Sunday, September 6, 2009

lonely autumn tree


"lonely autumn tree"
mixed media collage
18" x 18" x 3/4" solid aspen
(c) 2009 julie king


some of you asked if i would please show more details on how i create my mixed media collages. as i like to say, "ask and you shall receive." the top photo shows my "lonely autumn tree" finished except for paint on the outside edges. in the photo immediately above i've covered the board with layers of several different scrapbook papers and vintage sheet music, etc. i then rolled on several different colors of paint and added a wide variety of rubber stamps in chestnut roan color. the circles to the left were added with acrylic paints -- i just dipped different sized bottles into the paint on my pallet and dabbed the circles on. next i sketched out the tree and built the foundation by tearing tissue paper into small pieces and applying it with mod podge. i made it very bumpy for lots of texture and added an extra heavy coat of mod podge to the top of the tissue. i set it aside to dry for several hours. i want the tissue paper to be very hard.



i stamped some brown kraft paper with lots of different rubber stamps using dark brown ink. i tore the paper into strips and mod podged it down onto the tissue paper. i use a great deal of pressure to force the brown paper down into the creases of the tissue paper. i want the bark to be very bumpy and fissured.



i tore small leaves out of different colors of scrapbook paper and then used this rubber stamp to stamp across the leaves. i love the details and extra layers this creates.



here i added the leaves to the branches; i went for a very sparse look.



i like to use the edge of a pastel to sweep over the top of the bark so that it picks up bits of color. i used orange, brown and just a touch of deep teal blue. i used a bit of paper towel to smooth the pastel lines out just a hair.



i used an old small paintbrush to add chestnut roan rubber stamp ink around all the edges and then a cretacolor deep brown charcoal pencil to add an edge around all the elements.

although the top photo doesn't show it, i used metallic gold and bronze paint on this piece which give a wonderful shine in the light.

off to indiana to visit family today!

30 comments:

Mary said...

Julie this is incredibly beautiful.
And thanks for showing us your process - so fun to watch.

Love, love the picture you chose for your banner this time around!!

Hope you are having a wonderful long weekend!

Blessings!

Cristi Baxter Clothier said...

It's fabulous, Julie! Thanks for sharing with us.

A said...

i just popped over from lens.us.together and i'm already in love with your work from this single post. that piece of art is absolutely beautiful... and how wonderful that you shared the process of making it! very creative and inspiring!

Jennifer {Studio JRU} said...

Beautiful piece, I love the colors! So fun to see ones creative process!!

Almost Precious said...

Wonderful tutorial. All the steps and different layers is amazing, a lot of work ! The end result is fantastic, love the lush, warm tones of autumn.

Kim Hambric said...

Julie, what a wonderful piece! Thanks so much for showing how it's done. I'm going to come back to this post again and again.

ArtPropelled said...

That was interesting, thanks Julie. A lot goes into these pieces you create.

Unknown said...

Julie,
I was so interested in mixed media that I looked up the definition. You have to spends oodles of time on one project.
How long does it take from start to finish?
I'm still interested in your art...but I am thinking about requesting something special for Christmas.

Maybe I could email you what I'm thinking about?

lori vliegen said...

i loved seeing your process (and your work table!), julie! thanks for sharing that with us! your method of making the tree is so creative! i love using stamps for texture, too! have a great trip to indiana! :))

HightonRidley said...

I love how it turned out! Thanks for sharing your walkthrough - it's always good to see how others create :)

Manon said...

Thanks for sharing your process Julie! Love the warm colors you used!!

Nana Trish is Living the Dream said...

This is great! Sharing your process is so neat. I love this work. You must feel so pleased with this piece. I imagine it has so much texture. Great work!

PrairiePeasant said...

You make it look so easy (when I know it really is lots of work)! Your work is beautiful and inspiring--thanks for sharing your secrets!

Brandi said...

I love Autumn! It's my favorite time of year!! Longer sleeves, more layers...slight chill in the air! Love the colors too! You have done an amazing job capturing these in your art! You are a very talented woman, indeed!

Katiejane said...

Thanks for the tutorial. I'm going to try this technique on my next project. Yours turned out beautiful.

Kelly Warren said...

Julie, what a great lesson! The finished piece is beautiful and you described each step wonderfully, even for a rookie like me! :-)

steviewren said...

Interesting Julie, to see how you build your piece addition by addition. Thanks. I like it.

Michael said...

Wow. That's alot of work. Really interesting though. You have passion, what else can one say?!

sara said...

I LOVE this mixed media tree. The colors- the patterns- all very beautiful.

Auburn Kat said...

Wow, seriously that is amazing! I'm not sure I could be that creative!

Memories Of Mine said...

Wow you make this look so easy and natural. I'm in awe.

ELK said...

julie...i am so glad to have met you thru lens group..this is a wonder filled post!

Jennifer DeDonato said...

Julie,

Totally awesome...its all about the details and you do that with ease. I love the colors you used and what a great tutorial.

Teresa aka Tess said...

Hi Julie, I found your tutorial fascinating. I love this Autumn tree piece witha it's fall colors. Anything with leaves or trees catch my eye. You were featured on the mod podge blog today and she was right. Your art is awesome.

Anonymous said...

Coming over from Mod Podge and just wanted to tell you how much I love this! Thanks for sharing the tutorial.
PK @ Room Remix

Anonymous said...

Really Nice Work ;)

Mummy said...

gorgeous!

Kristin said...

This is really amazing work! It looks so beautiful, what a creative eye you have! Thank you so much for sharing some details, I look forward to trying some new techniques.!

Natasha said...

Thank you SO much for posting this, you've opened my eyes to a whole new world of what I can create!

I tried your technique out and the results are definitely one of my favorite pieces I've ever made! I linked to you on the post. You can see pics here...

http://samstermommy.blogspot.com/2009/10/mixed-media-photo-collage.html

Thank you again, next I'm going to try and replicate a picture of my little girl in a pumpkin patch. (:

Laura S. said...

Found my way here via Mod Podge Rocks.... this is just beautiful! Love it and the coloring. Thanks for sharing!