The Atelier

"Today" by Alli Paterson

This was a great assignment that really made me think about what it is that makes up my day and where and when do I actually do my creating. The first thing that came to mind was the car - during the week I am in and out of the car all day, getting ready to go somewhere or waiting to go and pick someone up from somewhere. After the car I made buildings to represent the different places we go - home, school, centre sessions, work and home again. So those are all the things I HAVE to do. What makes it all bearable? My gorgeous boys and my art. Riley my 3 year old just loved the poppet of himself. He would come and watch what I was doing, talked about the clothes, and when it was all finished he was quite excited that he and I were waving. I like to make myself available to them even if I'm 'working' on something as they are what gives me my subjects and my inspiration.

Buzz and Bloom products -
              Paisley Chipboard Flower
              Tubby Alphabet
              Paisley Flower stamp from the Paisley passion stamp set

Other products -
            2 x 40cmx50cm canvas
            paint
            patterned paper scraps

1. Make a sketch
2. Gather your props. I roughly sketched out my trees and houses and cut them out of patterned paper. I used part of the paisley flower chipboard as part of the tree and the bits I trimmed off made great birds.
3. Make your poppet people. I collected our heads and made them similar sizes. After printing and cutting them out I fashioned clothes from cardstock and patterned paper. I drew everything freehand to give it a slightly jumbled, less than perfect look.
4. Transfer your sketch to your canvas. I used pencil and left the pencil lines visible after the paint wash had been applied. I used 1 part paint to 3 parts water for my paint wash and applied it with a large brush.
5. The road most traveled - the road represents what we must do, so I have done quite bold words, repeated several times. The road is widest at home and narrows into the distance with a twist or turn for interest.

Putting it together

    6. Using modge podge I liberally covered the up side of the tubby chipboard alphabet and stuck them    onto patterned paper. Once they were dry, I cut them out and sanded the edges.

    7. Using texture paste I indiscriminately blobbed bits here and there and spread them out and added dots with the end of a paintbrush. Then when it was dry, I painted it a similar colour to the patterned paper.

    8. I stuck down the houses, car, trees and family, placing a book under the canvas and using a brayer to make sure they stuck well.

    9. I printed out my words and phrases and cut them up, inked them and stuck them down.

    10. I first stuck down the T, D and Y of my today, put them under pressure while they dried and then stuck down the O and A so they overlapped the other letters.

"Coffee Lover" by Alli Paterson

I need to be inspired visually before I can begin to create. I love looking at photos and finding ones that bring back memories of an event....a moment in our life...big or small....

We were helping out a friend on the weekend and Michael brought along his Presso coffee machine and I took a great photo of him making coffee. My husband Michael loves coffee, he roasts his own here at home in the garage, he is a self confessed coffee snob. I wanted to capture him doing something he loves but also showed through the impish personality he has, I think this photo says it all.

This photo inspired me to create a canvas to capture his love of a good coffee. I chose a canvas because they come in all sizes and have a nice dimension to them. This will hang in our office.

First stage: preparing the canvas

1.  Using a primed canvas (this is a canvas that has already been painted with gesso*, if you use raw canvas it is a good idea to seal the canvas with a coat of gesso* before starting)

2.  Apply a coat of combined 1 part water and one part liquitex gloss medium to the canvas and then layer toilet paper over the entire canvas, with your hands or a large foam brush dab or pat more of the liquitex/water mixture over the toilet paper then apply another layer again coating it with the liquitex/water mixture.

3.  Using your fingers squish down the toilet paper removing any air pockets that may have formed. Ideally you need to leave this to dry for 24 hours.

When it dries the toilet paper and liquitex mixture create a textured finish that when painted and colour washed several times will resemble leather. When selecting toilet paper for this project buy the thinnest cheapest type you can find that is single ply.

Stage two: applying the colour

1. to give depth and richness of colour I am using three colours for my canvas, I have selected English mustard as the base, dark brown and raw umber as the highlight colours.
2. The colours are applied one at a time in a wash form, so one part water and one part paint, once the canvas is covered excess paint is blotted off with paper towel or a sponge. The accent colours are not applied all over the canvas but wiped over and then off again with a dry cloth.
3. To finish metallic rub ons can be applied to edges and indiscriminately for effect.
4. As there is a large expanse of brown on my canvas I chose to paint the sides a bright vibrant colour that matches the colour of some other elements on the top of my canvas.

Decorating!

This is the fun part; I printed my photo A4 size using no border printing so it went right to the edges. I mounted it on a think piece of card and sanded the edges. Using the Buzz and Bloom Billy the Kid Alphabet stamps I stamped the word {LOVER} directly onto the canvas.

I have used the large Buzz and Bloom Chipboard Tubby Alphabet for my title, I have painted the edges to match the sides of the canvas and then I glued them in reverse onto the back of a photo of coffee beans and then cut them out and lightly sanded then to add definition.

Sticking them down you will need to place something under your canvas, liberally apply craft glue, liquitex, modge podge or something similar that has a strong hold once dry. Lay a clean sheet of paper over them and weight them with books.

I’ve added some papers with a little colour under my photo; it tones down the brown and also makes the painted and stamped Buzz and Bloom Round Corner Flourish stand out.

To finish I've added some rub ons directly to the photograph, some ribbon and charms and buttons. As the photo is my focal point I have only added a small amount of embellishment

* A prepared paste used as a ground for painting on wood or canvas, often made out of plaster of Paris or gypsum. The gesso tightens the canvas and prevents the oil paints from seeping through.