Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Thank You Janine, Cheryl, and Moriah

Here's  my  latest  piece--


And  let  me  start  off  by  saying  that  I  am  crackle-impaired--you  know  the  kind  of  crackle  that  you  put  on  your  finished  piece  and  when  it's  dry,  you  antique  over it  and  cracks  will  "magically"  appear--they  never  appeared  for  me.   The  only  crackle  that  works  for  me  is  the  Ranger  distress crackle  paint.  I  like  it,  but  it covers  up  what  you  have  underneath  of  it.   And  the  Ranger  actually  has  the  clear  distress  paint,  but  these  little  bottles  of  paint  are  not  cheap,  and  if  you  wanted  to  do  a  complete  piece  with  the  clear  kind,  you'd  probably  need  to  use  2  of  these  pricey  bottles,  so  that  wasn't  an  option. 

I've  mentioned  on  my  blog  a  couple  of  times  that  I  couldn't  do  regular  crackle,  so  Janine  contacted  me  and  told  me  about  Jo Sonja's  crackle  medium.   She  said  that  it  always  worked  for  her,  so  I  ordered  some  from  Dick  Blick,  and  then,  of  course,  put  it  aside.

In  the  meantime,   Cheryl  was  having  the  same  problem,  but  was  successful  after  getting  help  from  other  bloggers  that  she  noted  on  this  post.    One  of  them  was  Moriah.   Well,  Cheryl  made  a  point  of  contacting  me  and  telling  me  about  Moriah's crackle  video  on  her  blog.   This  is  the  best  video  I've  seen  on  how  to  achieve  the  crackle  technique,  and  she  just  happened  to  be  using  the  Jo Sonja  brand.

Let  me  show  you  the  detail  of  my  piece--

I  DID  IT!!

In  the  past  with  the  other  crackle  products,  I  always  would   apply  it  too  thick,  and  it  would  never  dry,  and  even  when  it  dried,  it  didn't  crack.   So  I  was  a  little  conservative  applying  it  this  time,  and  I  got  these  tiny  cracks,  which  I  like  alot.   But  I  really  wanted  the  larger  cracks,  but  it's  still okay,  because  I  actually  got  cracks!

So  this  is  the  side  piece  of  the  canvas--

 You  can  see  that  the  I  have  random  crackle  spots,  which  I  like  again,  but  I  really  intended  for  more  uniform  cracks.  I   thought  I  applied  the  medium  evenly,  but  apparently  I  didn't.   Moriah,  if  you're  reading  this,  any  suggestions  on  how  to  get  more  even  coverage?   But  I  still  like  this  look  even  if I  can't  get  any  further  with  this  method,  because  I  got  cracks!! 

And  after  I  did  all  of  my  crackling,  I  knew  that  this  piece  needed  a  little  more  to  it,  so  I  collaged  some  bits  of  paper  on  it.  I  was  thinking  of  trying  the  crackle  again,  but  decided  not  to.


 I  think  I  like  it  better  this  way--it  seems  to  add  a  little  more  dimension  to  the  piece.  Just  look  at  those  cracks!!--love  em!

You  know  how  we're  all  told  that  we're   on  our  own  art  path,  and  everyone  is  at   a  different  place  in  their  journey?   Well,  these  3  guys  are  miles  ahead  of  me.  I'm  the  girl  running  behind  them  saying--HEY--Wait  up!   Well,  they  all  stopped  on  their  path  to  help  me  along  mine,  and  that's  why  I  say  Thank  You.

These  ladies  are  soooo  good!   And  if  you  haven't  visited  their  blogs,  you  won't  be  disappointed.  You  can  see  Janine's  HERE,  Cheryl's  HERE  (check  out  her  extremely  cool  Picasso  chair  that  she  has  up  on  her  latest  post),  and  Moriah's  HERE.

Just  pure  inspiration!!

44 comments:

Rebecca Anthony said...

Wow Diane this is gorgeous!! Love the butterfly with the mosaic effect behind........awesome!

MLBetterly said...

Whoo hoo!!! I love a good success story! It all looks fabulous and I rather like the randomness of the crackle in this piece. If I hadn't read your post, I would have assumed you intended it to be that way because it looks fabulous! Uniform crackle.... my only advice would be to pay really close attention when you're putting on the medium to make sure it's the same thickness everywhere. There's really no way to completely control this medium but making sure it's the same thickness everywhere would be your best bet. Also, if you brush it on, keep in mind that the cracks will follow your brush strokes.
Thanks so much for mentioning my video in your post and I'm so glad you had crackle success! Again, I think this piece is just gorgeous!

