Wings and heart, Faux Encaustic Mixed Media - Tando and DecoArt

I thoroughly enjoyed making a series of these long tags for Di at Tando Creative to take to one of her Hochanda shows. I think this ended up as my favourite as well. It's definitely a shabby mixed media piece and I love the look of the heart with it's extremely distressed edges and crackle front and of course the depth achieved with the faux encaustic technique using the DecoArt modeling paste. I am sharing this on the Tando blog today as part of our Love and Hearts week.

1. Seal substrate lightly with gesso using nearly a dry brush so that some areas of the greyboard are still exposed.

2. Dip, drip and dry using media fluid acrylic washes. I used raw sienna, cobalt blue, titan buff, titanium white dark grey value 3.

3. Rub distress ink (Iced Spruce) pad all over the surface and rub with a dry piece of kitchen towel until it's dry

4. Stamp with chalk paint.

5. Collect together embellishments and alter with paint and mediums. I soaked the greyboard items with spritzes of water and pulled at the edges to make them shabby and distressed.

6. Cover the board with clear modeling paste and add some to the back of the embellishments that are going to be included in the faux encaustic layer and settle them into place. The modeling paste acts as a fantastic glue.

Leave to dry for a whole day or night.

7. Paint the hearts, dry them and paint over a layer of clear crackle glaze and leave to dry.

8. Now alter any final embellishments that are going to be added on.

9. When the modelling paste is dry dribble some quinacridone gold around the cogs, splatter with some white fluid acrylic paint, add some writing and add some remnant rubs.

10. Stick the hearts to each other and rub in some white antiquing cream, buffing it off when it is almost dry so you can see the cracks. Add the tiny star brad and some rusty wire

11. Cover with another thin layer of clear modeling paste. Layer in the arrows and heart, again add some modeling paste to the back of them before sticking onto the tag. Put to one side to dry.

12. Assemble all the last pieces to finish your tag.

"The beauty is in the detail."

A word band along yhe bottom, in fact it is a bracelet word band but perfect for a mixed media thin tag. I covered it with titanium white paint, let it dry for a little wipe and wiped it clean leaving the paint in the recesses, then I used some metallic lustres and quinacridone gold paint n the edges.

The stars are some of Di's chipboard pieces, soaked, roughed up, painted and stamped.

I love thr dribbles of rust (watery quin gold) running down the tag and pooling in random spaces. I also added a remnant rub and yes this does indeed make me happy.

I thought when I took this photo that actually the 'skin' on the hearts looks like skeleton leaves - must remember that for another time.

The quote around the tag says -

' Our wings are small but the ripples of the heart are infinite.'

Amit Ray

Perfect. :o) 

xxx