abstract

This Was Such a Great Find! By luck, we came across an abandoned wooden octopus! We weren’t sure what to do with him since he was so large. Black paint with gold accents sounded perfect though.

Materials Needed:

Stencil1 Octopus Stencil
Stencil1 Chevron Pattern Small
Acrylic Paints: (Ivory Black, Gold Acrylics, Gel Medium)
Paint and Stencil brushes
Masking Tape

This is very small and simple project. Here is the process.

Step 1: Washing The Octopus. We used a hard bristle brush and soap to wash the octopus. Some of the blue paint came off but no worries, we can cover this up later.

Step 2: Let it dry out, Use Black paint or black Gesso to cover up the octopus

Step 4: Using the Octopus Stencil and some tape, I placed it down in the head of the octopus. I went in with Gold acrylic paint and felt like it wasn’t enough. I wanted to give the golden octopus a little bit of depth so I started to mix the gold with Gel Matte Medium.

Step 5: Just go ahead and layer the paint and medium with the stencil. Allow it to try between each application.

Step 6: Now Add the Chevron pattern to most of the tentacles, leaving a lot of black space to balance the composition.

Step 7: Go back and clean any rough edges with a flat shader brush in the size extra small. And You’re Done!

Art is a Love Language
~ Yuli, Stencil1 Team Member

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Materials Needed:

Lotus 2-Layer Stencil 8.5″ x 11″
Asian Star Stencil 6″ x 6″
Bullet Journal Stencil Patterns #3 6″ x 6″
Soft Chains Repeat Pattern Stencil 11″ x 11″
Assorted Acrylic Paints: Cobalt Blue, Deep Yellow, Scarlet Red, Ultramarine Blue, Titanium White
Assorted Brushes
Small Table

Color Mixing

For this project, I used a pallet of muted spring colors. A mix of red and orange with a splash of green to dull it down for the lotuses with a mustard yellow made by mixing the deep yellow with what I used for the first layer of the lotuses. The blues I used for the Soft Chain Stencil were a mix of ultramarine and cobalt. The green I used for the leaves and in the radial pattern and Asian star pattern was a combination of deep yellow, cobalt blue, titanium white, and scarlet red. For the very muted purple, I added more cobalt blue and scarlet red to the green I had mixed.

Process

I refinished my table first, but if you already have the surface you are happy with, you can skip this step. First, I lightly sanded and primed my table with a high quality water based furniture primer. I chose a pale blue latex paint for the table so my stencil patterns would stand out.

When dry, I used a yardstick to draw an X from corner to corner to ensure my pattern would be evenly distributed. I used two simple lines and based the placement of my stencils on that. No measuring or math was used in this project but if you are a stickler for symmetry, you may want to incorporate some of that.

I started painting with a burnt orange that I had mixed up and used a lightly loaded dry brush first and then did a second coat, using the stippling technique, building up two layers of paint. After painting in each coat, I used a blow dryer to keep the process moving along while avoiding smearing the paint already applied. Once all four lotuses were painted in, I painted in the second layer of the lotus stencil highlighting the flower with a mustard yellow, again using the dry brush, tapping technique.

For the Soft Chains Stencil on the corners, I used a teal in a dry first layer, then went back over with a deeper blue. Each time using very little paint and tapping with the brush to build layers and texture. Once that was dry, I added a free hand-painted leaf shape within each of the Soft Chain shapes in pale green. I felt it added balance to the design and fit in with the flower design.

Lastly, I used a very muted purple to paint in the center for the Asian Star stencil. My original pencil guidelines were still visible and I used that again as a guide to line up my stencils. After the light coat of purple, I went back in with the green I had used for the leaves on the corners and lightly peppered in some highlights. As a final touch, I used the same purple and green combo of colors to paint in the small radial design stencil in the corners.