Kamino said...

Hello Diane!

This is a greate work!! So beautiful!! I like it very much...
I love your blog!

best wishes from Germany! :-)

With best regards...
Kathy

Rebeca Trevino said...

Success!
this is terrific!

Buffy said...

Success can feel so good! Love the crackle in this piece,it did come out great. The whole piece is gorgeous,love all the details. How do you like alissas class and the she art. I signed up for the she art after I read about it here. Thanks for the info.

Unknown said...

REally gorgeous!!! An incredibly beautiful successful piece!

Terri Kahrs said...

Ohhhh, Diane! You've given me hope today! I'm totally and completely crackle challenged and can't wait to check out that video. Your piece is gorgeous, and I adore all of the crackles. Hugs, Terri xoxo

Healing Woman said...

Yeah! You really did do it. Your crackles are fantastic. I would like larger crackles too. Maybe we can figure something out on how to accomplish that. Love the piece you crackled and thanks for the link back to my blog.

Nancy said...

Don't you love it when something you have tried so hard works...Horray......I am so glad for you....and isn't it wonderful when others come along side and help us....

I think it's gorgeous....beautiful ....crackling is perfect.....

Kay said...

congrats it looks really good, I was wanting this effect for some small paintings..will check out the links

Terri said...

I remember watching a program that also mentioned the brush stokes also have something to do with the way it crackles ands well as the thickness of the medium..I'm so glad you found a product that worked for you.
The piece turned out beautifully!

Judy Ferguson said...

I just don't know what to say. These pieces are so fantastic. I am IMPRESSED, to say the least.

Janine said...

Yay! Diane! I love this piece you made, really a lot to see in it. I love the colors too! Thanks for mentioning about Moriah's video I have to go see it!

Lynn Cohen said...

You crack me up! This is so funny. I am glad you got it figured out. I have no idea how to make cracks and yours look terrific! I like them non uniform as that is more MY style. So in my humble opinion you did great! Beautiful piece of cracked art! ;-)))

GlorV1 said...

Yay for you!! It looks beeeeeutiful. I like crackle too, but rarely use it, now I'll have to give it a crack. Tee Hee. Get it!!:) Have a great rest of the week and outstanding work!

Theresa MacNaughton said...

Hi Diane! Congratulations - I always seem to have crackle problems, too. I will have to invest in some of that specific medium. :) Thanks for sharing the links to your success! The piece you created is SO beautiful - I absolutely love it! Theresa

Diane Writes said...

Hello name mate! I am not really into painting. But every time I read your blog, I learn something new.

Your work is great for me. I love the butterfly and mosaic effects too.

More artworks to come!

Jen @Sadie Inspired said...

You did it! I love the look of the crackle and have always wanted to try it. I crackled a piece of furniture years ago....but nothing in my art yet. I love the look...so I'll have to check out the video. Thank you for sharing!!

Bren Graham Thebeau said...

Thank you for sharing all your crackle woes and where you got help. I've had the same problems with it as you, so this was a very helpful, hopeful post. Love those cracks what a beautiful piece.

ArtfulLee Designed said...

I really like this piece Diane and your crackles have worked really well. Jo Sonja have two different sorts of crackle medium, I have success with one of them and not so much with the other but one also does the fine porcelain crackle that you have and the other medium does the larger crackle. It is called decor crackle and is a sandwich medium where as this one is painted on over the top. Have a look at their website for more info. The Decor crackle is a bit hit and miss for me but it does give the big cracks that you are after. Here is the link to the website where you can download an information sheet
http://www.chromaonline.com/media_library/files/jo_sonja_s_mediums_guide

Lee:)

Luthien Thye said...

woah!!! well done my fren!! the piece is GORGEOUS and the crackle looks amazing!! i use jo sonja's as well. it has worked very well for me. but i've only used it paint over paint. saw Moriah's vid too ... that was fascinating how she used the crackle decor. i've never thought of using THAT medium like that. becos jo sonja actually has another crackle medium which is called "crackle medium" i think ... and that's for antiquing crackle, just like the ones you made. "decor crackle" is for paint over paint. but looks like it worked as an antiquing crackle for Moriah too.

anyway whatever it is ... it turned out totally awesome!

