I have signed up for a Halloween arch swap. We had to use the arch shape from ARTchix Studio, as well as images from ARTchix. I also added some of their German scrap.
I started out by painting the arch with gesso - I layered many layers of paint and stamping on top and then decided that the colour was too bright and didn't offer enough contrast to my images, so I painted over everything with black gesso (this looks alarming when you first do it!), and then wiped most of it off, leaving a nice darker surface with some brighter highlights where more of the black gesso came off. I finished the pieces off with a bat stamp and some glitter glue dots around the edges.
For the back, I just used one layer of paint over gesso, then stamped with a marble background stamp and added this great vintage Halloween cat available from Autumn's Antics on Etsy Not only does Autumn sell these great cats in multiples on a downloadable sheet, she also has the most adorable vintage cat paper doll also available for download.
The background on these are stunning. I can see all the time and effort you put into them. I really need to find some black gesso. I'm not sure how you manage to keep your swap entries so fresh and new each year, but I am in awe of your art.
Posted by: Bleubeard and Elizabeth | September 21, 2010 at 05:34 AM
Oh, your Halloween Gothic Arches are fabulous! I love the grinning cat, but then I would with my own grinning kitty at home. I will have to get better with my backgrounds as far as painting goes. I always admire how yours look so professional.
Posted by: Mary Wilkins | September 21, 2010 at 10:51 AM
These turned out great, Cindy! Love the layers!
Posted by: Autumn Clark | September 25, 2010 at 09:43 AM