While I was organizing some shelves in my studio last week, this 6×6 canvas literally fell in my lap! So, instead of finding a place for it, I decided to use it.

Next came the hard part—what am I going to create on this little canvas? Color? Subject? I began to think about fall and the colors and smells of the season. I am so ready for fall and cooler temperatures! However, autumn in Houston, Texas, means going through the peak of hurricane season. This year brings extra fear and anxiety due to memories of Hurricane Harvey.

With fall colors in mind, I turned on some music and began to create while pushing aside the worry that often fills my mind. The process of creating art provides an escape!

I printed a few of Shawn’s collage pak sheets that caught my eye and began layering them on the canvas. I have to admit, I was afraid to use the really fun swatch sheet (What if I messed up? What if I had a better project to use it on?) until I remembered I could print it again and again! How often do we let our fear take over? I laughed at myself and continued to create. I added three butterflies to the background, a symbol of being brave.

After collaging the background, I dripped, splattered, stenciled, and grunged it up before adding molding paste through Shawn’s mandala stencil. Once the paste dried, I glazed the sides of the canvas and the mandalas to add even more grunge. Then, I grabbed my pan pastels to create a rusty patina look to the mandalas. A few more splatters and some outlining of the butterflies, and it was time to find the message this canvas had for me: “Trust Your Wings.”

After I placed the words on the canvas, I laughed again. I completed a journal page a few days prior that said “Use Your Wings.”  The message was even more clear to me… not only do I need to use those wings, I need to trust them! Whatever your wings are (faith, family, art, etc.) use them, and trust them to carry you through difficult seasons.

Enjoy the video

Products Used:

• 6×6 Deep Edge Canvas
• Gesso (white)
• Matte Medium
• Golden High Flow Acrylics (transparent brown oxide, transparent yellow iron oxide, transparent red iron oxide, sepia, teal)
• Golden Fluid Acrylic (raw umber, carbon black)
• Glazing Medium
• Light Molding Paste
• Pan Pastels & Pastel Tools (copper, phthalo green, phthalo green shade, turquoise, turquoise shade)
• Stabilo Marks-All Pencil (black, graphite)
• SpectraFix
• Palette knife, palette paper, round blending tool
• Dictionary Pages
• Rub-ons
• Tim Holtz Big Chat Stickers
• Shawn Petite Collage Paks
  • Sunday Inspiration 10-2-16
  • Sunday Inspiration 1-29-17
  • Vintage Butterfly
  • Ledger Papers
• Shawn Petite Stencils
  • Mandala
  • Old Type Text

You can see more from Nicole here:

Website: www.nicolewatsonart.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolewatsonart/

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nicolewatsonart

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicolewatsonart

Have a great day! Be inspired, create and know that you are loved!