Anonymous said...

The crackle looks AMAZING! What fantastic effects you have made there!

I wish I could crackle like that! I tried everything but only the distress crackle paint will work for me too. It's ok, I happen to feel quite fondly towards it....

Cameron said...

I am loving crackle right now myself!

This looks fantastic...I love it all random like that...to me, that's part of the fun to see just how it will decide to turn out...

This piece is fabulous!!!

Šolanje na domu-Waldorf said...

Good for you! :) I'm loving the cracks. I have never done clear craks always with paint and they always worked for me. Collage looks wonderful.

Unknown said...

You crack me up Diane, excuse the pun. he he he he. =)

Lovely work. Thanks for the link. I will check this out.

Kyles =D

Dorthe said...

I love your crackled piece Diane---I also have never acchieved what I wanted with crackle, but seing this ,gives me hope, to maybe be able to make something as gorgeus crackled as you did here.
It is a wonderfull art piece, dear.
Hugs,Dorthe

Lorraine said...

excellent canvas..I have always had a problem with cracking too trying to get the deep cracks in a piece

Theresa Plas said...

woohOooo! Yay on the crackle and making another beautiful piece!

Kelly Berkey said...

you are way too funny "i got cracks" kept cracking me up!

just gorgeous, my friend. as always!

Lesley Edmonds said...

What would we do without our fellow bloggers :)

Such a lovely piece of art Diane and perfectly crackled!!! I like that it is patchy, it adds lots of texture and interest.

Stunning.

Lesley x

Sunny Carvalho said...

I'm glad you liked Mary Beth Shaw's stencils. I love mine! I don't even wash them, I just smack down the paint and throw them to the side. I think they get stronger every day with all the layers of paint! LOL Here's her address is anyone else wants to see what we're talking about!

http://stencilgirlproducts.blogspot.com/

Rosie said...

If you're looking for a see-through crackle give Glossy Accents crackle finish a try - I love that stuff.

Heather Foust said...

This is so funny because the reason why I started using acrylic paint was because a friend of my fathers works at the paint factory that make JoSonja paint. That is right in this area of PA. I love their paints also. This lady gave me boxes of paint and all kinds of bottles of crackel and stains. I will have to check out the bottle of crackle! Very nice piece by the way!

Anonymous said...

Hi Diane...you keep outdoing yourself! I like the random crackles myself. Thanks for video link. I'm taking Alisa's class after all :)
Mary

tina kirk said...

Who knew? I'm crackled impaired too! Thanks once again for a great tip. Love your new piece of art. So much eye candy!

Tammie Lee said...

wonderful crackle Diane! you must be so happy. fun fun.

Cassie Shella said...

Your crackles look wonderful, as does your whole piece, I just love it. Your work is very inspriational - thanks so much for sharing:) Have a Blessed and dry week.

manomij said...

Hi Diane I hope you are well. Thank you for the post on crackle paint I have the same problems too. I use Decoart one step crackle and it produces small crackles. So great for small scale stuff.
ManonX

Priti Lisa said...

Wow-za Diane...I am in love with this piece...all of the different elements and textures and tulips...my favorite. This is the most lovely artwork I've seen for a while :)
xox

Jen Beaudet said...

Beautiful piece Diane! I love the texture. I used to crackle stuff. I love it! You did it perfectly! Jennifer:)

Carrie Martinez said...

Love the cracks, uneven gives more character :) I've used Jo Sanja but am learning to get the effect I desire. Thanks for the insight!

Deb Harvey said...

Thank you! I've been thinking about trying to crackle...and your information will be very helpful!

I really love your angels...they are absolutely gorgeous! Great work, as always!
Deb

Unknown said...

Another masterpiece Diane....that crackle is brilliant, gonna have to get me some of that, I like your crackle stamp as well.


You have such a talent for putting colors and images together I LOVE that I own some of your pieces and I shall be owning more, can't keep me away.

You are an INSPIRATION to me xxxx

E Makes Art said...

I LOVE this piece! I think this is a new favorite! It helps that I have a thing for tulips, but seriously....gorgeous!! And yay for getting it to crack!

xoEsther

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