The Dark Canvas: Part 2

 

Step 5: Adding some details

So in this photo you can see I added in some details. First off, I shaded house, tree, and bushes with gelatos. I used purple and black mostly. I also highlighted the moonshine along the side of the house with white Brilliance ink. I dabbed a cotton swab onto the ink pad and then dabbed the ink to the canvas. Also made little dots among the stars in the sky the same way. I applied purple paint to the end of a paper towel tube and added some broken circles to the background. Stamped some random texture to the background in StazOn Azure blue and jet black.

 

You can't really tell in this photo but I did paint the stars with the Silver Bells Silk acrylic paint. They dried with a bit of a shine but not exactly what I was looking for. Hmmm...

 

Added in the details of the house with purple paint and decided to put in my bedroom window on the roof. I wanted that window to be lit so mixed up a light orange color paint and painted.

 

Here's where I stopped again to let the paint dry. I often like to set the canvas aside for a bit even overnight as I get too "focused" on it. I find that my mistakes aren't so big when I go back to it. It's also easier to detect what it is that the canvas needs.

 

 

Step 6: Finish the Vision
I attempted to take a picture of the whole canvas but it just came out to blurry and I'm too lazy to go back to the basement to try again. My photos of the major changes in the canvas are ok, though.

So after a day or two of sitting, I came back to the canvas. My only plan at that point was to sharpen up the window and maybe add some sprays to make the canvas sparkle. And do something with the space. I thought I might be close to finishing. But then again...

I decided to make the canvas about the Man in the Moon and use part of the poem as a quote to fill the space. So there he is at the top. While I liked the moon as it was, I really wanted to give the piece a more child-view quality. After all, this canvas reflects a childhood memory. So what image does "Man in the Moon" conjure?

I blended the edges of my paper pieces (house and tree) with purple and black gelato to shade them a bit and make them more like the background. I decided these weren't going to be my focal pieces.

Step 7:  Put on the Quote
I decided to go with part of the quote to fill up my "space". At first, I thought I would just write it with Sharpies directly onto the canvas but I didn't want to screw it up. And I usually hate the way my handwriting looks. I remembered, though, that a lot of artists (and scrapbookers) encourage handwriting as it makes the piece even more unique. So I compromised.

I printed the words onto scraps of paper and cut them out in blocks to adhere to the canvas. I have always liked this look. I used more gelato to blend in the edges, adding a touch more blue here.

Step 8: Finishing touches?
I sprayed some Glimmer Mist (Haunted Shadows) over the top corner away from the moon and some toward the tree. I also sprayed some Smooch spray (a light purple) closer to the moon as it seemed lighter in color as well as a Smooch Spray (a bright blue) in this area. Both sprays have a mica or opalescent value to them but they don't show up that well on the canvas. I set the canvas aside at this point again because the sprays needed to dry and well...I decided that something wasn't working with this canvas...

So at this point, I sat back and decided the canvas now looks TOO dark. The Glimmer Mist spray was much darker than I had anticipated and shadowed too many of my stars. So my plan now is to lighten the stars. I like the light in the window and the moon stands out well. I do want the moon, the stars, and the window to be the main "eye-catchers" of the piece.

Got a few ideas and hopefully will have more photos on Sunday!
I'll also share my new butterfly canvas that came about alongside this one.
--Wy
"Mine is the night, with all her stars." --Edward Young