This project comes to you from the painter, crafter, and all-around fun gal Teri Janeiro! Teri has joined Stencil1 and you will be seeing more posts from her here!
The Materials Used
- Spring Stencil 4 Pack
- Snail and Flowers Stencil Pack
- Small Bunny Stencil
- Bullet Journal Stencil #3
- Assorted stencil brushes
- Acrylic paints: (Titanium white, cadmium yellow, naphthol crimson, ultramarine blue, mars blacks.
- Pre-cut unfinished wood plaque
I wanted to do two layers of the bunny stencil, just slightly offset from each other. Using contrasting colors in this way creates additional interest and draws the eye in. I wanted to use rich charcoal for the final bunny stencil, so I mixed the mars black with a little titanium white and warmed it up again with a touch of crimson. I mixed cadmium yellow with a little white to use under it the charcoal color to make it hop and pop!
Mixing the colors.
Mixing colors can be full of very personal choices. I like to use reference materials like nature or fine art or clothing to inspire me. I keep my inspiration close when mixing so I can use them as a guide and compare colors until I am satisfied. Sometimes I like a color I mix up more than my inspiration color!
“Life is full of surprises and I like it that way!”
Teri
First, I wanted a soft color for the background-kind of a washed, worn and pale gray. I mixed a very small bit of mars black with some of the titanium white and threw in a touch of the crimson to warm it up. I laid the groundwork with the washy gray that I mixed up and added a little extra water to keep it transparent and mellow. Let it dry.
After drying off, I went with my larger lavender flowers from the Snail and Flowers stencil. I tried to keep them sparse, and random as if they were blowing in the wind. By using prime numbers to decide how many flowers I place, helps to keep the look balanced and natural. Then I focused on a dreamy lilac and lavender for the flower colors. Then, I began mixing the Ultramarine and Crimson which I played around with until I got two different but similar colors for the background flowers.
For painting with stencils, you want thick, drier paint, do not add water. Then, load the brush sparingly. Tap the brush lightly and gradually tap firmly and evenly to get the effect you are looking for. Always wash your stencils as you finish using them.
After the larger flowers, I went in with the small flowers from the Bullet Journal #3 stencil with a paler lilac color. Again, very sparse and in groups of three trailing off the board.
Once I felt the background was full enough for my bunny to sit comfortably in, I introduced the Small Bunny stencil into the picture. I mixed together a yellow tint to give the hop some pop and when that dried I staggered the stencil just slightly and painted in the bold charcoal for the final finish and my bun was done!
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