Mixed Media Angel of Bliss Acrylic Painting

 Angel of Bliss

In this new painting I concentrated on lightening my palette.  I was tired of the darker and heavier colors that I had been using.  Limiting my palette to three basic colors, plus black, white, raw umber and light portrait pink really helped me to simplify my approach to this painting.  The three basic colors I used were quinicridone magenta, pthalo blue [green shade] and pthalo green [blue shade].   All the colors you see in the painting were mixed from these colors.  This insures that all the colors will relate to one another...None of that funny feeling you get when your colors are fighting and clashing.

I was pretty generous with my white paint, which kept the colors light and summery [like sorbet, as my daughter observed].  I had not used a retarding medium much in the past.   [I always wanted my work to dry at lightening speed.]  This time however, I used the retarder in order to make the blending of the background and skirt easier.  I'm now a devout convert to retarding medium.  I also added a bit of Flow medium to make my high velocity paints more fluid.  Matte medium is pretty much a constant in my mixtures to make sure the first layers, [usually pretty papers, stamps and vintage ephemera] can peek through. 

Please note:  white mixed with a color can make the mix too opaque.  Add matte medium to make it more transparent and test it out to make sure you won't be covering something you'll want to see.

Because I used a charcoal outline, I will need to use a spray acrylic varnish that is archival so the line won't smudge.  The only one I know is by Golden.  I'm not liking the fact that it is highly toxic.  So if anyone knows of a better choice, please let me know.  

This painting is available as a print in my Etsy store:  cindysilver.etsy.com

Digital Layers in Photoshop Elements

Photo of Kate with addition of Photoshop Elements effects and layers

I'm having a great time learning how to use layers in Photoshop Elements to help me create photos that tell more of a story. I shoot a lot of photographs of family, vacations, and especially nature, and I sometimes like to integrate these photos into my artwork. I've used Photoshop for a few years but had never been able to figure out the layers part. I bought the book Digital Expressions by Susan Tuttle a couple of months ago and decided to take her on-line course, Digital Layers. I'm in the middle of the course now and I'm loving it. You can order Susan's book from the amazon.com box on this blogsite. Just click on the icon for the book.

Maine Houses by Cindy Silverstein

I did this painting of Maine Houses a few years ago and I wanted to add some more interest. I used a couple of artistic filters to add some age to the buildings and then a layer using a photo of some flowers that I had taken. I cannot give details of proceedures I'm learning in class, but I guarantee that Susan can take the mystery out of Layers for you! She offers several on-line classes in Photoshop on a regular basis.

Acrylic Mixed Media Painting in Layers

The e-course with Kelly Rae Roberts has finished in one sense but it will continue to grow my creative life in countless ways. This painting was made during the course, inspired by a photograph of me at about 15 with my Scottish Terrier, Junior. Cats have taken over my life now but every time I see a long haired fuzzy doggie, I melt.

This mixed media painting is layered with torn scrapbook paper and text from old books as a background. I used Claudine Hellmuth's acrylic paints mixed with Liquitex Matte Medium to glaze layers over the paper background. Claudine also has a matte medium in her line.

I built up the layers of transparent glazes for the girl and doggie. As I got to the final layers I made the glazes more opaque by adding a little white or by using less medium depending on the look I needed. Texture from layers of brush stokes and paper become more interesting as the process continues.

The final layer (the fine hair and the eyes and nose) for the doggie was created with black dimensional Scribbles paint. Paint by Tim Holtz that dries to a crackle finish was used all around the edges of the painting to give an aged look. Gold metallic paint, Tim Holtz Grungeboard letters , and an antique key are the final touches.

If you want to know anything more about the process, please leave your question in the comment section.

New Blog Design

Welcome to my newly designed blog!! I would like to spend more time here and I hope you will feel the same way. My online course with Kelly Rae Roberts [artist, writer and teacher] is inspiring me to share more of myself and my artwork. For the past several months I've been creating some new mixed media paintings, doing a lot of knitting and have been studying wirework and jewelry design. I'll be talking about some of these things and posting lots of photos.

Colorful Knit Hats for Primrose Craft Show

Craft Show...Primrose Elementary School, Somers NY, Sat. Dec. 5th, 10-4

Handmade clay button

Monet, very proud in his handknit collar

Matisse looking dignified in his collar

Here are my handsome boys showing off the collars I knit for them. They absolutely love them. Sometimes Monet [top] will lose his. When I find it and ask him if he wants to wear his collar, he stretches forward to let me put it on him. One day the collar was on the coffee table and Monet kept looking at the collar then looking at me, so I held it in front of him and again he stretched forward so I could slip it around his neck. He just loves that thing, and loves the praise when we tell him how handsome he is. Matisse [bottom] witnessed all this so when he got his own collar, he was very proud. He has always been a nervous cat but he easily lets us put the collar on him. The collars are made of 100% wool. I think they like the slight sheepy scent.

