Sunday, June 22, 2014

My turn at the blog hop is here.

Hi Arty folks,

Its my turn at the blog hop organized by Guada (she creates the most amazing mandalas) today. Our theme was Totem Animals. I have always had butterflies in my paintings and to me they meant presence of a spirit guide and of course transformation.

For this blog hop I created a butterfly in a batik effect which is usually seen on cloth. Its an ancient technique and it has been recreated on wood for you. Here is a step by step with pics. I hope you will enjoy making one too.

First I painted the background with white acrylic on a piece of wood (aka shade of wax) and once dry, I  lightly sketched out a design of a butterfly in pencil. I thought of stain glass kind of designs to make it easy and abstract.



I then poured some crackle medium on the piece and smoothened it out on the full surface. It looks nice and shiny. 


I gave it five minutes to react. (You might want to check the instructions on the bottle though) I then proceeded to paint the outlines in black acrylic color (I used the flowey kind by Hobby Ideas a local brand and not the ones in tubes as they are oil based) The lines can be uneven and I worked quickly. 


I then started to fill in the colors (slightly diluted with water) in the body, the border and the background. I used a flat brush and started filling in colors. Tip - Don't over lap the colors or they will cover the cracks.I had some 20 minutes to finish this before the crackling effect would stop. The piece has started showing crack marks as I was working as the it was quite warm and windy.  



Once dry I used a watery white and some black to enhance the outline of the butterfly.


This is how it looks finally...... 6"x6" on wood. 



I hope you enjoyed the process. Do try to make your own. I have not tried this on paper as yet but I am hoping it would work. 

To win just leave a comment and I will choose a winner on the 24th of this month. Here is what you get if you win.... yay. Its a hand painted bird with a silver finish chain. I will ship it to you at no cost anywhere in the world. Best of luck to all. 



Don't forget to drop by on all other participants blog posts and leave a comment. 


Much love and light being sent your way. 

Prerna Poojara
Catalyst for Creative Compassion

17 comments:

Isabelle said...

Dear Prerna,
Your piece is beautiful! You always make such beautiful art... Sending hugs to you!

Saskia said...

Thanks for sharing your work! So special and beautiful!

This blog hop is great!

Smiles from Belgium,
Saskia :)

Jackie said...

Butterflies are one of my favorite
winged insects! I like your crackle effect♥

Shells said...

Your butterfly is beautiful, thanks for sharing this technique.

Unknown said...

This is why I love blog hops... You know how everyone seems to have that one thing that eludes them?? Well I have been struggling with how to use Crackle paste, mine never seems to crackle. So I'm going to follow your steps in hopes I finally succeed in getting the crackle effect. Thanks so much for sharing. (((HUGS)))

Crystal said...

Very cool technique. Thanks for sharing.

Amy O'Toole said...

Prerna, I love the effect of the crackle on your butterfly! I have always loved butterflies. (I have a tattoo of one :) Nice tutorial with the pics...thanks for sharing!

Dianne said...

What a great project. Thank you for sharing.
Dianne

Coleen said...

Lovely, Prerna. Blog hops are always fun. Like a party online.
Blessings from Ukraine.

Guadalupe Brizuela Cabal said...

Thank you very much Prerna for joining The Blog Hop Club :)
I really appreciate it and I LOVE your butterfly, the crackle effect is stunning. (((hugs!)))

Ain't No Ninny said...

Great tutorial on how you created your colorful butterfly! Thank you.

Jill Marie said...

Your step by step posts inspire me soooooooo much! Thank you :)

Dianne said...

You made that look so easy

Unknown said...

What a beautiful effect, Prerna! Love this blog hop! Count me in for the next one!! :))

Candice Schwark said...

Love your techniques! Very special!

Shelley said...

Loved your artwork and instructions!!

Prerna Poojara said...

Thank you all for participating . I will announce the winner shortly. Please feel free to try the method and write back with your experiences. Would love to hear how it turned out for you.