“Embrace Your Dreams” Canvas by DT Mistra Hoolahan

July 16, 2013
Posted by daadmin

I am still loving creating reverse canvases… I love that I start with a pristine base and end up with an art-piece that really invented itself. From the tearing and rolling back the canvas, to adding the final touches, I just relax and create and then realise it’s finished!

[click on the image for a closer view]

This one actually wasn’t looking so great at it’s beginning. I had a muddle of colours that were competing with each other instead of blending like well behaved colours should. So I watered down some Dusty in Colour Mountain Meadow to create a spray and used that to help blend all the colours. Because there is so much body in the paint, and it dries so fast, the spray version created a perfect medium and helped blend all my colours together beautifully! {Remember to make up in small lots and rinse out your spray bottles after each use or the paint may set in the pump}.

This part I’m really excited about and had to share as my first closeup! I used a whole bottle of Dusty in Colour Clear Crackle Varnish in the background once the canvas was completed, I took a chance that I’d get some impressive cracks this way. It was a deep pool of varnish and took days to dry out… but look at those deep deep cracks, I LOVE them! Dusty’s Crackle and Gloss Varnishes are so well priced that it’s really affordable to ‘waste’ a whole bottle as a background glaze… and as you can see, the effect certainly wasn’t a waste!

I chose to use the new Corner Scroll #4 for this one… I like the bold yet dreamy pattern of the scroll, and with it coming in two sizes in the one pack I could create a layered effect with the smaller one tucked into the base under the large corner scroll.

The chipboard was glued onto the canvas raw, and sprayed at the same time as the canvas was to give it a flowing look. The edges were defined with Viva InkaGold rub, as were the canvas textures.

Thanks for visiting today… I hope you love the deep crackle effect and are inspired to give it a go also. Just remember, if you use a really thick coat, it will need time to dry through, don’t get impatient and ‘touch’ it to see if it’s dry {LOL like I do}. If the weather is cold or wet, pop it in front of the heater to help it dry quicker.