Paper and Acetate colored with alcohol ink, mixed media art

Paper and Acetate colored with alcohol ink, mixed media art

I’ve been preparing entries for a contest at the end of the month, and I’ve been surprised at what I’ve felt inspired to create.  The theme for the contest is “8*8”.  Basically, the pieces have to be 8 in. by 8 in.  That’s it- anything else goes.  So I pulled out a couple 8*8 wood panels I had, thinking that I would do some encaustic painting.  Instead, as I contemplated the large opening in what is meant to be the back part of the wood, where you would put hanging hardware, I decided it was the perfect frame for some topographical layers of paper.  Just a few seconds after that thought, came the idea of using sheets of clear acetate colored with alcohol ink with the layers of paper to create a “water” effect.  I was surprised by how well the layers of blue acetate give the impression of deepening water- pretty awesome, really.

I will say that this piece was very hard to photograph.  Even with my new camera, nearly 100 photos and this is the best one.  Gotta keep practicing!!  Any tips?

 

Maybe for the next one I’ll add some quilled paper pieces and build a coral reef between the layers.

6 replies
  1. Amy
    Amy says:

    This is BEYOND gorgeous! I am obsessed and would love to get some tips on your materials. I’m going to make one as a gift to my husband of his favorite lake. I work with resin and that could be a fun material experiment. Have you tried watching”lightroom” tutorials for editing photographs, rather than photoshop? I’ve had luck editing my photo to look like the real piece, more than actually capturing its look in real life.

    Great piece of art!

    • Anjuli Johnson
      Anjuli Johnson says:

      Amy, these are some great ideas!! I would love to try it with resin… I think that would look so cool, if I did it right. :) What a great gift something like this would be! I just used white cardstock and acetate that I colored with alcohol ink. I used foam tabs to add space between the layers.

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