A Bear With a View

Hello again, my friend! Boy, I’m glad to be back online. Now to do some catching up! I’ve been working on this particular piece off and on for over a week. Part of that was letting ink dry; part of it was creative paralysis! I wanted to do this, but was afraid I would totally ‘muck it up’. Finally, I decided that however it turned out would be better than doing nothing. So here it is; my Bear with a View.

BEAR WITH A VIEW

This piece combines image tracing with graphite paper, stamping, alcohol ink and some marker work.

THE BEAR NECESSITIES

Sorry – couldn’t help myself! I started with a panel of Yupo, measuring 8″ x 8″.  Online, I found a royalty-free image of a black bear, and printed it out. I traced the outline onto the Yupo using a pencil and graphite paper.  I really don’t draw well (something else I’m working on), so tracing is a life saver! Just make sure that the image  you’re using is royalty-free, or that you have the permission of the artist/photographer. Next, I went over the traced image on Yupo with a black Sharpie.

I knew that I wanted to create an outdoor scene within the bear – but again, my lack of drawing abilities had me stymied. But only for a minute – because I know how to stamp!  Using the Penny Black Season’s Marvel stamp set, stamp the mountains outline image onto a scrap piece of paper. Now, use the graphite paper and pencil to transfer the image to the middle of the bear. Viola! Use alcohol inks, blending solution and brushes to add colour to the mountains. I chose a combination of Slate and Cool Peri inks by Ranger.  Allow the mountains to dry, and then add your trees. I initially was going to repeat the stamp & trace for the trees, but decided instead to stamp directly onto the Yupo, with StaZon black ink. StaZon is specifically meant for slick/non porous surfaces, which makes it perfect for stamping onto Yupo.

The final step was to colour the background, or body of the bear. First, mask off the top of the mountains with masking fluid, to prevent any running or accidental blending. With a galaxy night sky theme in mind, I added Purple Twilight, Amethyst, Denim and Pitch Black alcohol ink, when the masking fluid was dry. Originally, I had the bottom portion -legs & bottom of mountain – painted in solid black, but it just looked too ‘solid’ and heavy. To lift some of the black ink, dip your brush into the blending solution, and brush over the black, to remove it. Wipe your brush off each ‘swipe’ to remove the black ink from the bristles.

COMPLETE THE BACKGROUND

Once all of the ink was dry, remove the masking fluid from the tops of the mountains, and do any necessary touch up. To create the snow & stars, mix a bit of water with some white Gouache paint, and flick it with either a stiff brush or a toothbrush, onto the panel.

I’m still debating about how to do the background around the bear; something in a light gray mix, perhaps? What do you think would look good?  Here’s another look – I’d love to get  your feedback on what you think of this piece!

Thanks for spending some time with me today! Have I inspired you yet, to play with alcohol inks yourself? *smile*

Affiliate links provided for products, at no extra cost to you.