Recently I ran a post titled Adventure Time! I was working with a new paint line featuring gorgeous vibrant colors which was somewhat of a challenge for me. I adored the colors but I usually shy away from bright colors – the many small embellishments in Assemblage Art are the primary draw to this sort of art. I don’t want the brightness of those colors taking attention away from the overall composition. And that is why I’m so thrilled with the results of my adventure. When I toned down the colors with various shades of bronze, they became a soothing yet colorful backdrop for the main attraction – the assemblage.

I can’t say enough good about this new paint from Finnabair. A part of her Art Alchemy line, they are called Impasto paints. The colors used for this project are Jade, Bottle Green, Azure, Heather, and Aubergine. I can’t wait to try more combinations and I’ll even be adding a few more Impasto colors to my paint stash.

And now for the official description.

Adventuring – Colorful Yet Subtle

Colorful yet subtle – that’s was my goal when I started working with this mixture of gorgeous yet intense colors. I chose a variety of bronze shades to subdue the brightness just a bit and I’m thrilled with the result!

Texture takes a starring role in this 12″ x 12″ piece as well with a background built with multiple coats and spritzes of paint and waxes over several stencil designs utilizing dimensional paste. And the embellishments! This assemblage canvas contains over 100 elements plus 200+ brass beads and hundreds of tiny cream beads. Its depth is 1.75″.

Just what is assemblage? It’s the creation of a larger art piece from smaller objects. Best described as a 3D collage on canvas, my assemblage art pieces contain numerous vintage “found objects” as well as newer embellishments.

Here those vintage items include two chandelier plaster flowers, bracelet links, beaded flowers, beaded necklace, chunks of a 3D rose frame, buttons, pieces of beaded purse, segments of two necklaces, earring, circular metal piece, paper milk bottle cap, and a large brass bead.

Newer pieces include 3 filigreed rounds, winged peace sign, plastic flying bird, glass rounds, paper brooch, word band, cabochon, beads, and metal elements including beads, wings, branches, various symbols, filigreed pendant, spirit girl, leaves, and gears. There is also a polymer clay clock face fashioned by yours truly.

And engraved into the word charm, you’ll find, “life is all about creating yourself.”

Original article updated Nov, 2017 to include current status – SOLD

Dimensions: 12.0″ x 12.0″ x 1.75″

Hangers are attached and, while I prefer the no-frame look, this Assemblage Art piece is ready for framing. It will also display nicely on an easel.

All Assemblage Art pieces sold at Art Creations by Vicky are original works from artist Vicky Hensley.

Vicky

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Today, I’m unveiling the new artwork for my website, Etsy shop, and Facebook page. I’m excited!

Since I first opened a year ago, I knew I needed a more professional look – one I didn’t have the knowledge or talent to create. But I also knew that I would be a challenging client as I didn’t want to simply showcase one of my works. Nor did I want mere words in some special font spread across the page. I wanted my header and logo to impart a feel for my process. Does that sound like an artist or what?!

So, what could I possibly mean by “my process”? Not only am I referring to building a work with dozens of little pieces, I’m talking about the painting, the spraying, the adhering, the layering, and the unusual use of found objects. I’m talking about the part I most love about the art I create – the adventure of first constructing a background from various mediums and then slowly adding one embellishment after another as I discover just where my imagination is taking me. It’s never exactly as I imagined. And it’s always better than I envisioned.

Jennifer Short with Quest Creative Design took up the challenge of demonstrating my process without words… with only two images. She used images that showcased the original use of everyday items. See the above logo? That light blue half circle you see on the upper left? That’s a paper milk bottle cap from the 1950s. You’ll also find hidden in there a plaster chandelier trim piece, a vintage earring, tree bark, beads that were once white, and flowers that were changed in color to coordinate with the design emerging in my head.

Now look at the header below. The light blue surface with tiny balls is actually a piece from a vintage black and red beaded purse. See the layering, the blending, the painting, the frosting of some items to give everything a cohesive look? That’s the process. And Jennifer captured it beautifully all while making it into an advertising piece.

Now I can finally order those new business cards (Jennifer designed those as well). I’ll be sharing those later.

Oh, and my new logo at the top of this post? It’s actually the shape of the items – without the white background. But technology gets in my way yet again. I don’t know how to work such an image into an article!

Vicky

 

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Yesterday I started what I now believe will become a grand paint adventure. I’m talking gorgeous colors – can you see?!

Anxious to start working with Finnabair’s new line of Art Alchemy Impasto paints, I started loading a 12″ x 12″ primed canvas with five of the six newly arrived Impasto paints. I didn’t even use that palette you see at the top of this image – I squeezed the paint from the tube onto the canvas and started working it together, first with my brush and then with my finger. It’s a highly pigmented heavy bodied paint which means that it’s not only beautiful but it is also thick and easy to work with. No runny paint here, you can even use your actual brush strokes as part of your design since it almost has the consistency of light modeling paste. Spray a bit of water on the paint and you can extend its coverage.

Before painting, I covered the canvas with texture paste utilizing several randomly placed stencils. I had no idea how effective that would be as I had not yet realized just how easily my finger could transform paints applied side by side into detailed texture.

These gorgeous colors are bright for my Assemblage Canvas work but that first coat is only the beginning. I plan to add hundreds of items. How? Well, see… that’s why I’m calling it an adventure. I don’t yet know! I’m taking it step by step and already have painted dozens of little pieces to gradually work in with dozens of bronze items. And to prepare for that step, I spritzed the entire canvas with Lindy’s Starburst Grab a Guy Gold spray. I use a wide array of Lindy’s spritzes extensively in my work and Grab a Guy has to be my favorite.

Much of this background will eventually be covered by other elements but that’s the nature of Assemblage art work. There are at least a half dozen layers making up each of my backgrounds – it’s all about building depth for the final product.

This Impasto paint line represents (to the best of my knowledge) Finnabair’s entry into selling non-metallic paint. She has an impressive selection of metallic paints, powders, and waxes – all ones I use heavily when creating metallic works. My favorite non-metallic paint remains DecoArt’s Media Fluid Acrylics but these Impasto paints will definitely have their place in my future work. They are simply a wonderful alternative for the Mixed Media or Assemblage artist.

Vicky

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