Transformation

Painting by Vicky Christensen, mixed media on 24 x 18 inch canvas

 I decided to give an old painting a makeover.  Just finished this afternoon.

Below is a snapshot of the old painting.

Giving art a makeover

Painting by Vicky Christensen, acrylic on 16 X 12 inch canvas panel 

I decided to recycle an old painting, one of the first mixed media paintings I did last year.  This is what it looked like before I gave it a makeover:

Original painting 

I rotated it 180 degrees, then stenciled on black and anthraquinone blue to darken the background without completely obliterating it. I let it dry then came back with my favorite home-made glue gun stencil and titanium white to layer over the entire background. Then I used my Fineline applicator and black high flow acrylic to draw my composition. The finishing touches are glazes of fluid acrylics.

Below zero bouquet

Updated Painting by Vicky Christensen, mixed media on 12 x 16 inch canvas panel 

 We're going through a cold spell here in Minnesota. Here's a bouquet to bring back a little bit of summer. This one had a prior life as an abstract mixed media collage  (see below).

Original painting 

Update: after I posted to the blog last night I decided to put a top coat on the painting. I poured some 'faux encaustic' on it and started to brush. Unfortunately I noticed a little too late that my Posca pen lines were being dissolved by the medium (a combination of matte medium and self leveling clear gel). It was a total mess! I ultimately used a lot of wet paper towels to remove the medium. Unfortunately it also removed a lot of the Posca pen ink. I was really disheartened and almost gave up. I collected myself and redid the Posca. I let it dry overnight then very carefully applied a layer of acrylic gloss medium to seal the painting. Note to self: be careful when putting an isolation coat on a painting that makes use of Posca pens!

Painting before I messed it up with faux encaustic layer 

Early winter scene

Recycled painting by Vicky Christensen, mixed media on 12 x 16 inch canvas panel 

I reworked another of my earlier experiments. I glazed over the original with Titan Buff and did a little subtractive stenciling to give it some texture. Then I painted the scene you see above.

Enjoy the season folks!

More recycling

Recycled painting by Vicky Christensen, mixed media on 16 X 12 inch canvas panel 

I'm in the recycling mood. This painting was a quick experiment: start with a very colorful old painting and turn it into a floral still life.

This is the old painting (imagine it rotated 180 degrees):

Original painting

I glazed a coat of Golden Titan Buff over the painting, placing a stencil in some places and wiping away some of the glaze for additional subtle texture. Then I quickly painted the outlines of the flowers, stems, leaves and vase. Then I followed up with some glazes of color to fill in the still life.

The style is pretty loose and primitive but I like the results. This was fun!