Thursday, January 24, 2019

wall art - winter sky northern lights

the inspiration for these pieces came from decorative trim from our Christmas crackers.  It was so pretty I knew I wanted to save it for something.


I needed some artwork for a trio of black 5 x 7 frames.  Decided to create a snowy winter night sky with northern lights. Someday I would love to see the northern lights in person but here in the city it's hard to see many stars let alone any northern lights.

Alcohol inks were used on glossy cardstock to create the look of a night sky with northern lights.  The colors used for the sky were: Indigo, Denim, Botanical, Purple Twilight and Stream.   I used Snow Cap (diluted with blending solution) on a brush and gently flicked the ink on the paper to create stars.  Then I went in with a Uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen to make some the stars a brighter white.


I was going to use white cardstock for snow but then found a sheet of white glitter cardstock in my paper stash.  Perfect for sparkly snow!  I cleaned the studio a few weeks ago and it looks like it paid off.  I cut the piece and attached it to the bottom of the cardstock. 


Next was using those Christmas cracker trim pieces.  I cut out the individual pieces, colored them black with a Copic black marker and added them to the scene.  The original silver trim didn't provide much of a contract to the snow and the black Copic marker worked well to get them dark yet keep some of the sparkle.



I'm happy with how they turned out. It's hard to see in this photo but there is a shimmer to the snow and the trees and animals. 


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