Tim Holtz Sizzix Chapter 2 - Modern Floristry and Artsy Stems Van Gogh Inspired Poppies In A Vase 8x10 Inch Mixed Media Canvas

Hello Everybody and welcome back to my last project for the Tim Holtz Sizzix Chapter 2 release, but my second in this flower series I am doing. This painting, also made with the Modern Floristry and Artsy Stems Thinlits, is again inspired by Vincent Van Gogh, his Vase of Poppies, and I hope to do a few more in the series using these dies and the master as my inspiration. When I told you in my last post that these two sets could be used solely for a year of making flower canvases I really meant it. You can configure the dies so so many ways to create almost any bloom, and use so many substrates to do so. These poppies are made from tissue paper, as I didn't want to use a thicker substrate because poppies are so thin and fragile. The tissue paper worked great. Enjoy this tutorial!

 

This is Van Gogh's Vase of Poppies that I printed out and used for reference, but I also had several others on my phone that had different lighting for better details, so I used them all while creating mine. 

 

I planned my attack by numbering the flowers and figuring out which shapes I would need from the two die sets and jotted down the numbers I would need to die cut. I did the same with the stems, but I ended up not using the spider web looking stem as it was a bit too large for the flower I wanted it on. 

 

 

Take an 8x10 inch Canvas Panel and using your fingers or a palette knife, apply a thin layer of Opaque Distress Texture Paste from Ranger to the whole canvas up to where the table part will be (table is 2.5 inches wide) working in an oval shape. Let dry about 15 minutes. Paint over the paste part using Black Soot Distress Paint, making sure to cover all the white areas and the sides as well, and let dry completely.

 

 

Apply Prize Ribbon and Weathered Wood Distress Paints to the silicon mat. Pick up the Prize Ribbon with a medium sized paint brush, and using the photo as your guide paint the areas where the color will go working in an oval shape. Do the same with the Weathered Wood, and then lightly mist the canvas with water and blend the colored areas together slightly. If you cover up too much of the black like I did, add some in where it needs to go. Let this dry completely. 

 

 

Trim a piece of Woodgrain Cardstock (pattern going horizontally) to 2.5 x 8 inches. Add a bit of the Texture Paste here and there just slightly rubbing over the grain with your finger to make a few smooth spots here and there. Don't worry about any drying time with the paste as it's so thin. Paint over the whole piece with Gathered Twigs Distress Paint, and while wet lightly mist over it with water. Quickly pick up a bit of Aged Mahogany Distress Paint and paint it in the areas where flowers will be dropped blending in the two paint colors as the water allows. Mist more water and paint in a bit of Black Soot where the shadow areas from the vase will be and along the top and bottom borders. Let this dry a bit.

 

 

Ink the edges of the Woodgrain with Ground Espresso Archival Ink, and then adhere the Woodgrain to the bottom of the canvas using Crazing Collage Medium (or Matte) for even more added texture, and brush the medium over the table part and the top canvas part so that the texture will be all over the canvas. Let dry a few minutes. Using a small paintbrush, add a few highlight areas on the table using Picket Fence and rub it in with your finger after to soften and blend. Add any white line areas to the top wall portion especially the lines on the lower left of the wall part. Let dry and set aside for now. 

 

 

Using Watercolor Cardstock, cut a rectangle piece to 2 x 3.25 inches. Use a Corner Rounder and cut all four corners. Use scissors and at the top cut a slight downward arch shape. At the bottom, trim off some of the rounded corners so that the shape is more rounded. Also, cut a slight indention just above the bottom edge on each side so that is looks like the vase has a bottom lip.

 

 

Paint over the whole vase with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink, and let dry. Then paint over it with Picket Fence, use a paper towel to wipe off some white paint from the top right side, and a little on the bottom of the vase around the left, and let dry. Using the photo as your guide, paint what you see. I actually see a woman about to pick up a baby outside in the garden, so I used the paints in the pic to lightly paint that in. Once painted, let dry, and then use Collage Medium to add the vase to the canvas, in the center about an inch up from the bottom so it's now on the table. Don't add any Collage Medium around the inside top lip of the vase, so you can stick in stems later. 

 

 

Die cut several of the large rounded bulb looking flowers using the red tissue. I think I did about 12 but I lost count. Die cut the larger flower shape as well, several times, and cut a few in half. Then die cut several of the small and small half flowers, all using the red. Lay them out over the canvas in the shape from the picture, and figure out which shapes go where and trim any that you think need to be smaller. You might want to snap a picture of the layout before you start collaging them. Once it is all laid out and you have your plan, die cut the stems you think you'll need using green tissue, and die cut several of the stems with the long stamens on them using both green and black. Die cut several of the small looking bulb using green tissue, and a several of the leafs using red and pink. FYI...my green and pink tissue were layers of ombre so some portions of the tissue were lighter and almost white. 

