Thursday 1 November 2012

Orange, Brown and White at Artful Times. . . .

As the title suggests, the theme at Artful Times is to use orange, brown and white in your work. Quite a difficult combination for me. I could imagine using two of the colours together but kept getting stuck by adding in the third.

I decided to start by choosing an image I wanted to use and then went from there. I chose one of my favourite Lynne Perella stamps and decided to make a tag (again!!). I aimed for a very distressed, aged look somewhat akin to old wall paintings which have either deteriorated over time or have been uncovered hundreds of years later.

I used layers of acrylic paint and some sanding to create my background. At one point I was going to add more to the background but I decided to leave it alone because I felt it works better just as it is. See what you think when you look at my tag:

As you can see, I had some trouble with the sharp light today - I just couldn't seem to get the right light for the photos! My tag was intended to give the look of an old distempered wall with a chalky top coat and layers of subdued colour underneath.

The flower is die cut and coloured with dylusion ink and shimmer spray. The centre of the flower was created using a brad with a coloured gem. The leaves were cut from crunchy paper coloured with alcohol inks. Both flower and leaves were shaped after assembly.
The sentiment was computer generated and coloured with inks to match the acrylic colours used. The language is Latin and in English reads: 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'. I used this because the tag is very distressed looking but some will still find it beautiful - others may not!! The vintage style seam binding at the top of the tag was coloured with relevant shades of distress ink.
The image was stamped using archival coffee ink to fit the theme colours. You can see here that various shades of orange and brown peep through the sanded areas of paint. I like the way the warm white paint allows the ink to look distressed too, even though it was a first generation stamp.
Slightly blurred - sorry! The lace is die cut in kraft paper. This was inked and some warm white acrylic paint was added to tone in with the background. The jute twine was added as a finishing touch with a natural look.

Thanks for having a look at my work. I enjoyed using paint and will certainly use it again - I particularly liked the fact that if it went wrong, I could just paint over it and start again!

27 comments:

  1. A fantastic technique, great effect.

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  2. Julia
    A wonderful shabby arty feel to your tag and your background reminds me of Basic Grey but so much better.
    The image works beautifully with the colours and the addition of the twine, perfection.
    Wishes
    Lynne

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  3. Love the depth you've created with the stamping Julia and the sentiment looks fabulous in Latin!
    Val x

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  4. Great tag. The flowers and leaves are fantastic.

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  5. Intention met well and truly hun. It reminds me of those programmes on the tele where they start peeling off layers of wallpaper and discover some amazing hidden and faded fresco from centuries earlier. Isn't it great when you find a technique that really works the way you want it to. Beautifully finished as ever, hugs Buttons x

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  6. Only one word: Stunning. To take away the harshness in the photo just use a photo imaging probramme, all Windows PCs come with one ready installed, it is a one click job as well.

    Cassidy xx

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  7. I find it absolutely beautiful, Julia... it looks like a genuine piece of history, full of character and atmosphere. The perfect image, and your distressed painted wall background needs absolutely nothing else - it is a work of art in itself. This is certainly beautiful in the eye of this beholder (but then, you might have guessed that!!)... amazing and inspirational work.
    Alison xx

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  8. A great tag Julia
    Love the combination o colors very much.
    Your leaves and flowers are fantastic.
    Greetings Janny

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  9. Gorgeous tag Julia, I love the technique you have used to create your superb painty background (lol, I love paint, would be lost without it and my DI's!!), will definitely having a go at that soon. Tee hee, girl after my own heart too with the Lynne Perrella stamps, ha ha ha Karen recently asked if there was anything I fancied for crimbo, guess one of my suggestions!!!!!
    Huge hugs x x x x

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  10. I just sooo love this Julia. The combination of colours are beautiful and go so well together. I just love that stamp!! Your flower is gorgeous and the whole tag has a wonderful historic feel to it as if someone had just found it in a well loved family box. Stunning!!

    And thank you too for your lovely comments left today - you are too sweet!

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  11. Again....a great look Julia...Lovely details on the artistic background, the stamp is great!
    You're so good in this kind of artwork!

    hugs, Alie :-)

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  12. Gorgeous tag Julia, quite shabby chic really. I too love those images of LP's - good use you have made of it. Your colour coho is just right for this tag.
    Thanks for joining us again at Artful Times.
    Hugs, Neet xx

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  13. Hi Julia, I have been playing with the Lynne Perella stamps too! I love what you did with this tag. There is a rich but quiet elegance which is just beautiful.

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  14. You've captured a fabulous old world look! I love Lynne's stamps too! Fabulous tag!

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  15. Love the background with the image Julia :) I think you have achived what you set out to create :)
    Thank you for sharing it with us at Artful Times
    Von ♥

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  16. A fabulous 'shabby' tag Julia! I love the background! x

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  17. An amazing tag, so cleverly done! Thanks for pointing me in the direction of this challenge( I don't usually do challenges but had just the thing!) Chrisx

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  18. I think your tag is wonderful! You did an amazing job combining the colors and the flowers are gorgeous!

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  19. Fantastic as always....just love your creations...this one features such gorgeous colors and inking...love it!

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  20. Julia, you certainly have achieved the weathered look. This looks great! This is a technique I would like to explore. Cheers, Di

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  21. wow julia, that background is loverly, I love the sanded back shabby feel. and not colours I would have thought to use together off the bat. looks great. mark x

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  22. OOO gorgeous - it has the feeling of a really old gift tag attached to a present given a hundred years ago and found in an old Hall. Nothings ever simple with me you know!!!!

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  23. Fabulous background effect and it does look like an old flaking wall! The flower and leaves look wonderful in that paper - I got some PaperArtsey Crunky Wax paper at GNP, but its still in the packet - need to play!
    Avril xx

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  24. Lovely! Great tag in that distressed look. The embellishments are really beautiful too.

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  25. Oh grungy goodness here!!! Love the image, the monochromatic color and the theme...a fab make!

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  26. Boy, would I love a stamping play date with you. That LP stamp is fabulous and I love how you've done your colors. The flower and leaves are such a fantastic embellishment!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Juliax