Mixed Media || Dandelion Clocks

Yeh, so I basically winged this piece of art, but I love it!! It is so very unique... If you follow me over on Facebook, you will have seen this come together, I hope you enjoy seeing bits of the process :)

This idea started out when I was creating some abstract paintings, and I wondered how it would look if I applied paint in the same way to aida fabric - turns out, it looks great! I also painted an embroidery hoop, and wrapped some appropriate threads around a section of it, secured with double sided sticky tape - just to add some extra interest and texture.

After securing the aida to the embroidery hoop, I started working into it, freestyle, with a needle and thread. I started with some half cross stitches, using scraps of thread I had left over from other projects. I stitched some zigzags over the top - it's a technique I've used in a kit before, and I really like the effect. I also stitched some dandelion clocks on with some feature beads, before applying felt to the back for support, and tying the top with a ribbon. I think the combination of colours and textures is unique and exciting, I really love it!

"Love" - Mixed Media Artwork

Without this turning into an essay, I began this canvas a couple of years ago when I was very ill. It allowed me to go into my art room for just a few minutes at a time, throw some paint around, and feel like I was creating.

Some days it was paint. Some days it was a scalpel. Some days a permanent marker, or silicone filler. Textured filler, or tissue paper. It has layers of hurt and layers of beauty. Paint added in so many different ways, words and colours that meant something to me over the months and years it took to make. 

I think it's finished now.

The Younger Years VI

I vividly remember going through this "collage" phase in the mid nineties. I would just collect anything I could find and add it to my paintings to create masterpieces! Simple things such as kitchen roll, newspaper and string; but also other things such as tinsel, wool, shredded paper, party popper innards, milk lids and bottle tops.

It's weird how some things we remember so vividly. I still enjoy collage though. I worked a lot with mixed media for my A levels, experimenting with creating different textures - I'll try and share some of it with you soon. I think being allowed to experiment early on can really set a person up well to experiment when they're older, and to think outside of the box the world wants you in.

Regulars on my art desk nowadays include filler, silicone sealant, different sponges, sandpaper, chicken wire and remnants of packaging. They can all add different effects and textures to any piece of art, it's all about simply trying things.

Art on the Network

I recently entered Merseytravel's Art on the Network competition, to bring art to the public, and to liven up the public transport environment. www.merseytravel.gov.uk/newsarticle.asp I am pleased to share that I was shortlisted to the final five for the category I entered, "Wirral".

Art on the Network by ~bicyclegasoline on deviantART 

The piece is painted in acrylics with photograph sections, and the sea is made form torn train tickets. It took a lot of time to do, but was fun :) It is entitled "Maritime Wirral", with the lighthouse combination of Leasowe and New Brighton, the building in the foreground from Woodside ferry terminal, and the windmills off the shore at New Brighton.