Friday 21 November 2014

a little tutorial and some sketches

I'm still catching up with paperwork and e-mails, so I still didn't get as much art done as I would've liked. But .... I bought some canvases, I bought a new artjournal, and I bought some basic paints. And, oh yes, some gesso and medium too. And grabbed a bunch of magazines from my mother's table last weekend ;-)  So I'm ready to get going next week, or maybe even this weekend already :-)

I managed to finish 2 sketches this week though:



This last one is a sketch I had already started in my sketchbook, and I decided to finish it for a dear friend of mine, who lost her son 5 years ago this week. Art does not take away the pain, but it can soothe and heal. Art has helped me so much when my sister died last year, and it still does. I remember finding a beautiful picture of an artwork online when I returned to Australia after the funeral, it really resonated with me and with the pain I was feeling. I just hope my drawing helped my friend a little bit in the same way ...

To make up for the lack of paintings, I decided to show you an easy way to make some cheap stamps. I started making these a few years ago already, and made some more in the last weeks in Australia. Took some pictures, but didn't have the time to write a blogpost about it. Here are some results:




These are not for fine details, but they are perfect to use in a background.

So how to make them? You can use all kinds of foam for this, but the results can differ depending on how thick and firm the foam is. Just experiment a bit with it. I have used those knee pads they sell for working in the garden, also foam that was in toys for kids, and here I mostly used kids' floor mats, like these:



In these the back has a pattern in it, but you can also find foam that is smooth on both sides, and then you can burn a pattern in both sides.

I used a woodburner to do this. When I wanted to start, I didn't want to spend too much money, so I called 5 different stores for the prices and got 5 (very) different prices. I went and bought the cheapest, which was about 12 euro's, and had 6 different tips that I could use:


And I've been so happy with it! The only thing you need to take care of is that you either work outside or in a very ventilated room, and that you wear a mask, since the smell is really not that nice and I'm guessing not very healthy either. But once you get past this and protect yourself enough, it is so much fun! It goes really fast, before you know it you have a whole bunch of them and can start using them. Here's another example:


Take care that you don't hold the point too long in one place, because it burns really quick. Start with the finest tip, and when you get a feel for it you can experiment with the bigger ones. And it gets really hot too, so don't touch the tip before it's completely cooled off.

Hope you'll have fun trying this out! I'm linking this as always to Paint Party Friday. Take a look over there at all the participating artists. It's worth it!

Here's my funny for this week :-)

And no, it's not my cat ;-)

Oh yes, almost forgot: remember I asked you last time whether you prefer using word verification or registered users to be able to comment? From your answers it was very clear that word verification is not very popular, and that most people prefer to comment as registered users. So I'll leave it like it was. Thanks so much for commenting!

Hope you're enjoying your day, and that your weekend will be beautiful! See you next week! ♥ ♥ ♥

28 comments:

  1. Great idea for stamps, although I rarely use them in my paintings. I'm addicted to bubble wrap! Dots, dots, dots all over the painting. Great way to create pointillism art ;)

    Have a nice weekend! They've promised quite a lot of snow even to Southern Finland....

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  2. Love your stamps. Patterns are so organic and look great in your work. So fun for art journaling. xox

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  3. and why did I throw away a big bag of those kids' foams last summer! it's always like this :((( great idea, thank you anyway! and I love your sketches, the first girl is just gorgeous!
    happy PPF!

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  4. Love your sketches, and the fantastic stamps. Glad you are settling in. Valerie

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  5. I had great fun using my moldable stamp blocks recently and would love to explore other ways to make my own stamps. Thanks for the tip. Your stamps look great.

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  6. Love making my own stencils and stamps so this was a wonderful post for me, Denise. I just bought one of those heat tools to burn out spaces in stencil plastic. Now I know I can use it on foam. I have made stamps with foam door hangers; they are thicker than some of the other foam items. Thanks for the great idea.

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    1. I forgot to say how lovely your sketches are. You draw so beautifully.

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  7. Great sketches and stamps! Beautiful! The art helps us a lot, I have not had any harm of the shortened days at all while i have been so buzy with my brushes.Nice weekend and Happy PPF, denthe!

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  8. Lovely sketches! I am so sorry for your friend's loss of her son-I can't imagine the heartbreak and pain but you have given her such a beautiful thought to remember. I have one of those tools but have rarely used it. Must remember to try this when we get warm weather again so can go outdoors. Your patterns are marvelous!

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  9. I love the first ink sketch, beautiful. Thanks for the tip on your stamps great. Another one is to use kids plasticine, press it on to surfaces and use. You can remould it too! Hope you get back pain ting next week.

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  10. Love that buying art supplies is a priority when you probably have so much else to do.
    Both your drawings are beautifully done, the first is edgy and the second is smooth and so skillfully made with the addition of the text.
    Thanks for this tip for making stamps, stamping can add so much to a background and I like your stamped results, very inspiring.

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  11. Ha Dente, fijn om zo dicht bij je moeder te zijn,ook voor je moeder.
    Je hebt filnk in gekocht, nog even en je zit weer in je oude ritme
    je schetsen zijn weer super mooi!!
    ik wens je een goed weekend
    groetjes Christiene.

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  12. thanks for the tips on stamps, I have foam and I have a wood burner so I am all set to go. Love your girls, welcome back, hope you are all settled.

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  13. The drawing is an amazing gift. I like the gal too. The stamp idea is better than the carving a block. Blessings, Janet PPF

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  14. I love that first drawing of the girl with black hair. Beautiful!! And thanks for sharing your process for making stamps. It looks like fun and I plan to try it.

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  15. awesomer and more awesome. I might have to take Soul Food this year. :)

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  16. Your sketches are great and I love the stamp tutorial ! I know what I'm going to be doing real soon :) Also wanted to let you know I got my calendar today and I love it!!!! Every year they get better and better.

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    1. thanks so much Carol! So happy you like my calendar :-)

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  17. Your sketches are beautiful Denise, just like you! What a lovely gift for your dear friend- I'm sure it will put warmth in her heart~
    Your stamp are so cool and organic! And I love the material you used- Bravo for going green!! hugs

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  18. Wonderful gift for your friend...you really captured the essence of that quote.... Thanks for the awesome tutorial...very generous of you and I love them!! Always a joy to visit nice to see you continue to create!

    Hugs Giggles

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  19. Love those stamps - What a great variety - I've seen people use the foam before but your examples may make me actually try it!

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  20. a WONDERFUL idea for stamping. I'm going to try it out...thank you so much. I have an encaustic. Pen which may work.... :) x

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  21. Thanks so much for all you share here, all so beautiful!

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  22. I love your none made stamps! I used to love potato stamping when I was little :-P I can't say they were quite as good as yours though!! I also love the first sketch of the girl with the black hair, she is beautiful!

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  23. i was so happy to read that you use a mask while burning your stamps. they really are wonderful. you are great with creating designs. loved seeing your big lashed girls too .

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  24. I love your sketches! Gorgeous work. Great idea for the stamps. Yes, I'll have to remember to do that outside, but I love the results! :)

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  25. Oh i so love those stamps Denthe... so much goodness here. Your work is so varied. Hope things are going well with you & your family. xx

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Thanks for taking the time to comment! I love hearing your thoughts about my work. Because I am getting too many spammer comments, l have to use Captcha, sorry. Hope this is not a problem for you !