Native bush scene

So here’s the latest panting I’ve been working on – A native bush and bird scene on handmade flax paper.  It was commissioned as a wedding present for a couple who got engaged at Pukaha Wildlife centre at Mt Bruce in the Wairarapa.

Above is the finished painting, before adding the resin topcoat.  Because the flax paper I used as the support was unsized, I needed to start with a base coat of acrylic before applying gouache.  This prevents the gouache from soaking straight into the paper and bleeding through the layers – Which also makes this particular paper feather and break up.  However, the acrylic layer means the gouache just sits on top without binding, and would slowly crack and flake off over time.  The resin I use as a top coat stops this, and still keeps the paper flexible.  Here it is with the resin :

It adds a beautiful crystal gloss finish and deepens the colours up too – Back to what they looked like when I mixed them up wet. Le Franc gouache dries lighter.

The resin has also brought out different colours in the layers of the flax paper as its absorbed more in some places than others.  At first I thought I’d add a second layer of resin to try and even this out, but when I looked at it again after the resin had set, I decided to keep it as it is.  The flax border is matte, with slight sheen in some places where the paper has absorbed less and the resin is sitting on top – It’s rather reminiscent of tree sap on bark and also contrasts really nicely with the shine on the painted area.  I’ve decided it fits really well. Better than if the whole piece was gloss.

*If you click on each of the photos, it should bring up an enlarged image to view.

Read Full Post »

Harbourside

Yeeeee – I can finally put up some pics of the commission piece of Wgtn harbour I was working on a couple of weeks ago… So super stoked with how it turned out!

The goal was to paint the city, as viewed from the far point of Oriental bay, and merge it into an underwater scene – Keeping it in the same style and paper dimensions as the earlier Slipstream piece I painted as a wedding present for my friends Paul and Em, who had this painting commissioned to work alongside.

To me the skyline should have naturally been landscape, so it was a challenge to make it fit into the same portrait format.  While Slipstream was masked out square, I added 100mm to both the top and bottom of this one – With parts of the image bleeding off onto the raw paper below to give it a slightly less structured look.

I really wanted the hills to create the top edge of the scene, so had to reduce the view of the city right down in size… I was a bit worried it might have ended up looking like it was just thrown in at the end, but I think overall the piece works.

Its been a while since I’ve painted anything this size and detail – I’m glad to know I still can… Well, if I can manage to find the time and concentration that is!

Read Full Post »

Twenty Eight for Twenty Eight

Today I am 28. So I’ve picked 28 images from over the past few years.

I’ve started with earlier images that you would normally have to look up in the archives, or scroll pages and pages back to get to; More recent ones are down the bottom of the post.  I’ve tried to pick a range of different work, plus some of my favorites – It actually took a bit of effort to weed it down to just 28…. Hmmm, where has all this work come from, I don’t think I realised how much has accumulated over the past few years!  Enjoy.

Read Full Post »

Take flight for Chch, if a little late…

Newly completed canvas with vintage paper, resin, paper-cut birds and gouache layers for my lovely friends who had their wedding down in Christchurch over the past weekend.  Beautiful sunny day, with temperatures similar to Melbourne at the mo…. hot hot! My plane was delayed two and a half hours on the way down, so I only just got there in time – Luckily my bag was carry-on, so was able to change at the airport in Wgtn while waiting… trying not to stress over not being there in time!  Turned out all good in the end, even after I left the painting in the back seat of my friends car when I got dropped off at the church – what can I say, Typical Vin moment!

Have included a close up shot below so you can see the hand painted embossed paper I used – I wanted to give it an old stone sort of finish, as I had all of Christchurch’s old buildings in mind when I was painting it.  The birds have this speckled quality to them, the gouache varnish topcoat I used on them pooled a bit because of the humidity we’ve been having in Wgtn, but I really like the extra effect its given them.

Read Full Post »

Hand painted Cherry blossom Wedding dress for Leah

So my friend who recently got married – well, in feb, its taken me a while to get round to post these up – was brave / crazy enough to trust me with painting on her wedding dress!

This was such a cool opportunity – so thanks so much Leah, because I don’t think I know of anyone else game enough to do this…. but does make for a truly one of a kind dress, and final result wasstunning on Leah on the day.

Below are some pics of how the dress progressed – I painted it in acrylic, built up in really thin, f last layers to give the blossoms a soft wash look, followed by a strong top layer in a dark brown red to match the brides hair colour.

Read Full Post »

Wedding gifts anyone?

So it seems to be that time come mid 20’s-30’s where all my friends have decided to jump in and get hitched.

This is a collection of works I have created for these very special events – some as gifts from me, as well as a few pieces commissioned by friends for their loved ones.

And really, if your gonna be spending that hard earned cash of yours on that perfect gift, a painting is definitely gonna be a wee bit more original and thoughtful than that toaster off the registry list at Briscoes!

Commission work is available for wedding or other special gifts, The time it will take and pricing is dependant on size and style of work.

Please feel free to contact me at  mightymouselikescheese@gmail.com if you have any queries.

Read Full Post »

Amazing how google works… big ups!!

So this week my work was found through google by a lovely lady from San Jose, California.

She is a wedding planner, and it features on her weekly inspiration board  – this weeks board is themed”Take flight”.

Funnily enough, this piece was also created as a wedding present for some gorgeous friends of mine who recently tied the knot!

 

Its a large custom canvas from the lovely people at the French Art Shop in Wellington (Think A0 size, only square). It is a mixed media piece consisting of a beautiful vintage embossed wallpaper that was found in one of Victoria Universities houses when they did it up …. Apparently the story goes that this big old house used to be a brothel!

I hand painted the paper with layers of acrylic with a base of black followed by hot pinks, purples and touches of sunset orange.  Next I poured on the first coat of resin and stenciled the turquoise birds in an enamel paint so they sit in an overlayed flat layer above the paper.  The work is finished with another layer of poured resin – it dries with a super glossy finish that reminds me of clear toffee…. and it really does make you want to lick it!

 

You can see my work featured in inspiration board format at:

www.thetestoftimeweddings.blogspot.com

Its in the archives for Tuesday 25th August, 2009  …Go google!

Read Full Post »

New Work

A collection of work I have recently completed. The top two images are a new style I have been trying out with a Japanese feel in the patterning and the use of Carp – not that for once there are no black outlines! ….This is a new thing for me –  and though i definitely like how its turned out, I wouldn’t wager too high on the outcome that the black lines are gone for good; though its def. good to be trying something new. This piece is a large A2 gouache piece on a hot press watercolour paper which is super super smooth.  It is a wedding present for a couple of my friends, so I wanted to do something super impressive with fine detailing. Have loved how it has turned out so I would count on seeing more of these to come in the future.

Read Full Post »

Jungle pics

This is a set of three large A1 works on a textured heavy 300gsm watercolour paper. They were commissioned by two of my bestest friends as a wedding present for a family member.

I painted from both live plants and still photos, and the set have been painted so that the image is continuous from one paper to the next – if you were to move the picture on the far left so that it sat on the far right instead, the overall image would still link up.  I like to think of this a bit like puzzle pieces.

Read Full Post »