Rachel's Creative Space: Mixed Media Canvas "Life is Better at the Beach"

I tried something new. I have seen many videos on art journal pages and sometimes I think what a cute picture that would make so I finally tried it. I was asked by a friend if I could supply something that her non-profit could raffle off and I didn't have a lot of time to create something. I decided to try something similar to what Gerda van Dijk did in one of her art journals. I didn't have the exact things she used for the background and the foreground I did totally different. But she was the inspiration for my piece.

I put gesso on the canvas before starting. Then I drew the lines for the separate areas for sand, sea, and sky. I didn't have any heavy gesso and the local craft stores didn't carry it so I had to use something else for the water. So I tried to use some Golden Molding Paste to try and create the waves in the water. Then I used Prima Finnabair Texture Paste White Sand for the sand area of the canvas. I used the Ranger Heat It Craft Tool to dry everything. I then took some Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink in Vintage Photo to color the sand. Then used a light blue to cover the sky and water sections of the canvas. Then I mixed some acrylic white paint with some Liquitex Glass Beads. Added them with a small flat brush at the edge where the sand and water meet on the canvas. Also, I placed everything on the edges of the canvas for a more complete look. Then let that dry over night.

Now it is time to finish the canvas. I wanted some more waves in the water since I didn't use a heavy gesso and the molding paste didn't create enough of a lift. I used some Golden Regular Gel Gloss and mixed it with some darker water colors. I placed the gel gloss mixture in the area where the molding paste. It actually dried darker than what it looked like while it was still wet. So that is something to watch if I use watercolors again. I imagine if you used acrylic paint it wouldn't be as much of a change in color. But it still turned out cute. I cut a beach chair with an umbrella from my Silhouette Cameo. I chose that because my friends non-profit is called Women on the Beach (WOB) and the logo is an umbrella. I stamped some small sandpipers using the Stampendous Seaside Chair stamp set, colored them with some Tim Holtz Distress Markers, and then cut them out. I glued everything down and covered them with some multi-purpose glue and sealant. Then I printed out the phrase and cut it out. Glued it down and covered it with the sealant. I added some extra white sand texture paste around the chair legs and as it dried it took on the color of the ink. I let it dry and then I took small tiny shells that I had previously gathered on our beaches and glued them in various places over the canvas. I took a Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker in black to out line the pieces of the phrase because I didn't have anything with a smaller tip. It worked but next time I think I want to use something with a smaller tip.