Sunset on Canvas

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Well, those that celebrate it!  My kids are just excited to have a break from school!  They don't fully understand the meaning behind Thanksgiving!

Anyway, on to the art!  Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of joining some of my Ohio friends at a scrapbooking gathering for a whole weekend!  I did mixed media all weekend and had a blast!  One of the things that I created was a sunset canvas!  I was looking through all of my stencils, and I thought I could do something w/ my new(er to my collection) Tim Holtz sunset Rays stencil!

Here's the picture that I found on google images that I used for inspiration:


















And here's my interpretation.  From my phone, the golds of the inspiration photo didn't really come through!  It looks rather different now that I'm looking at it on here!!  Oh well!

To create the sky background, I used a multitude of Distress Inks:  Iced Spruce and Weathered Wood that I sponged on in a horizontal swing motion.  Same w/ the yellows and then tried to blend the grays and yellows together.  The yellows: Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, and Wild Honey (towards the bottom).

To create the sunbeams, I placed my Rays stencil over the center of the canvas and sponged the Weathered Wood lightly and then darker to create the effect I was going for.  I used the same ink to create the clouds.  I freehand cut the clouds to mimick the inspiration photo clouds.  I sponged Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed on the tops of the clouds.  I went over the central part of the large cloud, as well as the sun w/ a gold metallic paint pen.  (The flash from my camera really highlights the sun!  Bonus!!!)

I am not comfortable creating water in a mixed media style, so I chose to do an open field instead!  Easy peasy w/ black gesso and a paint brush and upward strokes to create long prairie grasses!

Have a wonderful day!
Erin