Mixed Media Art with Negative Space

It always amazes me how the simplest, quickest of projects are often the most beautiful and meaningful of all.  I created this in just a few hours for a friend of mine. She is going through a terrible loss.  The colors are a perfect reflection of her personality, talents, and the way she always makes the people around her feel special.  The chipboard wings are angel wings. I wanted to convey the idea that the ones we love never truly leave us for long.  We’ll see them again someday.

The negative space is also meaningful. Art with negative space not only catches the eye, but it can draw attention and give deep meaning to symbolic aspects of art that otherwise wouldn’t be as noticeable.  The pop of color against the white in this piece highlights the short amount of things we are really able to do and accomplish while were here on the earth. Yet, how brightly one life can shine!

 

My Process

I don’t usually use alcohol inks to color my pieces, but these colors were just what I needed to represent my friend.  The thread was leftover remnants from some muslin I’ve used in other pieces.  I couldn’t bring myself to throw the end threads away, and I was so glad I kept them!  The wings and the thread were the only things I added color to.  The rest I simply glued to the surface with gel medium.

I painted the chipboard pieces with white gesso, then I used a cotton ball soaked with ispropyl alcohol and ink to dab the color onto the surface.  I soaked the threads with alcohol as well to allow the ink to spread and really soak in.

Once I glued everything to the surface, I tipped the flower petals with some messy strokes of gesso and added microbeads for a bit more color and texture.

Such a simple piece, but hopefully a very meaningful one.