 

 

(Don't do the long stamen parts yet as that part will be next.) Start collaging on the red flowers starting at the top of the canvas and add in any that are kind of off by themselves so that you get a better idea of where to put them, using the Collage Medium and brush. Add the bulbs in (the leaf and small bulb shapes) cutting and layering them if you need to, adding the green and then the color to the top of the bulb like the flower is about to open up. Add the stems as well to the flowers where you can see stems peeking through in the bouquet in the picture. Keep layering moving down the canvas. If the canvas starts to get too wet and sticky from the many layers of medium, let it dry a bit and then go again. It's going to look like a jumbled mess, but as long as you know where the main flowers are that is all that matters. and knowing where your flowers are will make the painting part so much easier.  Also, the canvas might look a little cloudy in the middle while the medium is drying, but it will dry clear. This part is going to take time, so don't rush it and instead enjoy the process.

 

 

Cut the three green long stamens off of the stems, and collage them where they go, one on the upper left on that half looking flower, one on the middle right side on the half looking flower, and one on the half flower that is touching the vase. Cut up a few stems and red parts off of the bulb flowers and collage those on the bottom on the table so that it looks like they have fallen from the bouquet. Add any bulbs or stems that you think need to go on after studying the picture, and finish collaging any elements you want in the bouquet. 

 

 

You will paint in layers to define the flowers so there will no details yet. Use a small paintbrush and Aged Mahogany Distress Paint to outline each flower (the main poppies) as well as paint in the darker parts of the flower like the centers. Clean your brush and then use Peeled Paint to outline all the bulbs, stems, and leaves. Now you will be able to see your painting much clearer. To further define the main poppies, paint over the areas you didn't paint in with the Aged Mahogany (the light areas) with Crackling Campfire, and add it to the bulb parts that you want to show a little bit of petal showing through before the flower opens. Add Candied Apple Distress Paint to the silicon mat and mist a little water in it to thin down the paint so it is pretty watery. Paint over all the main poppies covering up the Aged Mahogany and Crackling Campfire. Since the paint is watered down it will only tiny the flowers while still leaving the darker and lighter areas, but now the flowers will be cohesive and much more defined. 

 

 

Now come the painting details. Paint in some Worn Lipstick to some of the bulb middles. Add some Candied Apple or Crackling Campfire there too if you want. If you see some details to add to the poppy petals add those with any of the reds. Use Twisted Citron to add details to the bulbs, stems, and leaves. Use it as well to paint over the stamen that were added. Use the Twisted Citron to also add to the middle of the poppies that are open just painting in a circular shape. Add dots of Black Soot to those middles as well. Use Rustic Wilderness to add any dark areas to the bulbs, stems, and leaves. Finish up any more details that you want. Remember, don't try to make it look like it's real and get frustrated. His painting doesn't have hardly any details. It's really sort of fuzzy, so as long you can tell there is a bouquet of poppies, you are finished.

   

To the open poppies that you just painted the centers on, adhere white and black tissue stamen to those centers so it looks like lots of stamen are growing. The sizing will be exaggerated but I think that adds to the artsy feel. If you don't like the larger stamen in the middle, you can just paint them in. Once all is dry, use a white pen to add tiny dots on all the stems and green parts on the bulbs. (Only on one of the close up photos of Van Gogh's Poppies did I see some faint white dots on the stems and bulbs, but real poppies are thorny like that so I decided to really add them in.) Then add lines and dots at the top of all the stamen just doodling in each stamen. Sign your painting. You can seal the painting if you want with Spray Fixative or some sort of acrylic sealer. 

 

 

Just like my Sunflower Painting, I did the same thing to the frame that I picked up from Hobby Lobby during a 50% off week. I painted over it using Black Soot Distress Paint and wiped off what was not in the recessed areas with a damp paper towel before it dried, because I did not like the chalking gray color that was on there. Once dried, I added a bit of Gilded Foundry Wax to the scrolly parts on the corners of the frames and heat set those. I added the canvas in and used Glazier Points with a hammer to hold the canvas in place. I also added the wire holder parts on the back for hanging.

 

 

 

Supplies: 

(Glass Mat, Medium Paint Brush, Water Mister, Ink Blending Tool, Paper Trimmer, Corner Rounder, Scissors, Die Cut Machine, Die Pick, Small Paint Brush, Detail Paint Brush) 

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Texture Paste: Matte 

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Paint: Black Soot, Prize Ribbon, Weathered Wood, Gathered Twigs, Picket Fence, Antique Linen, Cracked Pistachio, Ground Espresso, Aged Mahogany, Hickory Smoke, Candied Apple, Crackling Campfire, Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron, Rustic Wilderness, Worn Lipstick 

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Woodgrain Cardstock 

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Archival Ink: Ground Espresso, Hickory Smoke 

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Brush: Small 

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium: Crazing 

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Cardstock

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits (Chapter 2 2022): Modern Floristry, Artsy Stems 

-Sakura Gelly Roll Pen: White 

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Foundry Wax: Gilded 

-Red, Green, Pink, Black Tissue Paper, 8x10 Inch Canvas Panel, Frame, Glazier Points

 

Once again, I thank you so much for all the lovely comments on the projects I made for this release. My cup runneth over. I'll be back again soon, and I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!