You saw how the painted background was put together last week, so this week I am showing you how the rest of the canvas has been put together, including some tips for painting skin and hair.

I forgot to include a materials list last week, so have included the complete list this time.

Make sure the canvas is thoroughly dry before stamping onto it.  I have used Versafine Onyx Black to stamp with as it is a good strong black that works well over paint.  It does need plenty of time to dry, or you could dry it with a heat tool. 

The advantage of the slow drying time is that if you can clean off the stamping ink if you wipe it immediately.

I drew in a face with a Pigma Micron pen - you can practice this on paper first if you want to have a go.

Dab a little white paint onto a palette. I have an old pyrex plate that I use as a paint palette - it washes clean every time.

Use a small flat brush to apply white paint to any parts of the figure which are exposed skin.  It doesn't have to be completely opaque, but it gives you a cleaner base to apply a skin tone to.  Keep the paint just within the stamped lines.

You can see here that I have finished painting the skin white.

The advantage of doing this means that while doing the background, you don't have to worry about how the colours will affect the figure.

I added more paint to my palette: Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Vintage Photo and the blue is Broken China for the shoes.

While the white paint is drying, you can start on the hair using a mixture of Mustard Seed and Wild Honey.

Add in some strands of Vintage Photo, particularly around the bottom of the face and around the neck as this is where the hair will be in shadow.

Paint the shoes blue and add just a tiny touch of white highlight to the top and heel.

Choose a selection of water based markers - I used Distress, but Memento or Tombow would work as well, however, please see the Hindsight Notes below before you choose!

Colour the skin areas with Tattered Rose.  You will find that over paint, the markers will come out much paler than they would on paper.

Use Tea Dye to add stronger colour down one side of each leg and where there are shadows, such as under the skirt.

Use a wet paintbrush to blend the colours together.  Don't use too much water or you will lift the colour out altogether.

On the face, you can introduce some pinks - Victorian Velvet for the cheeks and Aged Mahogany for the lips.  A tiny dab, blended with water is all you need.

Here she is finished and ready for her clothes.  I had already stamped up her dress onto pink patterned paper before I started which is what determined the whole colour scheme.  I stamped the crown and the bow on her dress from blue paper and used matte multi medium to apply all the paper layers.

After sticking the dress down, I decided to add a little more stamping with the floral texture background using Archival inkpads.

I stuck a band of lace down the side of the canvas using gel medium which is heavier than multi medium and will hold thicker or bulkier items in place better.  It dries completely transparent so you can't see it.

Apply other embellishments with an appropriate adhesive.

 

I originally ran this series in 2013 and this time round, I am using my own tutorials to inspire me to create a new piece of artwork to share with you each week. 

I love to create and I am also passionate about inspiring and enabling others to create too.  I hope that this email gets your mojo working and you feel motivated to get into your crafty space and have a go.





PS - if your creation features Chocolate Baroque stamps, then why not share on our Facebook Group or our wonderful private forum. In both places you will find a wonderful community of like minded Chocolate Baroque fans.