Castle Wall Tutorial

Castle Wall

Architectural structures has always been of interest to me. During my travels abroad while others looked at the obvious, I'm looking at the floor tiles, columns, building structure details, etc. When I saw this stencil by Stencil Girl Products, I knew I had to have it. The following is the step by step tutorial how I created this frame-able piece.

Materials

burlap canvas board
Wood Icing
spreader
paint brushes (detail, stipple, large bristle)
A stencil from Stencil Girl Product
water
Glimmer Mist spray (I used copper)
acrylic paints: I used shades three of brown, cream & black
large non-stick mat
paper towels
sanding block

Instructions

Place stencil on burlap canvas board.  Place some Wood Icing on your work surface. 

With your spreader ice your stencil with the Wood Icing being very careful NOT to let your stencil move.

Totally iced canvas. Carefully lift stencil revealing the beautiful design. Place canvas to the side to dry.

Immediately wipe down your stencil on your non-stick mat with paper towels.

This is very important as the Wood Icing drys fairly quickly and will be almost impossible

to removed from your stencil if it's left to dry on it.

Rinse off any existing Wood Icing on the stencil with water. Let dry.

Now wipe your mat off.

When Wood Icing is dry, it's time to paint!  I usually let my pieces dry overnight.



Wood Icing drys very hard. In order to knock off all the jagged edges left when removing the stencil,
use your sanding block & sand vigorously. Dust with large brush to remove all debris.

On your non-stick surface make four puddles of the browns, black and cream paint. To create a blend, I puddle the paint close together and brush on covering the entire surface of the canvas. Castle walls are never just one color but a combination of colors creating an aged appearance. Let dry.

When your Wood Icing is dry, it's got a rough texture. To bring the Castle Wall to life, it's time to sand the surface of the canvas. Use a little elbow grease to remove the paint from the surface of the Wood Icing.

When done sanding it's time to get the dust out of nooks & crannies.
Brush vigorously to remove the Wood Icing dust from the canvas.

The castle wall didn't pop enough so some detailed shading using
black paint and a detailing brush did the trick.

Shading done.

I love adding a subtle glimmer so using your Glimmer Mist, spray the entire canvas.

Go lightly with the spray, it won't take much. When wet it's hard to see the result you want.

Blot lightly with a paper towel to remove any excess puddles of Glimmer Mist.

I get impatient so out comes my heat tool. In no time, it's dry.

                                             

A close up of the subtle glimmer.

I feel the canvas is begging for something else....but it's not coming to me at the moment. I'll open frame it so the detail is not lost behind glass. I'm loving the way this piece has gone from burlap canvas to a wall you can feel the texture come off the canvas. The burlap added that extra POP of textile I was seeking. If you get a chance to play with Wood Icing, you'll have the time of your life creating!