Thursday, December 10, 2015

THE BIRTHDAY OF THE KING Mixed Media 20x24 Canvas

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Christmas is fast approaching and for me...
it's the very special celebration of the birthday of Jesus. 

I love to sing (in fact used to solo with Up With People!!) and my favorite solo at Christmas is: Twas the Birthday of the King.
My Mama sang it before me and I carried on the tradition. Wish I knew how to include a little audio for you!!! But here is a picture... as you can see... I get quite into the spirit of the song! Singing praise and worship songs of any kind is instant joy for me!


I said all that.... to say... I loved painting this picture because I sang that song the entire time - along with other Christmas songs! 
Here is my version of "The Birthday of the King". 


The following products were used: 



I began with some texture - adding glass bead gel to the canvas. 



Working on the sky was quite the adventure.  Here is a picture I snapped along the way!  My first color was the very dark DecoArt Prussian Blue Hue. Then it going back and forth from the DecoArt Titanium White and the blue until I made a night sky. 



Here is how the painting looked at quitting time the first day. 



The next time I began adding stamps and stencils.  The sky stencils were the big star in the center and the tiny stars - both stencils were by Plaid.  I got them in a lot of old stencils when I first started painting a year ago - just to have something to work with!  You can see the other one in the picture above. 


The stamps used on this painting are all Rubber Dance Art Stamps.


And no - my acrylic block isn't dirty at all but my pad below sure is!!!  Heheheh! I mix my paints on it and never clean it thoroughly until I'm finished!!  For the swirls in the sky - using this stamp - I used DecoArt Media Titanium White Antiquing Cream - just turned the stamp over in the cream and then added it to the sky. 



Here you can see I added the stamped swirls and some shading to the hills and valleys. 



I wanted texture on the hills and valleys too! 


After the small stars were dry I highlighted them with DecoArt  Radiant Red Metallic Lustre. And a bit on the big star too!



Then I began adding the town of Bethlehem! I drew the palm tree with my ever present Faber-Castell Big Brush and Pitt Pens.  The palms are with Prussian Blue Hue. The trunk with Naphthal Red and Quinacridone Gold (which is more red than gold). 


I love trying to use my stamps in crazy ways so I made the city with the help of more Rubber Dance Stamps! 







Then I painted in the little town as my imaginations saw it! 



Now if you laughed when you saw my sheep - it's ok because they are very unique!!! But at least I was brave enough to draw them.  I should have had a sheep stamp - you are so right!  Well... ok - a manger scene stamp would have been great too!!!!!!!! 


The last accent was to add DecoArt Glamour Dust. If you haven't tried it - you should. But then, I love glitz and glam and sparkle so it ends up in a LOT of my projects! 




I am blessed to be able to paint picture of how I imaged Bethlehem might have looked when Christ was born. 







Even the sides are fun to do and to see!!!




Happy, blessed, and especially meaningful Christmas to you all. 
With Love, j.


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Excited to enter this painting in the following challenges: 

"Tis the Season" for the Star of Bethlehem! 
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Wish Upon A Star

I wished on my star.... 
for you ALL to have a Blessed Holiday Season!
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Take It Make It Challenge - December
Sharing the Season
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Creative Team Blog
'Christmas' Challenge


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24 comments:

Fliss said...

Wow Joi! This is absolutely stunning and my jaw dropped when I saw it! Such amazing texture and the night sky is sooo beautiful!
Love it!
Fliss xx

Valerie-Jael said...

This is a wonderful and meaningful painting, so beautifully made, well done. I would have liked to hear you singing it, too! Have a great day, hugs, Valerie

Pamellia said...

Wow Joi, just brilliant (geddit, brilliant like a star, haha) You must have the patience of a saint to make such large pieces of art, so much more detail is required on a large surface, and you haven't missed an inch! LOVE how the rays of the star shine out in all directions, beautiful effect!! I am once again blown away by the art you create!! Such a talent and an inspiration! hugs :)

Win Dinn, Artist said...

That sky is a knock-out, Joi - you did a fabulous job on the whole thing, but the sky....oh my, the SKY! Well done, my friend. xo

Words and Pictures said...

