Thursday, April 21, 2016

DecoArt Americana Canvas Painting Gallery - Grassy Wildflowers

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Howdy My Artsy Sweeties!!! 

This is a 12x12 painting on canvas. 
I'm hoping that it will be accepted for the:
DecoArt Americana Canvas Painting Gallery. 
It is totally done with DecoArt Americana products except
for some Faber-Castell Big Brush and Pit Pens for outlining.



This morning I had a visit about art with Lucy the calf that lives here at the ranch.  She explained art from "her perspective".   



Would you like to know what she said? 
Some of you will and some of you won't!!!
But here it goes anyway... just put on your imaginative hat. 

All cow patties are different and to a cow - part of the decor! 
They come in different sizes, shapes and colors. 
The have texture and dimension and symmetry. 
Often they make a lovely design... 
surrounded by an array of lovely florals.

And here is my version of Lucy's interpretation of art :)
Hey... what can I say... I live at the ranch and...
there really is a patch that looks very similar...
 just a bit darker in the center!!!! 
Sure hope you are smiling - its actually a lovely sight...
and it's all recyclable in keeping with this months Earth Day...
that is... if you have my country mentality :)  



I began with the wonderful DecoArt Americana Decou-Page Paper entitled Victorian Romance. It is just beautiful. There are three sheets in the package and I chose the roses!
If you haven't tried it - you should. I love applying it. 


And, of course, I used the DecoArt Americana Decou-Page Sealer/Glue Finish to apply the paper.  I purposely let the paper crack because I like the textured look.  When you are working on a soft background like a canvas - the cracking is easy to do!


After it was dry, I sanded it just to make it smoother.


Next step:
DecoArt Americana Weathered Wood Crackle Medium.



Neon Thermal Green
Cadmium Yellow
and not pictured but used in the background...
Indian Turquoise. 


Began painting in my floral design with gesso. 


Beginning design that changed before completed!!! 


Carousel Pink
Lavender
True Red
Sour Apple Green
Lamp Black
Snow White


And layer after layer of paint. 
And somewhere in the creative process... 
I added some Modeling Paste to the center flower. 


Ok so... let me tell you why this painting was out of my comfort zone.  Over and over I kept saying to myself..... hurry Joi - and I have paint splatters everywhere!!! Per the DecoArt instructions for this project - it needed to be done in two hours.... what??? Dear me! Very hard for me and needless to say - I felt that it wasn't finished when the timer dinged - of course!!! Thank goodness I turned off my timer when things were drying. Overall - I would say it's a pretty wild and crazy look for me. I honestly have never painted so fast - but need to speed up - I spend way to much time trying to make things "better" which puts me behind on everything!




And here are some bigger pictures of the complete painting!


Since the Weathered Wood was put over the entire background.... love how it comes through on the flowers too!! 






Ahhh - thank you so much for staying with me to the end. 
And thank you in advance for your comments - I love knowing you were here and you make my sometimes lonely days so happy.  Note: My blogger reply button still doesn't work - boo hoo. 

Have a great week. Hugs. j. 


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Happy for the opportunity to enter the following challenges: 
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April: Spring


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April: Earth Day


This is my 'flowery meadow' for Earth Day. 
I began using the blues and greens as in your mood board - you can see those are the basic colors in my background. 
However, I just couldn't resist adding more colors to the flowers in my meadow.  I am thankful every day to see the glorious beauty of our wonderful earth and enjoy all the "creatures" living here. j. 

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26 comments:

Karen Petitt said...

Oh Joi this is beautiful and so full of warmth and joy! Love, love, love it! I finally knuckled under last night and did a watercolour painting it's been a long time since I did one, lol, and, with much shock and horror, I am happy with it. I need to get some acrylic extender and then I will be practicing and playing with my nemesis again, those acrylic paints, have a good week huni Karen x

Valerie-Jael said...

Beautiful painting, and I love the explanation of how Lucy sees art....your centre piece is rather much better than a cow pat, that's for sure! Have a great day, hugs, Valerie

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Gorgeous, love the vibrant colour palette and your flowers are lovely. Tracy x

Karenliz Henderson said...

WOW Joi this is absolutely stunning. I'm in love with the bright colors.

Fliss said...

Wow Joi! This is absolutely stunning! Such beautiful colours and the most amazing depth to your wonderful painting.
A real feast for the eyes.
Fliss xx

Astrid Maclean said...

Oh I love this, so bright and spring like! Great process photos too and the close ups really show the wonderful crackle up so well! Such bright happy colours, I hope Lucy agrees with your interpretation of her insights into art :o) Sorry to hear you sometimes feel lonely.... living in a big noisy city, living on a range sounds like bliss to me....

Redanne said...

Joi, this canvas is an absolute delight and the whole time I was looking at your wonderful step by step photos I kept wondering what Lucy said about it - lol! She is an absolute darling and your canvas is a-m-a-z-i-n-g !!! Hugs, Anne xx

Nikki Acton said...

