Feather in My Cap

Feather in My Cap
8x8x7/8"
Acrylic on canvas, with stamping,
colored pencil, and ink.
Since my sister surprised me with hand made earrings, I told her I would make her a painting. Knowing how much of a bird person she is, the subject matter was obvious. I went to Pinterest to get ideas and realized that my bird would have to look different from everything I saw there.
To begin, I decided to find some stamps I carved long ago. I searched through everything in drawers and closets, and couldn't find them. Add to this frustration, I couldn't find my small stretched canvases either. They had been moved to the garage attic, by Clean 'em up Dave. I went up there and dug through boxes in the dark until I uncovered the right Rubbermaid, and brought it down to earth. Then I was ready to begin. I carved four stamps from an artgum eraser, and played around with the shapes and then painted molding paste one of the 8x8" canvas panels and waited for the paste to dry.
The molding paste adds texture to the canvas and allows for interesting surfaces for the paint to collect. I drew out my idea first on paper to get a feel for what the image should be. I used this same paper to try out the colors. I didn't have a color scheme in mind, but thought about the bluebird I saw in my yard the other day. My sketch provided a clue to the hat and feather idea. Things like this happen, directly from the subconscious.


I used my stamp here, and altho it worked, I didn't like the imprint, so I painted into it and later used a wash over it and colored pencils on top of that. There is so much you can do when acrylic paint is your medium!
I carved four images from one artgum eraser. (Exacto knife found while looking for canvases!)

This is the sketch I used, and I may paint this and add it to something else down the road.
I am starting to have a messy table. Must get organized!

This just in: New work from Brooke.