Altenew Inked Lotus + Custom Color Mixed Backgrounds

Altenew's Inked Lotus Stamp + Custom Mixing Acrylic Backgrounds

Hello, a little playtime in my art studio today. My friend Paul has been encouraging me to create some small art pieces in addition to the cards I typically make. He suggested that I give them as gifts to my girls, so here goes my first and second attempt!

Framed collage Mixed Media art project — Here I framed Project 1 and put it on display

Custom mixing acrylic ink swatches to use on Mixed Media Art Backgrounds.

I decided to custom mix acrylic paint for my backgrounds and found it very addicting! In fact, I made more panels than I originally intended. The swatches remind me of the colorful paint chips you find at the hardware store.

MY PROCESS:

I put acrylic paint dabs of each of the three primary colors + white on a paper plate. You can use any hue of red, yellow and blue.
I started with yellow and added a tiny bit of red and blended. When I liked the color, I painted a rectangle onto Mixed Media Paper. I used a silcone brush, which added a fun bit of extra texture.
Next, I added white to the first orangey color I mixed. I added a lot of white to many of the subsequent colors for a softer more muted color. Those muted shades were the colors I chose to use on today’s projects, but I have lots of color swatches left over for future projects. I kept mixing and painting until I’d filled up a page. I think I created 4 pages.
For Project #1, I tore two strips for the main background. For Project #2, I tore each color into an individual rectangle so there are a lot more white seams visible.
Next, I pieced together my background with other interesting scraps and fodder that I had in my studio. I love UHU glue sticks for mixed media gluing. For Project #2, I also added a strip of Altenew’s Painted Grid Washi Tape to ground the panel.
My focal element, Altenew’s Inked Lotus, was stamped onto pages torn from an old cookbook. I used Ranger Archival Ink.
Using Derwent Watercolor Pencils, I shaded the lotus and then blended the color with a wet brush. When the flower was dry, I glued the bloom to my background.
Last, I added a few marks with Posca pens and Micropens.