Oh gorgeous Joi! X

Anonymous said...

This is totally amazing Joi! It is so beautiful!!! I really love what you have done with it and all in 2 hours! Stunning ... love Carol x

Pamellia said...

Wow Joi, you never disappoint!! This is just so gorgeous, it's an explosion of a garden of flowers and colours...LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! The decoupage background really was a great idea, such a lovely backdrop for your luscious florals!! Lucy is a complete darling, I wanna give her a big hug!! Thank you so much for joining us at Anything But Cute for our 'Earth Day' challenge, you rocked it! Hugs, Pamellia DT :)

Win Dinn, Artist said...

Joi this is just wonderful. I love your interpretation of Lucy's art world, and I'm certain she does too. What a vibrant, colour-full piece!!! xo

sarascloset said...

OH, Dear Joi! If I could write a poem, I would, but I can't, so I shan't!! But can I just say this is my all time favorite JOI original! I NEED to have this painting hanging in my home! Gorgeous, gorgeous colors and astounding backdrop using that paper and those yum-de-dum cracks! I almost squealed when I saw the cracks come through the painted flowers and foliage! You rock the color and the texture, and you topped even YOU with this lovely canvas, and in 2 hours!!!! Wow!

Funny how a little cow pie can inspire one! As a country girl who grew up on a dairy farm, I can honestly say I've never been inspired by a cow pie , but they do produce the best worms for fishing! Lucy, you are a sweetie! She looks fresh! Is that your hubby feeding her? I miss seeing the calves. Every time a cow would have a baby, my Dad would let it be one of us kid's to care for and name. Ah, the good old days! Hugs to you!

Kerstin F. said...

Yes, Joi that makes me smile :-) a cow pattie and your bright and shiny flower world, what a contrast program, what a derivation! but both a nature product and I can see your love to nature. Awesome and many thanks for sharing and the smiling moment!!!

Pawsitively Creative said...

Speaking from experience with cows and their droppings, I can totally agree with you about seeing certain shapes and designs in the patties. What a wonderful and clever (and hilarious) perspective! You astound me with your paintings and layers, not to mention all the textures. Fantabulous and gorgeous flowers and the dimension in this design is totes awesome sauce! Makes me miss working with the large animals. :)

Thanks for joining our "Earth Day" challenge at Anything But Cute! Hugz! ~Niki DT

Redanne said...

Just popped back Joi to say thank you so much for joining in our Earth Day challenge at Anything but Cute! Hugs, Anne xx

sarascloset said...

Joi, I just had to pop back in to see "my" beautiful painting! Ha! Ha! Love it to bits, and I can come see it any time I want to! It would be much better to see it in person, because then I could see YOU, too!

Thank you for your lovely, day making comment on my recent post. You crack me up! Hugs!

Jackie PN said...

Joi, such a beautiful painting! I LOVE those colors- thanks so much for the step out!
I will say you lost me on that whole cow perspective thing ")
Jackie xo

sarascloset said...

Joi, hows my painting doing? I swear, you get me totally, dear! Junk and goodies CAN be used interchangeably, depending on which household member you are speaking with at the time. In the case of the junk wall hanging, it is partially junk, partially goodies, in reality! The card, paper bits, ribbon bits, raffia, lacy leaves, and flowers were all in the trash. The brushes (although not usable), rust, metal pieces washers, rust, keys and even the mayo ring are all goodies to me! So there, I've come clean, and I'm sure I will now sleep much better! You kill me! Ha! Ha! Ha! Hugs! PS You are keeping me from some very important crafting! I'm actually stalling--I can't come up with an idea for a project due in 2 days! What's the MATTER with me????

Little Artbee said...

I must smile because you were inspired by a cowpat, but what you did further with your cowpat in the middle of your canvas looks amazing. A very nice and colorful painting that you created. I also like the cracked background texture. Really Gypsy Style.
Dear Greetings
Sabine

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Gorgeous rich colours, a real delight. Enjoyed your tutorial too. Happy crafty week, Angela x

Cec said...

All I can say is WOW. The colours are so vibrant and your process is fascinating. I sure wish I had the artistic bones that you do but sadly I don't. Thanks for joining us at Anything But Cute.
Hugs!
Cec

Words and Pictures said...

Scintillating florals and a great step-out of your creative process - another amazing canvas, Joi!
Alison x

Monika Gulyas said...

Totally awesome painting!!! I like your vivid colours and your design!!! Thank you for joining our April Challenge at Country View Challenges!

Samra said...

Wonderful work!
Thank you for joining our Earth Day challenge at Anything But Cute!
Samra DT
Paper Talk with Samra

SewPaperPaint said...

This is such a very, cool cool canvas Joi! Love your delightful project and so happy to see it in the line up at CVC! Way to go sweet friend! Hugs, Autumn <3

Electra said...

LOVE this!