Legend of the Dragonfly

 

1.  Begin with a blank canvas.  Cut a circle from freezer paper and place it off center shiny side down, on the canvas, and tape it to the back edge of the canvas.  Also tape a couple of places on the front of the canvas. (This is just to hold it in place temporarily. Tape can be removed in the area you want to stamp and then reattached for the next process.)

2.  Choose a rubber stamp that will look attractive when stamped multiple times around the circle.   I chose a simple dragonfly stamp, but any stamp you like will work.  Use the paper circle as a guide and stamp all the way around the outside of the circle creating a frame with permanent black ink . 

I like all embellishments to wrap around the sides of the canvas to give the it a finished look without framing,  

3. Use a permanent marker to enhance or darken any of the stamps that did not turn out dark enough.  You will need to see this design through tissue paper.

4.  Leave the freezer paper circle attached shiny side down  on the canvas with the tape and choose a semi-transparent color of tissue paper.  I chose lime green.  Tear all the finished edges off of the tissue paper and begin attaching it to the canvas overlapping and covering the stamped area. Use a brush and Mod Podge or 1 part white glue and 1 part water mixture.  The tissue paper will slightly overlap the edge of the paper circle.  Once you start gluing the tissue paper down the circle will remain in place and you can remove all tape on the front of the canvas.

 
 

5. When you have covered the entire stamped "frame" begin adding darker shades of tissue paper.  I chose a color scheme of bright green and violet.  Continue to overlap your original color into this area also. The more you overlap, the darker the colors.  Use a heat gun if you wish to speed the drying process.  Be certain the glue is completely dry before moving on to step 6.

 

 

 6.  Now it's time to remove the freezer paper.  Slide a sharp pointed knife under the paper circle.  Hold it flat against the canvas and cut the circle away from the tissue paper.  

 Use a utility knife or scissors to trim any loose edges from the edge of the canvas.

7.  Choose an acrylic paint color that looks good with your composition. I chose turquoise because I like all of the cool colors together (greens, violets, and blues) , and because I never think a painting is finished unless it has a little turquoise!!!...my favorite color.   :-)     I placed a smaller circle inside the blank circular area and painted out away from the circle to leave a white center.  

\

We learn as we go and the smaller circle really wouldn't have been necessary, since I later changed what I had planned to do.  Changing my mind midstream happens often in my art.  I just like to le! it flow!

 I could have just freehand painted a wide band inside the blank circle, but it gave me a nice guide for the next printing process. 

IMPORTANT:Be sure your paint is thoroughly dry before proceeding to the next step!

g

8. Choose a second stamp for the inside "frame." I searched through my stamps for something geometric, but I couldn't find anything, so I chose the Eiffel Tower stamp, and used it like a geometric element.  I simply reinserted the smaller paper circle in the middle to mask the top half of the tower, so I would only see the arch . Note the red markers on the stamp to make placement easier.  I used a cactus green permanent ink for the arches.

I used permanent markers to enhance some of the geometry of the lower half of the tower and added some permanent marker "beads" between each arch.

9.  At this point, choose rubber stamps to embellish the canvas outside the frame as you see fit.  I chose a permanent black ink and stamped a feather three on the lower left of the canvas.

10.  Now it is time to finish the middle.  Choose a photo, picture, painting, or quote and glue it to the center of the circles.  Be sure to smoothe out all the bubbles.  I thumbed through an old sketchbook and was delighted to find a drawing I had finished of a dragonfly.  It was a perfect solution since my outer frame was also dragonflies!!!!  I used a rusty hinge color of distress ink on the edges and  Mod Podge to attach the drawing.

DONE!!!!