The name of this piece was inspired by a page from an antique French history book in my library. While it took me years to finally pull a page from this lovely treasure (purchased specifically to integrate into art), I felt the moment was right. The charming and delicate hand, created with an image transfer, helps the tale develop. Layers of color and whimsical circles bring lightness to this work, which would have been much different if another color palette had been chosen.
acrylic paints, assorted colors
antique French book (or book of choice)
baby wipe or soft cloth
bone folder
bubble wrap
cardstock, printed
circle template
container of water
gel medium
gesso
image, 2" × 6" (5cm × 15cm)
paintbrushes, assorted
palette
palette knife
pencil, no. 2
scissors
spray bottle
transparency transfer paper
wood board, 71⁄4" × 8" (18cm × 20cm)
With a foam brush, paint the sides and back of the wood with white gesso.
Place a dollop of white paint on your palette. In a separate palette pot place a small dab of Aqua. With a palette knife add a drop of Aqua to the white and mix. Continue until the desired color is achieved.
Using the lighter aqua created in step 2, paint the entire surface and sides using a 1" (25mm) flat brush.
Tear the bottom quarter of an old book page, creating an aged look. Using gel medium adhere the book page to the left side of the wood.
Print or copy your image. Place a liberal amount of gel medium over the image and place it on the painted board. Smooth it down with a bone folder or a finger to remove any bubbles. Allow to dry.
Spray a small amount of water over the back of the image. Begin rolling the white paper away from the transfer with wet fingers. Continue until all the paper has been removed.
Cut a 1⁄4" × 6" (6mm × 15cm) strip of printed cardstock. Adhere the cardstock to the board with gel medium, working from left to right.
Cut a floral spray from cardstock. Place gel medium on the back of the cut-out and adhere it to the blocks overlapping the book page and the cardstock adhered in step 7.
Paint a layer of white acrylic onto bubble wrap. Use the wrap as a stamp and stamp the left corner as well as the right side and the bottom.
Draw three 3⁄4" (2cm) circles on the right side with a pencil. Paint the interior of the circles with white acrylic paint.
With a no. 2 pencil, shade the exterior of the stamped circles and the circles created with the template.
Add pale pink acrylic paint randomly to the circumference of the circles created with the bubble wrap using a no. 6 round brush.
Dip a round brush into water, then into pale pink acrylic paint. Lay the brush on its side at the top of the wood block and allow the paint to drip down. Repeat this action, increasing the amount of water added to the paint to achieve varying degrees of shading.
Load a 1⁄2" (12mm) flat brush with white acrylic paint. In a random manner add the white to the top and sides of the wood. Wipe away excess paint with a soft cloth or baby wipe.
With the pencil add detail to the image transfer and the perimeter of both the wood and the cardstock. Add shading around the painted circles. Add additional markings with cream and white paints, using a dry brush.