Yay, back to some serious intuitive mixed media work! Today we have Little One dressed as a bunny. But this time it’s no ordinary bunny. As it’s nearing winter, she wanted to be a special one and be a Snow Bunny all donned in a fluffy yet glittery costume complete with ears! And along come some real snow bunnies hopping along to see what it’s all about. What fun! But this is no winter wonderland. Looks like they’re all in a warm paradise surrounded by flowers and green. A jungle perhaps? How wonderful and cozy that must be!
Leftover Paint
As done quite often, the painting begins with some leftover paint wiped onto a blank sketchbook page. This one is a newly-purchased large A3 pad of Bristol Paper by Canson. Having worked with Bristol paper before and very happy with it, I went and ordered a large sized pad. What I love about this paper is its smooth surface which prevents paint from absorbing and is wonderful for markers too, including even the alcohol-based Copics. The leftover paint was a blend of Quinacridone Azo Nickel Gold and Titanium white acrylic ink, typically used to paint faces. Rest is just a random smudge of acrylic paint as well. Let’s now put it to the test for the rest!
The Beginning
Found some Molotow acrylic paint pens I haven’t really used in a while and thought it would be an idea to have a play around with them. Unfortunately, many have dried out by the nibs but then luckily resurrected by dipping into a bit of water, as I discovered. Great to know, at least they don’t need to be wasted and thrown away. Then some color blocks of purple (Ranger’s Dina Wakely Media Acrylic Paint in Blackberry) were applied with a wide brush along with a few collages such as old wrapping paper, tissues and newspaper.
Painting Away!
At this point, I just went for a landscape background consisting of sky, hills and ground. Golden Fluid Acrylic was used here, including Ultramarine Blue, Magenta, Green Gold and Sap Green. I was not happy with it, but let’s not give up! Switched my focus to the subjects instead and painted the hair in Antelope Brown acrylic ink, followed by the ears, outfit and two bunnies in metallic white. Then layered some purple on the hills and Sap Green on the grass. Still unhappy with it, I resorted to the best remedy: collage to cover it all up! Out came more wrapping paper, paper napkins, tissues and even a tag from some Hello Kitty merchandise! Let’s add more kawaii to the paining, right?
Finishing Up
Now that’s better! A bit of a messy background but I quite like the chaos. And now let’s go back to the subjects again. First the eyes, which were colored in with antelope brown followed by, once dry, a layer of Sap Green to match the background. Next, I spread some White glitter paint by Izink with a palette knife on the bunny ears and outfit. Looking great so far! More glitter on the collar and eyelashes with Ranger’s glitter glue, and wow! The whites of the eyes were filled in with thick Titanium White by ARA, the same paint used for the two little bunnies. To let the subjects pop out more, I traced over the outline with a black marking pencil. Finally, the pink hearts were the filled in with some Fluorescent Pink gouache (Holbein’s Acryla in Opera) followed by carefully tracing the outline with fluorescent pink 3D Liner by Sennelier. Finally, I introduced some texture on the hair with some bronze Relief Paint by Amsterdam. And now!!
And what fun that was! Took a few days to complete but I’m now happy with it. I just wanted Little One to look adorable in her snow bunny costume playing with the other bunnies. And now, so wonderful to get my painting mojo back after weeks. Can’t wait to start my next mixed media painting like this soon! Meanwhile a bit of sketching and short painting sessions in between to recharge my energy, and I’ll be back in no time. And now I’d better warm up and get my Christmas themed painting prepared soon so watch this space!
My Kawaii Quarter 