Amazing paintwork and so clever with the underlying texture. I love how the star's rays emanate with such glorious power. Another brilliant canvas, Joi.
Alison x

Lynne Moncrieff said...

This is glorious! The beauty of the paint, the way you created such amazing texture and I so love the way the rays emanate from the star. This is indeed very special!
Your mat is really clean, I would share a photograph of my mat but I am far too ashamed!!!! I think I need to invest in a new one for 2016 lol.
Wishes
Lynne

Lee-Anne said...

This is absolutely amazing, Joi! What a stunning piece of art you've created!

Cornelia (fun stamping) said...

Your sky reminds me about Van Gough! So expressive!

Suman Pandit said...

Joi this is absolutely amazing !!!

Ellie Knol said...

LOVE your creation for our challenge!
Thanks for joining in with the TIMI challenge...

xxx Ellie Knol xxx

Gio said...

Wow, this is outstanding! Thanks for playing with us at the TIMI challenge :-)

ionabunny said...

Joi, this is gorgeous. I love it. I am in awe of your technique, patience and result. I love that you used the Rubber Dance For The Birds stamps in such an innovative and unique way. Thank you for sharing your art with us at the Rubber Dance challenge. Have a very merry christmas. Hugz

Gemma Hynes said...

WOW, this is a stunningly beautiful piece of art. Thank you for joining in this months challenge at The Artistic Stamper.

Majo said...

This is an outstanding creation! I love every single step of it. Thanks so much for sharing this beauty with us at Rubber Dance Stamps.

Hugs
Majo - DT

Bibi Lindahl said...

Awesome, Joi! I LOVE how you used my stamps in such a clever and creative way!! My jaw must have dropped several floors when I saw how you did that. Way cool!!! Thank you for joining our challenge at Rubber Dance with your beautiful painting.
Merry Christmas! ♥

nitisartfromheart.bloggspot.no said...

Beautiful art, joi! ♥ Thank you for joining in on the Rubber Dance Challenge. Hope to see you soon again!
Wish you a merry Christmas!
Hugs ♥

sarascloset said...

LOVE IT!!! Joi, I'm so happy I've been able to take some time to visit with you today! This painting is my all time favorite! I love your vision of the night that Christ was born! My vision was not so optimistic, for some reason, although it is indeed a celebration for all of us, because we know that Christ was born to bear the burden of our sins.

It is delightful reading about your love of singing, and to see a photo to prove it! I do wish I could hear you sing...you have MANY gifts! I do love to sing at church, although we attend a contemporary service, and I'm not familiar with more traditional hymns. I'm not sure if the people who sit in front of us like me to sing. :)

I'm thrilled to see you enjoying your DecoArt products, and making them all proud! It is so fun to see how your paintings develop and now I am doubly impressed knowing you have only been painting a short while. You go!

thank you for the bottom of my soul for your lovely comments and thoughts on my blog. Everyone of these messages means the world to me, and you are such a source of inspiration and encouragement to me! I hope I will find time to read each and every one of your posts that I've missed. I've got plenty of catching up to do! Have a Merry Christmas! Big hugs! PS I'm glad you love the sparkly the way I do! I'd sprinkle my house in glitter and glamour dust if my kitties wouldn't get sick!

sarascloset said...

Oops, lot's of typos above. Please forgive!

Susanne Rose said...

Wow! This is fantastic! I love it. Thanks for sharing! Thank you for playing along with us over at the Rubber Dance Challenge. Use "susanne2015" on your next order in the Rubber Dance online store to save 15%! I wish you lovely holidays. xx Susanne.

Trish Latimer said...

Thank you so much for playing along with my challenge 'Wish Upon A Star' over at Our Creative Corner! LOVE this.... fabulous texture and colours! Trish x

Kristiina said...

Absolutely awesome! Wishing you the best of luck with the Rubber Dance challenge, so cool to be able to get just a touch more from your stamps. (and I think those sheep are cute :)

Linda said...

WOW!! This is amazing. Thank you for playing along with the Craft Stamper Challenge. Linda xx

sarascloset said...

Congratulations on your Top Three at Our Creative Corner! I'm so happy you won with this amazing canvas! Big hugs!

maria f. said...

Stunning! I swear I see a multitude of angels in your night sky.