Wanting to try a more mixed media style involving gears etc, I used a picture of Connor wearing his pilot hat. (Because with me the embellishments always have to suit the theme.)
It was my first attempt in smearing gesso all over the metal embellishments (as a preparation for misting them) and I have to say I am pleased with the outcome. The whole layout happened fairly quick, it all came together like magic!
Imagine my surprise when I totally messed up the following 2 layouts. I am never doing that again, working on 2 layouts simultaneously.
The layout of Connor with the cowboy hat started out on a brown timber background with a black swirl. When I added gesso rays through a stencil it only went downhill from there. I re thunk the whole thing and decided the sepia picture needed a background that would make it pop.
Once I had settled on that it still didn't go smoothly. I finished the layout but I'm not very content about it.
Maybe it was hard because the photo had an emotional aspect for me. The morning I took those pictures all was well. But that afternoon we were involved in a car accident. Shaking off the image of Connor covered in millions of glass splinters (from our shattered rear window) is a hard thing to do. I thought I'd lost him, right then and there. And he wasn't even 4 months old... :{
In that sense the layout doesn't do my feelings justice at all. It's a simple layout with a touch of the "Western Cowboy" feel in it, without being too obvious.
Then, the other layout didn't do what I wanted it to. I had fallen in love with the paper: a royal blue flockprint, damask and stripes... I was going for red, white and blue because of a clothing tag I wanted to use along with it.
Well, the red on my gesso'ed damask turned out PINK...! Several layers of white paint, gesso and gesso mixed with white paint didn't help one bit.
In the end I was able to colour the pink a bit more sandy and decided to embellish most of that part, because I didn't wanna give up just yet. It would be a shame of the wasted paper!
In the end the layout kinda came together thanx to a few touches of green. But it's not of my favourites.
Ah well, I blame it on the new techniques I am trying as well. I haven't practiced enough to know what happens when you do this and that. And it proves once more I am not someone who can just begin, smear something on the page and have my artistic abilities make everything come together like magic. I have to think things through. But I have learned a lot in the process and am happy to apply this new knowledge in my future projects! ;)
If you have any more knowledge to share or wish to learn from my mistakes, drop me a line! Take care in the meantime!
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