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Wednesday 16 January 2013

Thai Boats



I love to change the artwork on our walls at home to keep it fresh and I also love to have reminders of our holidays.  I love delving into mixed media techniques and I decided to make a canvas of these two Thai fishing boats tied up on the beach at Kata.

I stuck my head in a couple of technique books to try and get some initial direction before heading off with absolutely no idea (same as usual) LOL!!!

I planned to make this for a guy we met at Christmas in Phuket who has an apartment at Kata Beach, but I've decided to keep this one and make him another as I want to put it up on our wall!! 

The canvas measures 12" x 18".  I painted a coat of gesso first before starting to add my paint colours.  I used glass bead gel to create my circles.  It has taken a few days to finish as there were several delays to allow it to dry.  I bought acrylic inks to experiment with and they are really fun to use.  Their colours are so strong and they act like a resist when dry.  If you spray them with water as they run, they fan out and create gorgeous effects.

The sand was poured over regular gel which I applied with a palette knife and pushed the fragments of glass and shells into.  I used rock candy crackle for the bottom and side sections into which I sprinkled turquoise seed beads.

I nearly had it all completed but felt something was missing so the addition of the fish was the final step before I was happy with it.  I re-tinted the fish with acrylic paint to blend it into the canvas and then used a spritz of heirloom gold perfect pearls to give a little sheen to his scales.

I wasn't planning on entering any challenges with this project, but I've just come across the Eclectic Paperie Get Altered Challenge which is to 'Using Canvas' ... and it seems a waste not to take part!!

Right ... off to get the hammer and put up a new fixing on the wall.  We are back to wet & grey today with a chance of snow so this will help me to remember sunnier days!  x



20 comments:

  1. Hi Alexa - thanks so much for your visit - and what a happy piece of timing! It's great to have you play along with us at eclectic Paperie with this gorgeous canvas... the glass bead gel sounds amazing, and your application of the sand is a wonderful textural addition. Fantastic!
    Alison x

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  2. Hi Alexa ,thank you for the lovely comment you left on my blog ....Totally STUNNING canvas ....the texture and the colours...looove !!
    Thank you so much for joining us over at eclectic paperie .
    Hugs
    xxx

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  3. Oh, Alexa, this is fantastic! What a wonderful way to combine your photo and memories with a mixed media canvas. I love all the texture! Thank you so much for joining us at Eclectic Paperie!

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  4. Real Quality Alexa, showing your talent for all things Mixed media

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  5. Wow- fabulous! I love all of the great elements- the glass bead gel, the cardboard, the shells and sand, the fabulous colors and the lovely picture of the boats. I am inspired to try a canvas, but mine will not turn out anything like yours- so pretty!!!

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  6. Oh this is absolutely stunning! Love the texture and the glass bead gel gives such a nice pebble feel to the earth! This rocks!!! Hugs!

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  7. Stunning! I just love this...what a beautiful and unique creation. Thank you so much for playing along with the eclectic Paperie Get Altered Challenge!

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  8. This is just gorgeous. Who make the gel beads and where did you buy it? I love the sand and textures. You really did a wonderful job on this canvass; can't wait to see your next one.

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  9. Thank you for such a lovely comment Vicky. I've mailed you separately about the gel but thought I'd post a reply here for anyone else who would like to get hold of the gel. It's by Golden and is available from good art shops or online. If you want to see a bit more of it, have a look at this post I did some time back! x

    http://scrapmadlife.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/glass-bead-gel-tags.html

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  10. This is gorgeous, so textural, striking, and unusual. What a great idea to refresh the items on your walls from time to time,

    Lucy x

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  11. Very, very interesting, love all the colors and the rich textures.

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  12. I love this one. Beautiful colours....

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  13. I love this one. Beautiful colours....

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  14. Alexa this is stunning, the vibrancy of the blues, the textures and techniques with your fabulous style has created a masterpiece that would adorn any wall. Love it.
    Have a great weekend.
    hugs {brenda} x0x

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  15. Oh wow that is wonderful, just love the feel of it, it is as if we are all there as well. Lovely! Kim

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  16. What an awesome canvas. I guess I really need to try out those glass bead gel.
    Hugs Lynn

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  17. AWeSOME canvas! the structure at the bottom my eye!
    Where is your TIOT project, so I can comment on it hehe?

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