CANVAS# HPJ-2016-02: Old Time

Hi there! I finally finished this canvas. I made the base ages ago, but I just couldn't finish it. I stored it away and I just brought it out this morning to work on it again. 

Here is how it turned out.

We went on a trip to the Taal Heritage Village last April and it was like traveling back into time-into the bygone days of the Spanish period where houses were made of stone on the lower floor. For this they are called bahay na bato. This little town is rich with history and culture. We had visited the ancestral houses, others turned into museums, of important personages of our country's history and learned a lot about their lives back then and of course their contribution to society. We have only been there for an overnight stay, but we have seen and heard and felt a lot. This visit has had a deep impression on me. I hope I could go back there some day for a longer stay.

Anyway, let's go back to the canvas. Remember the 12"x12" paper pad I bought from Wellmanson's a few months ago? The papers were so pretty I squeed while leafing through the pages. They are all so awesome. Most of them I thought I could use on a canvas especially the one that I used on this particular project. Upon seeing the page, I immediately thought of making a mixed media canvas with our photo from our Taal Village trip. With that in mind, I began the project.

I started by coating the edges of the canvas with black acrylic paint. After drying, I adhered the patterned paper onto the canvas using soft gel. At first I thought I ruined it because there were bubbles all over the canvas. I wanted to pull out the paper, but controlled myself (which was a feat since I was so annoyed buy it). I just put it aside while trying to get some breather. I got frustrated over it obviously. When I got back from doing some other things to see what I could do to salvage it, I was surprised to find it dry and smooth. The lumps were gone. It was as if those lumps never existed. I told myself that I will just stick to Elmer's glue with a part of water, but I guess soft gel works fine as well. It just needs time to dry. 

It was the first time that I used it to adhere a large piece of paper onto a canvas. I have seen videos of Elena Morgun using soft gel medium in adhering paper and embellishments on her projects, but I have not tried it before this. I still prefer using a mixture of white glue and water though and my new favorite for adhering embellishments and boards, Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue. 

I layered scraps of patterned paper, book paper and board paper onto the right side of the canvas to serve as a background for the photo. I then stenciled with molding paste. That was the last step I've taken before completely stopping. I just didn't know how to go on.

This is nothing new. This happens every once in a while then I would pick it up and work on it again. And a lot of time, the finished project is so different from what I pictured it should be.

So this morning, I tasked myself to complete it no matter what.

I adhered the photo onto the matte. Well, I smudged gesso around its edges first before doing so. I then put in the wooden embellishments and the metal charms and the paper flowers. I splattered ink onto the surface and gessoed the embellishments. I added some more metal elements and some beads and adhered the sentiment. I put in some crystals as a finishing touch. That's that. Project complete! Great! I can now move on to my art journal. I still owe you a couple of pages. 

I hope you come back later and check out my art journal pages. Thanks for stopping by today! Happy Monday!




MATERIALS AND TOOLS USED: Conda 12"x12" Canvas, Reeves Acrylic Paint Mars Black, Eno Greeting 12"x12" paper pad Retro Series, scraps, printed photo, Eno Greeting Wooden Embellishments, Rosie's Studio Wood Veneers, Eno Greeting 3D Stickers, paper flowers, metal charms, self-adhesive crystals, Golden Molding Paste, The Crafter's Workshop Stencils Mini Art Is and Mini Chicken Wire Reversed, Golden Soft Gel Gloss, Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue, chipboard, Pebeo Gesso