Peek a Boo!

So two days after our Tuesday evening abstract art class, I was back in Amsterdam and immediately wanted to practice at home what I had learned. Painting with rollers! It would be a mini version by using a small brayer and A4 paper. I was just going to see what I could come up with as I went along. And how can I incorporate some kawaii in the piece?

Rolling Out the Pink

I coated my Cansons mixed media paper with white gesso and whilst letting it dry, I mixed some magenta acrylic paint with white and added some Liquitex Gloss Medium. The mixture was then rolled onto the paper with a rubber brayer. During class though we used a foam sponge roller which absorbed more paint and hence more output on paper. The rubber brayer required adding more paint after each rotation and did not spread the colour as evenly as a sponge roller would. Unfortunately I had no sponge roller handy so resorted to what I have at home. That’s ok too since I was merely gaining more experience with the method, and I was still happy with the result. I scribbled in some squiggles with a satay stick while the paint was still wet.

Turning Japanese

I tried to add some light green on top with a patterned brayer I happened to have at home, only to discover it was a bad idea especially as the paint was gooey and got stuck between the grooves. Better suited to a more fluid medium like ink. Once I let the paint dry, I had the idea to glue on bits of paper. And how about adding some Japanese twist to it? I grabbed some Japanese-language newspaper as well as a print out of Tokidoki characters and cut out some funky shapes then glued them on, along with bits of scrap Hello Kitty origami paper I had used for another project. And some pink tissue paper. Then briefly rolled on some green paint. So far so good.

Enhancing Cuteness

I added more layers using bubble wrap prints, splatters of fluorescent pink acrylic ink and squiggles of 3D acrylic. Another cool feature I used was mixing some Liquitex glass bead gel medium with fluorescent blue paint and spreading it on the corners with a palette knife. Oh and not to forget stamping on some Hello Kitty prints with yellow Distress Oxide around the painting. Can you see them? How many Kitty’s can you find? And now I think I’m done here!

I had so much fun with this painting! While I picked up some techniques learned from my art lessons, I was pleased to discover that I able to integrate them with my style of work. I really enjoy being free-handed and adding bits as I go. It’s a great way to get really creative. And abstract art shouldn’t stop you from making something vivid and kawaii.