Part Two:

Continuing with the making of my custom illusion frame, I next painted a fleur di lis design in the four corners using a stencil. I used a lighter gold paint as well as a thin darker outline around the design for a little more contrast. If you missed part one you can read it here.

Custom Illusion frame step 6

After the fleur di lis design was dry I covered this inner panel area with Folk Art brand acrylic antiquing medium by Plaid Enterprises using a soft cloth to give it a soft aged look. Once dry I masked off another one half inch space from the edge.

Custom Illusion Frame Step 7

I apply acrylic gesso to the masked off section. Once dry I give it a light sanding, and followed with painting it solid black.

Custom Illusion Frame Step 8

After taking off the masking I see that there has been a slight run of the acrylic paint. No problem, I just use some gesso and a small brush to clean up the edges in a few spots.

Custom Illusion Frame Step 9

Next you can see the results of my efforts so far with my custom illusion frame. Remember to click on the photo for a larger view. The larger view for the photo below will show the frame with a side view.

Custom Illusion Frame Step 9

After this I mask off an additional one fourth of an inch extending from the black border which will give a white border around the finished painting. I also masked off the entire frame to protect it while I paint the landscape I have planed for it. I know it doesn’t look too pretty, but it works.

Custom Illusion Frame Step 10

And finally here is the completed result with my impressionist “Byron” painting. So the frame and painting are all part of the art work. In part three of my next post I will share several photos of the painting as I worked on it.

Completed Custom Illusion Frame with original painting by Byron

Often when you think of something being negative, it’s not a good thing. However, in painting it is when it refers to negative shape painting. This was the subject of an art demo that I did for the Palette Club in Midland, TX.

Exactly what is a negative shape or space? It’s the space between and around a subject and not the subject itself. In simplistic terms it’s the silhouette of an object.

To illustrate the concept I used a black gessoed canvas and sculpted out the silhouette of a tree by painting the inner and outer unoccupied spaces. I did not paint tree limbs, but gave the impression of limbs by painting the spaces in and around them as the following photos illustrate. Thank you to G. Hutson for taking the photographs at the demo.

I started by painting the outer spaces leaving what appears to be a solid black silhouette of a tree.

Next I move into the interior negative shapes.

I continue with the interior and exterior negative shape painting, chiseling out and refining the shapes until I’m satisfied with the result.

I employ this technique of negative shape painting quite often, especially with trees.
Below is a detail section from my painting titled: “An Open Door.” All the “sky holes” within the tree were painted using this method of negative shape painting.The pluses of this technique is that it strengthens your visual perceptions and enhances your painting for if the negative shapes are interesting, likely your subject will also be just as interesting. Practice this in your own painting and see how much your work will improve! To see the full image of “An Open Door”, check out the following post.