Finnabair: February 2018

Monday, 26 February 2018

Simplicity

Hi Dear Readers!

Yes, spring is definitely round the corner and my Creative Team has been filling the blog with the most beautiful art flowers... :)

Just check this stunning mixed media Red Poppy created by Sanda last Friday and today we're having another beautiful floral inspiration, this time coming from Tanyalee.
You can easily follow Tanyalee's tutorial and join us in creating an artful bouquet of your own!

* * * *

Welcome back for another process video for an art journal spread I made using Finnabair’s Impasto, Opal Magic and new Metallique Paints.

I have created an abstract florals spread and have titled it ‘Simplicity’.

I’ve used a junk journal that bound myself with lots of different papers, including envelopes and magazine pages.

To start the spread I lay down a dark background by mixing Impasto paints in Cobalt, Aubergine and Pitch Black, and then used some Snow White to tone things down a little.

Once the background was dry I added some paint drips and Gold Mica Powder for highlights and to mute things a little. Mica Powder creates a lovely watercolour/ink effect when you mix it with some water on your palette.

Then I got stuck into painting abstract flowers concentrating on colour combinations and composition of the blooms.

To finish off the spread, I used water-down paints to create splatters and then added some word stickers to display my feelings.

And now it's time for my video so you can see step by step how I created this spread. Please enjoy!

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial, and that you too dive into your art journal spread and experiment with the beautiful Impasto paint range.

Yours in messiness

Tanyalee

Products used:

Friday, 23 February 2018

Red Poppy Collage Painting

Hello Friends!
How can one ever have enough of flowers, right? :)
If for some reason you can't have the real ones on your table, why not creating them with paint?

Sanda's new art inspiration is so unique that you will surely want to follow her lead and get your own paint & collage poppy! Or maybe even a whole bouquet! :)

* * * *

Hi guys,

I'm back today with another project for Finn’s Creative Team - a mixed media collage painting on a canvas board, I called “Red Poppy”.

I hope you’ll get inspired by this project and try some of these techniques in your artwork.

I started by creating a cluster of some recycled Finnabair packaging and ephemera, including some old theatre tickets that I stapled together.

Using a Finnabair silicone brush, I applied a generous layer of Plaster Paste on the upper part of the canvas and Art Extravagane White Crackle Paste on the bottom.

***TIP: If you see your Plaster Paste separating in the jar, don’t worry, this is absolutely normal. Just take a palette knife, stir it and you are good to go.

Next, I embedded the cluster into the wet pastes, adding more plaster and crackle paste, made some marks using a texture tool from one of Finnabair’s brushes and left it to dry overnight. (Don’t rush this step if you want your cracks to be perfect.)

When the canvas was completely dry, I created my poppy and two seed heads using cotton from Finnabair's Fabric Pack and Sculpture Medium, shaping the petals with the help of an old brush (don’t use your good brushes as they might get damaged).

This step is very messy, so I recommend you to use a pair of latex gloves.

For the stems, I used some thick cotton string. I left the flowers dry completely but if you are impatient, you can hurry the process with a heating gun.

I started painting the background with Art Alchemy Metallique old and new (all of them are just fabulous!) and Impasto paints adding some Heavy White Gesso to the mix. You can see all the colours I used by watching the video and in the list below.

To add even more texture I used some of the new Rust Pastes and applied them with one of Finn’s new dabbing brushes (they work fantastic with the rust paste, but you can use them with Waxes and even with paints!).

I added some Art Stones to the centre of my poppy and few other places around the canvas, using 3D Gloss Gel to stick them down and then, I started to paint the flower, seed heads and stems.

For some nice contrast, to help my flowers stand out even more, I did some shading using Cobalt Impasto paint.

When I was happy with the result, I added some red splatters, painted the centre of the poppy with black Impasto paint and sprinkled some glitter on top.

To finish my painting I added a few touches of Art Alchemy Sparks – Dragon’s Eye.

Here is my video where you can watch my creative process and see the products I used.

Enjoy and have fun!

I love these delicate, butterfly-like flowers - apparently fragile, yet pretty resilient. Bent by the summer breeze, yet not broken.

They are always reminding me very much of the creative act of every artist…

“Through the dancing poppies stole A breeze most softly lulling to my soul.“ - John Keats

Have a lovely day, my friends,

Sanda xoxo

Products used: