layering it up!!

after a week in

susan tuttle on-line class

the first three lessons have been

all about layers and blending modes

above i used the texture i created

in my encaustic class last week

a photo of a tree, some text and a

grunge frame i found online

i added the tree photo on top of the texture

used the "screen" blending mode

the text was next

using the "multiple" blending mode

at 21% opacity

and finally the grunge frame

set to "hard light" blending mode

after i flattened it

i felt it was a bit too dark so

i duplicated it and

used the "screen" blending mode

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i like taking on-line classes

it forces me to sit and focus

and play!!!!

heatwave

with temperatures reaching a springtime high

and today it's 30c

i'm so happy to have a shade garden

with all this heat things are blooming weeks early

encaustic class

i just love how i start with one idea or intention

and then, with the magic of an iron or heat gun

the wax moves you in a whole other direction

happy accidents

i started out with several shades of caramel

rubbed in some green and umber oil paint

using waxed paper and an iron

i smoothed, moved, created bubbles

added more wax and oil paint

and then used the heat gun

finally a little more oil paint

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i haven't decide if i'll add a photo

but definitely i will use this texture

for my photoshop class

this time i added some square pasta

flattened it with wax paper and the iron

the gaps with the pasta created a lot more bubbles

the red oil paint really shows them off

here i was tried to re-created a "rust" effect

i used loose leaf tea and brown wax to create some texture

layers of several shades of blue

and finally a little copper powder

enjoyable weekend

now that all the work is done

i had a chance to really enjoy

the fruits of labour

just a little bit of maintenance

for the rest of the season

i even got to sit on the deck

with my new laptop and get some

work done for susan tuttles

online class

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above, a photo taken at the

paris antique market

for the texture

i used a scan of

some scratched paper

i found at the scrap booking store

years ago

i turned it into a black and white photo

i thought it would be too subtle but it worked

you can see more of our class work on flickr

the difference a fence makes

three years ago we put up this back fence

it gave us a chance to use the last 30 feet of our yard

i've been so busy planting

laying flagstone and enjoying the peacefulness

i haven't notice my neighbours yard

until yesterday!!!

i just hope when the wind does blows

it's moving north!!!

my side has been growing beautifully
every morning after an hour or two of working

i just sit with my tea and enjoy!

what a way to start my day

in the garden

it's our first long weekend of the garden season

time to relax , bbq, get the annuals planted

and celebrate

the queens birthday

happy victoria day weekend

to all my canadian friends

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above, one of many cornflowers in my garden

and wonderful layer mask from

shadowhouse creations

and some text from and old letter

encaustic class

some days you just have to let go

which is hard for me

i always have to have a plan

be in control

know exactly what i want to do

and how to get it done
today i was drawing a blank

a big blank

i dreamt of this great idea

it work out perfect in my dreams

and then when i got to class

nothing

which was frustrating a first

but i did let go and thought

i would just spend the class practicing

or try new color schemes

which lead to the 2 long boards above

this one was created with lots of wax

crisscrossing back and forth

to create lots of texture

but it looked boring so i stared adding

splashes and drops

and then came the drips!!!!

finally oil paint and scraping

back and forth until i liked the results

in between layers on the first board

i worked on the second

this time

a thick layer of wax and then covered
with parchment paper

out came it iron and with the help

of my class mate ron

we created some really cool bubbles

using the same technique

with the oil paint and mineral spirits

added more color

which enhanced the texture

i think next week i will

add a third board and maybe a

photo transfer