Good quality canvases can be expensive to buy brand new, so we’ve been frequenting the car boots and charity shops to collect used canvases for a fraction of the price.
The canvas used in this month’s blog make is about a meter squared, and originally depicted the New York skyline in murky greys and dreary browns... sort of like somebody had spilt a cup of tea all over it. I managed to get it for a whopping £1!! The chap who was selling it said he was sad to part with it as it was such a lovely picture… I felt it best not to tell him that it was getting Powertexed at the nearest opportunity.
So, it came home with me to Redditch and within a couple of days the New York skyline was replaced with a cheerful folk art scene…
I used mostly Ivory and Blue Powertex in the background, moving it around the canvas with a palette knife. I made sure that the Powertex was thicker in some places, and then while it was still wet, I sprayed on some bister. I then held a hairdryer over the canvas and applied some heat to form cracks in the paint. The thicker the paint, the thicker the cracks which appear.
Once my base layer was dry, I used Powercolor pigments mixed with easy varnish (burgundy, orange and light blue) to add a splash of colour.
I painted the trees using Black hardener, and the butterflies are just little wooden embellishments which I also painted in Black and stuck onto the canvas (Powertex works well as a glue).
For the sun, Transparent hardener was used on some yellow yarn which I later dry brushed with gold Colortrix and red Powercolor. I also used Transparent hardener for the rays of the sun, mixed with some copper Colortrix to give the metallic effect.
Et voilá!
If you would like to upcycle an old canvas with Powertex, feel free to contact a Powertex Tutor near you, who will be happy to help.
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