you put it?

Travel Professional Artist Paint Brush Set Review

I love reviewing art supplies. I know they will get used! I'm happy to share with you a paint brush set made by Paratek.

You can get them on Amazon Prime for $12.99: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077F2YT2X

This Set Comes With:

• 12 brushes
• 1 palette 
• A fancy case

I'll use everything, but the fan brush. I'm just not a fan of fan brushes. Maybe I should try them again. I don't usually find them that helpful with blending.

I love how the case contains everything. Each bush is separated. The really thin brushes have plastic protectors, and those did keep coming off. They could be made a bit tighter, to stay on better. You can see one fell off in the picture below.

The case zips up, and is easy to take paintings on location. I took the set to work.

Usually I use just an old box for a palette. It's nice to have an actual palette to use. 

These Brushes Can Be Used for a lot of Things:

• Acrylics
• Oils
• Watercolor
• Gouache
• Tempra
• Enamel 
• Facepaint
• Fingernail Polish

 I'll be mainly using them for acrylics. I love oil paint, but my asthma doesn't love them. Watercolors are fun, but I find them to be not as permanent as other kinds of paint.

What kind of paints have you used?

Disclaimer: I got this paint brush set in exchange for our opinion on them. The company in no way told me what to write, or influenced me in any way.

Artit 12 Piece Paint Brush Set Review

Have I ever said how much I love reviewing art supplies? Well I do!

I just got a 12 Piece Paint Brush Set: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K4NQNTO to review.

About:

• The long handled brushes are easy to clean because they are made out of nylon.

• The art brushes can be used for acrylics, watercolors, oils, face painting, collage & more.

• The set includes a portable case & an array of paint brushes, and a palette. You can take the set just about anywhere.

• The set works for pros & kids. Kids will need a lesson on taking care of the brushes.

• The set has slots for the brushes, so they stay contained. 

Caring for Your Brushes (Water Based Paints): 

Use a pallet knife or popsicle stick to mix the paint. This will make your brush last longer.

Wet your brush(es) with luke warm water before use.

Only get paint in the bristle part of the brush. If paint gets into the metal also known as ferrule then it can make it difficult to get the paint out of the bristles. That in turn breaks up the glue that holds the bristles in, and makes the bristles so they are no longer soft.

If you are taking a break, wipe the brush on a paper towel and rinse it! Lay the brush sideways across your water container.

Once you are done painting wipe your brush on a paper towel to remove as much paint as possible and rinse it. Clean the brush with soap, or a bought brush cleaner. Remove all the pigment out of the brush. This may take a few steps of loading it with soap, painting the inside palm of your hand, and rinsing it with luke warm water. Read the brush cleaner (if that's what you are using). Some act as a leave in conditioner. In that case you'd leave it in the last step. Reshape the brush with your fingers. Lay the brush flat to avoid distorting the bristles.

Caring for Your Brushes (Oil Based Paints): 


Caring for your brush when using oil based paints is similar as water based paints like acrylics, tempera, watercolor, gouache, or even watered down glue used for collage.

You wipe as much paint away on a rag or paper towel.

Pour a small amount of thinner on a rag or paper towel. I use Gamisol because it's safer for those with allergies and asthma. Wipe your brush some more. Do this until most of the paint is out.

Wash your brush with soap and water, or brush conditioner. Read the brush conditioner to see if it's a leave in kind. Reshape the bristles, and leave it flat to dry.

Important: Don't mix oil based paint with water based paint. You will have a mess. My students that have done this think that something is wrong with their paint.

Rule: You can use acrylics and oils in the same piece.

The rule is acrylics first (dry), and oils can be used on top. The other way around will cause your paint to crack. Plus oils without additives take a long time to dry!

There are exceptions to that rule, but you need to know the technique to break the rule.

Exception: Oil paint mixed with a turpentine (again I use Gamisol) makes a oil wash. Let it dry! Then acrylics can be put on top.

You can do an oil wash, spray it with Crystal Clear (a clear acrylic spray), and add another oil wash. Building up layers like this is super fun!

Cost: 

Price: $35.90, but it's on sale for: $16.77.

Palette: 

With acrylics you can build up layers on a palette. Once you're annoyed with the build up, peel it up. Some of the really cool paint peelings I keep. I cut them, and glue them or paint them into pieces. You can also throw the dry acrylic away.

Oils dry SLOW. That can be good. Artists love mixing time. Oil colors are truer from wet to dry than any water based paint. Water based paint dries darker. Leave the oil paint on the palette for longer, and keep using it. It will be usable for days. When you're done wipe it up with a paper towel. If you let it dry it will be hard to remove. I like to use a sheet of glass for an oil based palette because if the paint dries I can use a razor blade to scrape it up. With plastic I can't do that.

Downfalls of the Set: 

There is no palette knife. I use one to mix my paint. I find my brushes last longer if I use a palette knife. I'd rather have a palette knife then a palette. I tend to be that crazy artist person that grabs the nearest thrown away box to use as a palette.

I really don't use a fan brush. Maybe some people do or did *Cough Bob Ross - But I've never seen anyone migrate towards using a fan brush. I could see the perk of using one for spiky hair, or fur. I like more control than what I get with a fan brush.

When was the last time you've painted? Painting walls counts. Ha!

Disclaimer: I received this Artit Paintbrush Set to assist with this review. I wrote this post, and was not influenced at all with an opinion. I only review things that I find interesting, or that would benefit my readers or my family.

WW: Crow {Linky}

I've been working on this mixed media piece for quite some time now. I'm doing a series about something beautiful with something being destroyed. I had envisions of  a crow smoking, but a cigarette butt in it's mouth looked so hokey. Even when I cut it down length wise it looked really stupid. 

I thought about stitching wire by it's feet - like the bird was caught, but got out. The problem with that was that crows are really smart. They wouldn't get themselves in a situation like that. 

In the end I went with the drops I started in the background by adding more and more drops - acid rain. It's more of a loose concept, but will still fit into the series. 

It's a really long piece! That makes it a bit hard to see. Click on the images to see them larger. I got comments that putting them extra large makes them impossible to see in the phone view. 

Here's a close up of the face. The eye has light blue thread stitches on it.

Some of the drops are in the background. I added some too. I put clear acrylic on glass one drip at a time. I let it dry. Then I scraped them up with a razor blade. I added a dark color under the drips, and a highlight.

The legs are stitched.

The back of the canvas:

Next I'm working on the owl that can't sleep because of city lights and noises, but I want to start a cute squirrel playing in plastic bag + a jellyfish that is stuck in a jelly jar with other jelly fish around it. I may have a few pieces going on all at the same time.

Do you like to paint, or do you get into any other art form?

WW: Captured {Linky}

I think I'm finally done with this piece. It's title is, "Captured". I showed it once before, but it wasn't finished then.

Mediums: Fabric and Ribbon (Dress), Thread (Bird, Hair, Strings on the Clock, Necklace, and on her Sleeves), Acrylic Paint, Glue (Floor, Molding and Hoop Skirt), Transfer Technique (Wall), and 1/2 Pearl (Necklace), and Toothpicks (Cuckoo Clock).

Backside: I'll be sure to coat that with glue.

I have to ask: Do you like her ghost like, where you can see the background through her, or more opaque? I like the background peeking through. To me it unifies the image more. A coworker stands with me. It brings one thing into another. My husband wishes it wasn't see through. He's like, "What is she a ghost, or something?" Opinions are helpful.

Backside: I'll be sure to coat that with glue.