The Time To Be Happy Is Now

Mixed Media art canvas

Well February went by in a blur don't you think? I spent much of my time sorting out my future but managed to squeeze in a bit of time to create a few new mixed media canvases. Most of my art right now focuses around words and phrases that carry a positive message. I made the canvas above when my daughter and my new grandson were coming to visit to hang in the guest room. I thought it carried a very fitting message for the occasion.
 I used the same color palette as with the picture from my last post. The inspiration for this color palette was a package of napkins I bought last year.

 

I absolutely love the colors, they are great for inspiration. I started by painting the 18"x 24" canvas with olive green and cadmium yellow paint.
I used Modge Podge Matt Medium to adhere torn pieces of the napkins to the canvas.
 Next I added texture by pushing modeling paste pushed through a 6x6 Crafters Workshop stencil "Mini Flower Frenzy".

I love these stencils by The Crafters Workershop. Here is a picture of the stencil

I used white modeling paste but then sprayed over the stenciled flower pattern with Smootchies blue and gold spritzers. I had a very bright canvas at this point and wanted to mute it a bit in some places. To do this I sponged Titan Buff paint over a good portion of the canvas. In some areas I wiped the paint back off with a baby wipe and I left it alone in other places for maximum coverage.

Satisfied that the background was complete I started working on the message. The quote I found on the internet is by Robert G Ingersoll. The full quote is "The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so."
I printed the words out on my ink jet printer on a heavier weight paper and cut the words out individually. I used a black permanent marker to outline the words and adhered them to the canvas using Modge Podge.

I used the Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers Die Cut and cut the flowers out using old book pages. Then I inked the paper flowers with Tim Holtz Distressed Inks in Spun Sugar, Barn Door and Dusty Concord. The centre of the flowers are buttons and the stalks are green ribbon. I left the ribbon long to hang past the end of the canvas to create flow and movement.

Finally, I added a couple of butterfly stickers and a bee, because what is a flower garden without a few of these?

I hope you enjoyed this brief tutorial. Sent me a message if you have any questions.