Monday 20 February 2017

HOOOWWWL!!!! by Claudia


It's spooky time! 

It's full moon! Werwolves haunt the forests and their animal friends join in the gathering. Under the pale light of a cold moon they all unite to sing their sad and melancholic wolves chant...


Calico Craft Parts used:


When I saw the amazing new Wolf Wood Shapes over at the Calico Craft Parts Shop I immediately knew I wanted to create a spooky scene with wolves (maybe werwolves?) howling under a full moon. 

The largest size of the Winter Tree Scene fit perfectly into a 6'' x 8'' canvas I had in my stash - so this made the perfect base for my werwolf shadow box. 

As I didn't need two full moons in my project I simply snipped off the larger moon using cutting pliers and a bit of sanding paper.



Then I covered the back of the canvas with scraps of old dicionary pages using DecoArt matte Decou-Page. I also sealed the surface of the glued on pages with a slightly diluted coat of Decou-Page.


Next I painted my moon lit forest background by adding DecoArt media Yellow Green Light, Cobalt Teal Hue and Titan Buff fluid acrylic paints wet on wet with a bristle brush. The bristles of the brush created short vertical patterns that look like forest covered hills in the far back.


Once all was dry I painted on the white moon with DecoArt media Titanium White fluid acrylic paint after I had found the right spot by putting the wood shape in place and tracing it with a soft pencil.


The wolf and forest MDF shapes were dry brushed with DecoArt media black Gesso so none of the beautiful structures would get lost.


I used some heavy black cardstock to cut out some hill shapes to glue the two MDF wolf and winter tree scenes to.


All the black parts for my scene got a wash of a mix of DecoArt media Phtalo Green-Blue, Prussian Blue Hue and Paynes Grey.



Once that had dried I dry brushed the pieces with white DecoArt media Gesso to make all the beautiful inner structures of the MDF parts visible.


And after they had dried I added another thin wash of Phtalo Green-Blue and Prussian Blue Hue on top.

I stacked some sticky foam pads to build my scene inside the canvas and create a lot of depth. The large wolve's head was glued directly to the canvas frame using matte Decou-Page.



The outer edge of the canvas was covered with some washi tape that I added a coat of matte Decou-Page onto so it would not come off.


Using a wide tip black permanent marker I wrote my "HOOOWWWL" and shaded the letters with a white gel pen. I also drew thin white outlines around the inner and the outer edge of the canvas frame for better visual coherence.


On top of the writing and outlines I added another very thin wash of Phtalo Green-Blue and Prussian Blue Hue.


Some close ups:





and once more the whole project in its final state:


I hope you like my little spooky werwolf canvas and maybe you will want to use the background technique for loosely painting a forest background on your own projects. So as always I hope you leave inspired and of course with the extreme urge of desperately neeeeeding those wonderful MDF wood parts. ;)

Hugs and happy crafting!
Claudia
xxx


8 comments:

  1. Ooh, that is so cool! Another great 3D shadowbox - and the colours of the sky are perfect for the Northern Lights.
    Alison x

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  2. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh wow Claudia - soooo WONDERFUL. To me... this isn't scary at all... it just looks like our coyotes in the woods that howl at me every night. It's such a BEAUTIFUL scene that you have made. That said... it IS scary to BE in the woods WITH them at night!!!! What an INCREDIBLE background you made with the DecoArt Media acrylics and the amazing pattern - just STUNNING. The coat of fur on your furry fellows looks so real too! Really AWESOME scene and artwork. Xj.

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  3. Wunderprächtig, der Hintergrund erinnert an faszinierende Polarlichter, a fantastic magical mood!!

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  4. Thank you all so very much, Alison, Joi and Kerstin!
    You're right, it looks a bit like Northern Lights too. Hadn't seen it that way before. Maybe the subconscious...lol :) XXX

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  5. A 'howling' success, Claudia! I love your 3D shadow box. I've always considered Wolves to be incredibly beautiful and not scary, but I must confess I've never been alone in the woods that they haunt! Your background is superb and the technique for painting the wolves too. xx

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    1. Thank you, Julie Ann! :)
      I don't think that wolves are scary either - but werwolves definitely are. lol
      And being along in the forest at night really IS scary. Even without wolves around. giggle

      Hugs,
      Claudia x

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  6. Stunning Claudia! I absolutely adore your painted Aurora Borealis !! It looks like the Northern Lights to me rather than a forest. Here they are know as The Merry Dancers and you have captured them perfectly! I also absolutely love the way you have painted the wolves - a great technique and I shall certainly be giving that a go. Fabulous !!!

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    1. Aw! Thank you so much, Jennie!
      This means a lot coming from you (I know you live in a place where the Aurora Borealis can be seen at times)!
      Big hug! XXX

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