Terrific holiday gifts, these Kitty Collars will be featured at the Primrose Craft Show on Saturday Dec. 5th, along with beautifully designed knit hats for children and adults; ultra thick and toasty wrist warmers; adorable coffee cozies that provide a layer of safety between your hot beverage container and your hand; fashionable wrist bangles; knit and crocheted Kitchen Cloths that are "green" and at the same time come in lots of colors and patterns; thick and comfy neck warmers with chunky handmade clay buttons; colorful handmade clay beads, jewelry and much more.

Late Breaking News....

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Two paintings recently sold [well.... ok......last summer] at the Art and Soul Gallery in Ogunquit, Maine: Velvet Night Angel, top and center, and They said she was too young to be in love, bottom.

The latter painting is particularly special to me because I used a photo of my mother, taken around 1944 when she was 18. I used acrylic paint for the background, patterned paper for the green and yellow areas, a hand stamped and baked charm [LOVE] made from the unfortunately named "shrink plastic". As the sheet plastic is baked in a toaster oven it is reduced in size by about 30% and gets thicker and stronger. I'll have a whole tutorial on shrink plastic in a future post. It's really fun to use and has unlimited design possibilities. The charm at the top is also made from the same material and stamped with an original hand carved stamp [another great project]. The words were done on the computer with a font designed in an old fashioned typewriter style. All the collage elements were adhered with acrylic matte medium to a stretched canvas. I use Liquitex or Golden mediums.

Both paintings are what I would call mixed media collage on canvas. The Velvet Night painting uses acrylic paints, dioxizine purple and pthalo blue, in various ratios to create the night sky. Fabric was used for the dress, the ground, and the rectangular piece on the left, which was painted with fabric paint and stamped with a hand carved stamp.

The flower is a copyright free black and white drawing [Dover Publications] that I painted with acrylics. Upper right is a postage type stamp in sticker form and the lower right shows a hand stamped polymer clay piece brushed with Jacquard metallic powders and baked in a toaster oven. The raised areas of gold are made with dimmentional paint such as Scribbles. Last were added a tiny lock and a key. The top triangle piece is made from foam core and covered with watercolor paper. It is painted in acrylic, with another rectangular shaped polymer clay piece. Individual rubber stamp letters are used to create the wording.

Don't know why there's a big gap here, but keep scrolling down for more. There IS more, I promise!!

Fall Crafts at Croton Falls

This is my friend Genevieve Boehme, who participated in a Craft Show with me at the Croton Falls Community Church on October 3rd in Croton Falls, NY. Her booth made quite a hit with everyone. The name of her business is polkadoodles, polkadoodleshandmade.com. Take a look at her website to see all the wonderful fabric items she skillfully makes for women, babies and the home.


My husband Dave and I set up our booth, which turns out looking like a Greenhouse full of Fall Vegetables!

My friend and mascott, Froggy sits permanently atop a child's red knit hat and attracts a loyal following wherever he goes. He's a great conversation starter.

Late harvest root vegetables receive a shower of snowflakes.

My booth displays knit, crocheted and felted items side by side with original designs in jewelry, beads and buttons. This lightfilled greenhouse-like window in the church was a welcome surprise.

Beads in colorful polyclay.

Whimsical Buttons in polyclay, when you have a cherished handknit that needs closure, or a handbag or tote that wants some pizzaz.

Polyclay Pins, great for a jacket, coat, handbag, bulky sweater...

a strong fabric that requires a big statement.

A very lightweight pendant with handstamped original designs, colored inks, charms.... all held together with copper wire, and hung from a soft glass cord. Handmade copper clasp.


A local craft show is the perfect venue for making a start selling your crafts directly to the public. It's not as threatening to the novice as a larger show, doesn't require distant travel
or an expensive stayover, and is a great way to learn the basics of selling. With each show you will become more organized, better known to the local community, more confident, and you will have a better idea of what to make and how best to present your creations. You can find local shows by searching on the internet, by checking local newspapers and the Pennysaver, looking for signs along the roads in your area, checking with churches and synagogues, schools and PTA's. Check out the sales tax rates in the county in which you will be selling. You can add the tax to the cost of your items at the time of sale or include the sales tax in the ticketed price. Go online to learn how to apply for a sales tax certificate in your state, and if you sell in a state other than your own, learn that state's sales tax laws. You will need to send the sales tax money you collect to the appropriate state office on a specific schedule that will be explained to you.

You will likely need to purchase a 6x3 foot folding table and a couple of folding chairs. I keep my table under my couch. Some venues provide you with these items. A cloth placed over the table is useful, especially for hiding empty boxes and bins underneath. I'll talk about other items to bring on my next post.

Felting Woolen Knits and Crochet

I've done a lot of felting over the last few years and I find it very satisfying. Knitted or crocheted wool items can be felted, that is, washed in very hot water and machine agitated until the fibers "knit" together to form a thick, sturdy fabric that is wonderful to touch and and is great for keeping us warm. The original item shrinks in the process by about 30%, and it's quite exciting to see how your original knit or crocheted item turns out. It can also be shocking to see that great big bag that you created shrink to a tiny immitation of its former self.

Shown above are a felted purse with an original handmade charm, a set of four felted coasters of different colors, and a felted crocheted scarf of many different yarns and colors done in a wave pattern.

I will be discussing more about felting in a future post.