"Friends" Canvas Art

It has been since late November since I have felt like creating anything.  I have been in a fugue and my mojo went on a long vacation.  Today, at Birds of a Feather Kit Company, Linda posted a canvas and photo piece she found on Pinterest (http://forum.birdsofafeatherkitco.com/viewtopic.php?f=450&t=7748) to inspire the members.  Along with Lynne Erskine Forsythe's recent use of Deco Mesh (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201836592375080&set=p.10201836592375080&type=1&theater), I finally got off my fanny and played.

1.  I used a 12x4 canvas that I had been given a while ago and liberally painted then dabbed it  with Textured Effects by Helmar.

 2.  Once this had dried, I used a combination of Radiant Rain Shimmering Mist by Luminarte and Glimmer Mist to color the canvas.

3.  Before the paint dried entirely, I over laid some netting I bought at a home decor store .  I brayered it onto the canvas and trimmed the excess.  As the paint dried, it adhered the netting to the canvas.

4.  I did not have Deco Mesh but had saved something similar that had been packing in a package I had received.  I cut rectangle to fit the canvas and then I  painted this with a mix of the same colors as the canvas and added brown and gold with ink pads so it would stand out.  I used a heat tool to dry the paper and gently separated the sections.  I used double sided tape to adhere it along the bottom and sides only.

5.  I found pictures of the Grands I wanted to use and, in Picasa, I changed them to sepia.  When I printed one of those, it got lost in the canvas so it was back to Picasa.  I then changed the three pics to sepia and "warmed" them.  I printed them onto canvas paper and played with arrangements.

6. Once I decided upon going horizontal, I used a blue soft pencil to color in the Grands eyes for a hint of color .  I added the waxed thread to the bottom and sides, adhered the photos and inked the edges of the canvas to add definition.

 

7.  Lastly, I added my embellishments.  I had this "friends" metal word in my stash but it was gold and seemed to vanish into the background.  I used a permanent marker to color it.  First, I just went over the entire word with the pen and then I went back and dabbed to give it texture.

I added the name plate (also from my stash) and positioned it at an angle to emphasize the fun nature of the piece.

Thanks for looking and many thanks to Linda at Birds of a Feather and Lynne, whom I adore, for the inspiration and impetus to create again.  And thanks to you for looking.