Sugar Skull Sharpie Alcohol Canvas

 It's back to canvases we go, this week, for a couple of abstract, unique pieces.  Today we're going to make our own watercolor canvas painting using Sharpie markers & rubbing alcohol.  Watercolors give pieces an airy, whimsical, daydream-y feeling that I'm hoping to replicate by the end of this project.

(Image by Urban Road on their website: {http://www.urbanroad.com.au/shop/2013-spring/nebula/}.)

Items You Will Need for This Project:

• Any Size Canvas You Like
• A Pencil
• Sharpie (or Similar Permanent Marker)
• Rubbing Alcohol
• A Small Spray Bottle

Canvases can be found at some discount stores and superstores, as well as all major craft retailers such as JoAnn's, Michael's, Pat Catan's, Hobby Lobby, etc.  They can range in price depending upon the size, brand, and color.  I bought mine at Ollie's Bargain Outlet for about $3.

All of our other necessary items are pretty easily found just about anywhere for just $1.  I already had Sharpies and pencils at home, so I just purchased my rubbing alcohol & spray bottle at Dollar Tree for just $1 each.

I first made a rough sketch in pencil of what I wanted my image to be.  I chose a sugar skull (because I've always thought that they're fun, bright, & have a nice cultural aspect to them), but you can choose to sketch whatever the heck you like.

After my sketch was completed, I went over top of all my pencil lines with a black, ultra-fine Sharpie to give it a nice outline.

Next, I used my sharpies to color in my sketch.

Once my sketch was colored in, I sprayed the entire colored area with my rubbing alcohol spray bottle.

Once the colors started to run, I picked up my canvas and tilted it in different directions to spread out the running colors.

After I was satisfied with the watercolor effect, I just left my canvas to dry for about an hour or so until it was ready to hang.

Voila! You've Made Your Own Sharpie Watercolor Canvas!
Thank You & Enjoy!

Melted Crayon Splatter Canvas

Similar to this week's first post, today we're going to be sketching an image on canvas, but combining it with melted crayon splatter to create a more edgy, abstract piece.

{Image by  Zujava on their website: (http://www.zujava.com/melting-crayon-art).}

To Complete This Project You Will Need:

• Any Size Canvas You Like
• A Pencil
• A Variety of Crayons
• A Hair Dryer

Canvases can be found at some discount stores and superstores, as well as all major craft retailers such as JoAnn's, Michael's, Pat Catan's, Hobby Lobby, etc.  They can range in price depending upon the size, brand, and color.  I bought mine at Ollie's Bargain Outlet for about $3.
 

Unlike the photo above, in which the artist taped down a variety of crayons and then blow dried them, I held my crayons one at a time above my canvas and melted them with the dryer.  I love the effect this created, because instead of just drops of wax, the airflow from the dryer caused the wax to hit the canvas while it was in motion, giving it a nice paint splatter appearance.

I first chose a crayon and peeled about half the paper off of it from the top, allowing more of the wax to be exposed for melting.

I then held my crayon over the canvas with one hand, while using the blow dryer in the other.  It took maybe a minute to heat the crayon up enough for it to start melting onto the canvas.

I continued this method of melting until I had all of the wax drops & splatter I needed.  I believe I used about 10 colors of crayons.

 Next, I wanted to draw an image to incorporate with the crayon splatter.  I chose to do another sugar skull for this week.  I first sketched it in pencil on the canvas.

 I then outlined my sketch with an ultra-fine, black Sharpie marker to give it an outline and strong definition.

I then decided to color in my sketch with crayons.  I could have used another form of color, such as Sharpies, but since the crayon splatter is so bright and vibrant, I wanted to downplay the coloring of the sketch a little, so that the two elements of the piece could play off each other.

 Once your sketch is colored, your canvas is just about wrapped up!
I was going for a pretty/morbid vibe with this piece that I think I achieved pretty well.  The crayon splatter can be seen as a bright idea, a daydream, or perhaps some brain or skull fragments.  The viewer always has the opportunity to decide what artwork is to them personally:  subjective.

 Voila! You've Made Your Own Melted Crayon Splatter Canvas!
Thank You & Enjoy!