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Joi here... from the RR Ranch in Texas saying:
HOWDY to YOU, my creative friends!
Yes... it's a fact... All Saints Day/Day of the Dead
is just around the corner so.....
HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all!!!!
Here at the ranch... we still have lots of lovely roses blooming.
But trust me, our rose beds do not hauntingly producing HORROR... until last night.... and then.....
what sounded like hundreds of coyotes eerily howled and whined...
a Mama cow began to bellow and a new baby calf screamed...
only to be silenced mid breath as the coyotes conquered...
and the black birds flew in mass overhead in the full moonlight...
the ground rumbled, turning red as the temperature rose...
and the Day of the Dead.... began... as the clock struck midnight.
Everything's Coming Up Roses.... right????
Mixed media it is - seems like this 20x24 canvas has it all!
So much texture, glitter and crackles that the photos just do not capture the spooky depth and eerie glamour of the painting.
Having never done this type of ghoulish artwork before, I began knowing this was a big step out of the box for me! As you can see by the photos of the process - the resurrection of this gal was intense! She just couldn't get her face on!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I cannot believe it but I didn't get a picture of the canvas with the first coat of paint on it except in this shot. It looks small in this picture but it is actually 20" x 24". It was so fun to just play with the paints - swirling and creating wild haunting colors!
I used layers of the following DecoArt acrylic paints.
The background also has:
Kaisercraft Clear Stamp Triangles Stamp
Plus various other items were used such as a sea sponge etc!
After the background was dry, I hand drew my skull by looking at a picture of a skull that I found online. It was turned sideways and throughout the process I wished I had drawn one that was totally a front view. It seemed harder to get the lines right on the face.
The teeth took me forever to get aligned and I decided I just didn't like her without hair so I totally went wild on the hair!!! First using paint, then adding: DecoArt Metallic Lustre Paints.
With some Ranger Stickles on top of the paint and lustre.
And then I just began painting! After I had the skull in it just seemed right to draw the hand... no idea why - just did it!!
Then it dawned on me that she could have a Raven with her!
Since I didn't remember to get a picture of the skull when I drew it - errrrrrr...
I made sure to get one of the raven - hope you can see him here!
Seemed like I wanted her to be a sugar skull type person so... I began adding texture.
DecoArt Modeling Paste
DecoArt Crackle Paste
Plus... an old stencil that has no markings.
At first, the stencil just went around the eyes... but bit by bit more was added - still going for the sugar skull appearance.
I used crackle paint on the teeth!!!
After stenciling around the eyes with the DecoArt Modeling Paste I began to paint the design with DecoArt Metallic Lustre Rose Gold.
Continuing to add more Modeling Paste and accent with Metallic Lustre in the following pictures!
I also added crackle paste on her arm, her hand, her eyes, her nose, her chin and her forehead.
I love intuitive painting so it was easy for me to spot the "faces" in the paint on the lower left. It just seemed natural to add the lines around the faces and making a cemetery!!!
But all along - working and playing and sometimes thinking I should give up because I really WAS creating a monster.... came the idea of adding the black roses. This time I used:
Galeria Glass Bead Gel mixed with black paint
The Crafter's Workshop Balzer Designs Mini Echoes stencil
All the extra birds were added near the end. The sky seemed so blank so I added three little birds.
Rubber Dance Stamps - For the Birds Set
Then I added two more for a total of five.
And then I thought... well... Alfred Hitchcock you were right...
lets just have the horror of the invasion of 'THE BIRDS'!!!!
I drew the crown on the Raven's head towards the end too. A group I am in called 'A Pleasant Escape' for artists - had a Queen Art Prompt... so why not make my raven royalty???!!!!!
The raven also had texture - some modeling paste as well as some glass bead gel. The beak is just the background color!!! The crown is bronze stickles and black paint.
Oh and let's NOT forget the ring bling on her finger!! Must be at least a 31 carat diamond with the number 31 embedded inside. Afterall - a lady should always remember the date of her hauntings!!
And LOOK... more ghostly faces. After finishing the roses... I scraped some of the remaining texture/paint with a credit card over the top of the green paint - just for fun. After it dried - there they were... ghoulish ghostly faces; seems as if they were the object of the hauntings!
Other items used in this mixed media process were:
Faber-Castell Big Brush and Pitt Pens
DecoArt Magic Brush and Stencil Cleaner (love this)
DecoArt Opaque Metallic Paint Markers
