Canvas Play Day

Today I took a trip over to Pramoda Gifts to take a workshop with Marina. When I say a workshop, I mean a play day. Kath also joined us too.

As I arrived late due to traffic, roadworks and accidents Marina had already started to prep my cardboard for me. We painted the canvas's in black powertex, placed the cardboard and added some of the wooden pegs from the back of the canvas.

Marina showing us how to mix up the balls and sand in the remaining Powertex. We did it in very small batches because it was between 33.5 and 35 degrees with the fan on and back door open!

So here are mine with the 'mucky mix' added. Told to us by Tracey at the garden party.

I put mine outside in the sun to dry whilst Kath and Marina wafted theirs with the hairdryer, but I was too hot so had a look around the fab studio at the lovely works of art.

A fabulously decorated skull and luckily they had some blanks to buy.

And this beautiful canvas. The colours are so subtle but it looks fab. It's like in a shadow box with a glass front, hence the reflection. 

Then I popped back outside to see how my cracks were doing.

Close up of the cracks on one of the canvases.

The left canvas was coloured with pigments and wax. The middle one was coloured with acrylic paints and inks. Some of the inks are metallic, a gold and an aqua. The right canvas has been base coloured with the orange paint, and the egg yolk and tangerine ink. I then added orange and burgundy pigments mixed with the Powerwax. I basically just kept going until I was happy with what I had. I still need to work on them as it was sooooo warm that the Powerwax had melted and it kept moving around. Marina put it in the fridge in the end!!

And after driving back in a storm with thunder, lightning, torrential rain, nearly dark at 6pm, hurricane type winds which left parts of trees and branches and loads and loads of leaves all over the roads, no to mention huge puddle, I finally arrived home about 7.40pm. It didn't let up from when I set off until well after midnight. So here are my purchases. I was running out of bronze Powertex after playing with it in the week, having seen the skull in the studio and also seeing a couple last weekend at the garden party, I picked up the last three that Marina had left. She had planned a workshop for them, but instead, very kindly let me have them. Then I spied the paper mache one too. I also picked up the gold metallic ink as it leaves a great shimmer over lots of the other colours. I picked up a piece of oasis too as I've been making figures and though it would be suitable to sit them on, so watch this space for that one!! And I've been after a little bag for ages, just big enough to fit my purse, camera and car keys in. This one was perfect and I got to try it out first! I picked up a tub of Powerwax last weekend at the garden party.

And because my mum and dad come over for the day and look after Fraz for me, I usually try and pick mum something up as they always have something unusual. I really wanted something duck related, but all the ducks had been sold and they weren't getting any more, so I had to make another choice and decided on the bee. I hope she likes it. I was hoping she might put it in one of the huge outdoor planters that I Powertexed for her birthday last year.

I took a photo of them when I got home and also the practise piece in the top corner, but I actually like them as a foursome, so might just keep them like this. I still need to wait for the wax to dry properly so I can buff it up or take some off or whatever I decide to do over the next few days, but need to look at them in daylight.