2017 Mixed Media Technique Calendar - November

Man this week has just flown by! I just realized that I have missed Wednesday and Thursday postings.  Well I'm back today with November's Technique Calendar.  Today I wanted to share one of my favorite "looks".  I say looks because there are so many ways to go about this particular process...just use what you have.  What look is that?  The crackled paint look!  I absolutely love it and thought it would be a fun look for November since it's that time between sunny summer days and bleak winter blues.  

This is what my finished page looks like.  I don't know if you can see it or not but there are areas chipped away where I have used a spray ink to "discolor" the background even further. It really has an amazing look IRL. 

To achieve this look I used Crackle Paste by DecoArts to which I mixed in some barn red acrylic paint. Now of course you can use any type of crackle medium you have on hand.  Just follow mfg. instructions.   I applied a REALLY thick coat - it took almost 24 hrs. to completely dry but it was so worth it. I wanted really chunky thick crackles which would be easily picked off.

Why you might ask?  To further that weathered vintage feel. Now I know lots of people who just crackle and leave it as is but to me that's the "perfect version".  If you've never looked at paint on an old house or barn, there are areas that have bits missing or flaking off.  You really need to do this to get an accurate look at weathered paint.  So I take a my pick and pluck off areas of the crackled paint.  I usually go with one really big area and several smaller ones to give you the weathered feel.  

After you have plucked off enough paint, it's time to add a bit more color and sparkle if you like.  I used Desert Sand Fireworks! spray ink. I gave the entire page a good spritz...I wanted it to fill in the crackled areas with color but I also really wanted to darken up the spots where I removed the paint crackles.  It makes such a difference once it's dry.  Gives such a nice authentic look.

I didn't want to do anything else to detract from the look so I just added the calendar page to finish it off.  If I were using this technique on a canvas I would probably go back in and add a few "paint drips" of a different color of paint as well as some dry brush painting to add another color/layer.