Stencils and layering textures and colors
I got more new stencils and they are so fun to work with!
Hello friends, I’m playing with my paint journals this week. To be honest, it’s all I have the energy for in this very exhausting week.
It’s working for me though! When I’m worn a bit thin, sitting down to play with paint helps me feel a million times better in no time.
Read on for my latest article.
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Love, Kris
Playing with stencils and paint is fun
I’m excited about using stencils in my paintings as a way to build up textures and layers of interest. My aim is less about highlighting a particular stencil and more about creating depth in the work. Layering stencils is becoming more of a thing for me these days, I just want to push this tool and see where I can go with it.
I’m also really needing to play right now. It’s winter, it’s cold, and I’ve been working away at building the layers in my businesses and life too. So I do believe there’s a connection between all of it.
Here’s some of my many stencils, new and old.
Y’all, this isn’t even half of them. And I keep buying more! I love the textured ones the most, they’re truly satisfying to play with together.
Sometimes I use them sparingly, just to add some simple marks to a painting. It’s fun to turn the stencil over after painting and rub the excess paint off too, with a reverse image sometimes coming up.
Dramatic or subtle, the layers coming up are super fun and exciting.
I’ll add lines or other marks on top, or collage.
I open up these paint journals and just stare at the images I’ve made, and it gives me ideas for composition, drawing, and color palettes. I’m not trying hard to find any of that, it’s just coming because I’m enjoying myself.
I had the most wonderful dream a few nights ago, in which I was painting very freely and it was FUN. I simply had permission to paint and enjoy doing it. I want that in my art practice. When I’m having fun making art, I know I’m on the right track.
Inspiration for the week
Last weekend, I went to see ‘Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys’ at the High Museum. It was amazing, I had no idea what to expect and loved it so much.
I was introduced to the work of Zohra Opoku, an artist from Ghana and Germany, and I am a huge fan now. This piece below was in the Giants show - it’s mixed media screenprint and painting, plus a lot of stitching. I took this image from the artist’s website, and the detail shots below I took at the exhibit.
‘(O you) whose natures are secret, do not turn me back. Those (of you) who are on their bellies, do not let the eye swallow its tears. (O) silent one, open for me what is sealed. Give a good path to me (so that) I may pass.’
[Extract from Chapter 64B: the specialized knowledge the deceased claims to have/ An Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead/ The Papyrus of Sobekmose]200.7 x 195.6 cm, Monotype print on canvas,
screenprint applications, embroidery, hand stitched,
2022
Detail shots of the amazing stitching on this piece:
Thank you for reading!
Thank you for being here, and please do share with anyone you know who would enjoy my work. Cheers to you! Love, Kris