Giving a New Face to an Old Piece of Art

Oh, my. I have so many art remnants from teaching, writing art books and experimenting. Periodically I go through them to either experiment more or to give them a new life. Man Oh Man, It's raining men, started as a piece from one of my books, Alternative Art Surfaces.

SUPPLIES

Piece of old art
Creative Paperclay®
Stamps
Stencil
Cast objects
Acrylic paint

I applied a wash of gesso over the surface to back down the image. This helped me to reclaim it and give start a new narrative. My work is all about the story.

After braying a sheet of Creative Paperclay® onto my surface, I stamped, stenciled and added cast objects. The flower was a dry cast Creative Paperclay® object while the others were damp when applied to the surface. I smooth out areas with a little water on my fingers. I wanted the escutcheon to be partially buried in the clay to give the feeling of age.

  Once it has dried, I coated it with a layer of polymer medium matte to seal the clay before painting. I finished it by lightly applying foil to the piece.

Reclaim an old piece of art that you have lying around your art space and enjoy the process of starting again.

Dream in Color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Going Baroque with Creative Paperclay®

There is magic in mixed media. Old objects get a new life and are given a new story. I have drawers full of cast objects, charms and beads that I use as finishing elements in my art. I find boxes with broken jewelry and odd stuff on my doorstep often. People in town know I use these second hand interesting things (S.H.I.T.) in my art. As a mixed media artist, you never throws ANYTHING away.

SUPPLIES
Creative Paperclay®
Stamps
Old jewelry
Beads
Stencil
Polymer medium

This piece started by laying out shapes of Paperclay on an old painted, cradled panel. I stamped into the clay then went through my drawers full of objects I had previously cast with left over pieces of Paperclay. After selecting the lucky pieces, I glued them down on the dry butterfly shape. Then I coated everything with polymer medium to seal the clay before painting it.

Then I started the painting process using several shapes of purple, gold and buff colored paints. I dry brushed the gold over the purple to pick up the highlights in the texture.



















I went through my drawers full of small objects, jewelry, keys, and whatever that I keep in muffin tins. I always search these treasures to finish off a piece of art.

Now I add my small treasures to my art to embellish it. Some I painted just a little and, of course, I added some stencil work.

There is nothing like the pleasure of creating.

Dream in Color.

Darlene Olivia McElroy