Float

This week I really wanted to play around with mixed media and stitch, so I combined the two on this canvas.  I call it Float.  When life gets rough and sends icy stormy seas your way, just float on top and stay calm. I started this canvas by using a mixture of white and ultramarine blue and the Sea Foam stencil.  I covered the whole canvas, varying the intensity of the blue.  I let this dry. Next I brayered a heavy body white paint over the pattern to push it more into the background. I let this dry. I wanted the next layer to add some shine and to look like icy cold waves.  My area of the US got hit by a massive snow storm and everything is freezing and covered by ice and snow.  That cold look came out in this painting.  I used the Surf stencil and iridescent pearl paint to add the waves.  It isn't a really obvious layer, but it does add shimmer and the wave pattern really shows from the right direction.  I let this layer dry too. Next I added waves with yarn and fibers.  The blue yarn is truffles yarn and I used fibers from the Sky mix.  I sewed them on with thread in a wave pattern.  I ended up cutting them off at the edge of the canvas and using gel medium to glue down the edges.  I covered the ends of all the fibers and yarn to make sure that they wouldn't fray.  I added a boat cut out of my hand dyed fabric that matched the colors in the fibers and background. I glued this down with gel medium too and smoothed it out well to avoid bubbles in the fabric.  I didn't put gel medium over the top of the fabric because I wanted it to stay soft. Next I painted the sun, sails on the boat, and a girl riding in the boat.  I used Derwent blocks and pencils to paint the sun and the sails, and the girl's dress.  I mixed the yellow with gesso to give the look of a pale winter sun.  I also used this mixture to add a touch on sunlight to the tops of the waves.  I refined the girl's face.  I used a salmon pink Neocolor two crayon for the skin tone and a variety of Sakura pens to add details to her face.  I used a white Sakura Gelly Roll pen to add highlights.  I used a mix of gesso and ultramarine blue to paint over the sky area.  I love how a bit of the stenciling still shows through.  I scraped Payne's grey paint with an old plastic card to give the painting a border and I did this on the sides of the painting too. I painted the edges of the canvas with Ultramarine Blue. For the final touch I used embroidery thread to add some stitching to the sun and the boat. The more layers of collage and paint that you have on the canvas the harder it is to sew through.  It is possible, though, to add stitches to a canvas to give it extra texture which I love so much. I hope that my painting helps you float above your troubles even when everything outside is icy cold and miserable. Janelle