Andrew's Creativity

Art Postcards Created for Artists For Artists 2017

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Sat, 30 Sep 2017 13:11:00 +0000

My friend Michelle Ward invited me to participate in her fundraising effort to assist artists affected by natural disaster. She asked me if I could create a postcard size artwork so that it can be part of a set of eight postcards. It was after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas when she sent me an invitation, and I came up with the first postcard below:

I used one of Michelle Ward's stencils (plus set mini stencil - click here and scroll down) for the above postcard. But when another hurricane hit Florida and an earthquake hit Mexico, I thought that maybe it would be better if I should create another art postcard in case the fundraising effort includes other areas. It did turn out that Michelle has decided to expand the scope to other areas affected by natural disasters. She asked me if I would do another one, and I happily obliged as I was in agreement with her enlarged scope. So I've come up another one below.

I decided to use one of my crazy quilt stencils as it reflects the diversity and unity of one group of artists in their efforts to raise funds for their fellow artists. You can see how I created the above postcard (sans the stitches around each pattern) - I've written a guest blog post and created a "silent" tutorial - click here.

Michelle coordinated all of the tasks involved in the creation and printing of the postcards - inviting the artists, processing their digital submissions (or digitizing their original art work), ordering, packing, posting in her Etsy shop, and fulfilling the orders. She has created the graphics for the group so that each artist could assist her fundraising efforts by promoting in his/her blog, IG, or FB page. Here's one of them:

She has written a blog post about the whole fundraising effort (here or above photo) and you can purchase a set of eight postcards in her Etsy shop, GRNPEP. Please bear in mind that this is limited edition and once sold, they will no longer be available for sale again. In her blog post, she has explained where all of the proceeds will go to - an organization serving the artists in need.

I think this is wonderful as it gave me an opportunity to help out my fellow artists affected by natural disasters.

A Tour of My Memory Palace

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Fri, 01 Sep 2017 17:02:00 +0000

At the beginning of this year 2017, Michelle Ward invited me to write an article about my wooden castle project for her regular article in Somerset Studio magazine's department, "Make It Your Own". In this post, I'd like to show you more details on how I was inspired to create my own designs for the castle. Before I saw Michelle's Facebook post about the wooden castle two years ago, I was a member of The Documented Life Project (TM) 2014 group where the members were given a weekly prompt to create artwork. One of the weekly prompts involved creating an artwork as inspired by a famous artist. I selected Paul Klee's painting, Castle and Sun as the source of inspiration in my "recreation" of the same painting but with my own style (heavier white lines & more loose lines). Shown below is the original painting on the left and my own interpretation of his painting.

After I saw Michelle's photo of the wooden castle, I went to Michael's to purchase one. I had to look for the one without defects as I had to return it twice for replacement. I had it in storage for quite a while as I was not sure what to do with the exterior surfaces. After browsing the humongous coffee table book on Alexander Girard's work, I came across two castle like buildings - one of them is shown below and the next one is in the subsequent photo with the pencil drawings.

Starting with the exteriors, I did pencil drawings for the surface decorations similar to one of Girard's castle illustrations.

After looking at the initial drawings, I decided that I would add the roofs to the tops to make it more like a chateau than a castle. I also decided that I would convert the drawbridge into a door, and added the front steps with balsa wood. More than a year ago, I showed the outside to Michelle Ward, and she was very impressed by it. She invited me to share the photos and write about it for her regular Make It Your Own article. The interiors were done three months ago - I was struggling to figure out what to do with each room. I had collected various items and stuff for the purpose of storing them inside the rooms.

I had a pile of stencil samples that I created for Stencil Girl Products - I reused them as "tiles" for the floors. Stencils that I used for these floors are available for purchase from Stencil Girl Products - click on it to view my stencil collections. I completed the interiors on time for publication before I left for the trip to Chicago for International Urban Sketchers Symposium. I learned from a website about a retrospective exhibition on Alexander Girard's work at Cranbrook Art Museum in Deerfield Michigan. I decided that I would make a detour to this museum on the way to Indiana to stay at my friend's house while commuting to Chicago for the urban sketching workshops & events.

It was well worth a detour for me. I had noticed that Alexander had used a lot of triangles in his work - graphic logos and textile designs.

With a pleasant surprise, I noticed that Alexander created several miniature table settings, but I'm not planning to do the same for my castle as I had no intention of making it a "dollhouse".

I was very happy to be able to see some of Alexander's collection of toy buildings and figures that represents daily life.

In the same section where the toys were exhibited, I encountered a large three-paneled art work. The building in the middle looks very similar to the one that I used as a reference for my exterior surface design. I love the way several buildings were grouped together to form a "city" on both sides of the buildings. I'm inspired to perhaps create more buildings to be placed with the castle.

I'm so glad that I went there, and also am pleased with the exterior surfaces of my castle. The exteriors are done, however, the interiors are not done - they're still "work in progress" as they will be modified or renovated during the later years as long as more memories were either found or created.

Thank you for stopping and I hope you enjoyed the "tour" of my castle. (note: you can purchase the stencil used for that puppet who's waving goodbye!: Kunst Puppen)

UPDATE (Sept 10, 2017): You can read Michelle Ward's blog post about her design version of the wooden castle by clicking it HERE.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive one-time compensation for the write-up of his article published in Stampington & Company's September-October 2017 issue of Somerset Studio and for his own stencil designs in the form of royalties from Stencil Girl Products.

Altered Composition Book

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Mon, 10 Apr 2017 17:54:00 +0000

I have been busy lately with various projects such as stenciling, bookbinding, sorting & organizing art supplies, oil paintings, sketching, and taking on-line courses.

Today's Monday, and I was going to take a break from my own creativity, but as I was cleaning up and sorting out the art supplies, a few ideas popped up in my head. One of them involves using up the collage stash that have been sitting around waiting to be made useful.

The pile of paper is an accumulated samples produced for my stencil designs that I created for a stencil manufacturer. As I was picking out the papers, I had to just ignore either its color or pattern as I can be easily overwhelmed by the sheer variety. The next step is to figure out the size and cover for these pages, and since I have a pile of composition books that I bought at very good price.

I have used this book for documenting my ideas, and the pages can be too thin for water media. I had to use either quick dry media or pastel with fixative sprayed on. So, I decided that I would remove the pages by cutting the thread that bound them to the covers.

Once I got the "neat" pages removed, I started folding the thick painted pages unevenly and collated them randomly. I then punched the holes so that pamphlet stitches could be sewn.

I learned this method from three instructors in the classes that I took at three different art retreats. One recent trailer for an on-line course inspired me to do the same with the pages that I found during the clean-up (still on-going!).

The next challenge is to make these pages work together. It will be a work in progress as I work in multiple projects and I have a book which is handy for documenting my creative process.

It fit nicely in a toolbox that I adapted for my art supplies this past weekend, and I will be transporting this box to wherever I will be working on various project.

Book Cloth from Found Canvas

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Tue, 07 Mar 2017 15:47:00 +0000

Several years ago, I was attending studio classes at one of an art school's two campuses, and there were several paintings piled up in one area that are free for the taking as they were going to be discarded if not taken. I saw two paintings and decided that I would reuse them. Both of them were covered with newspaper and painted over.

I didn't want to paint over the ugly images, so I spent three days removing the newspaper from the canvas. I completely uncovered what was underneath, and liked the colors so much that I decided that I would use the existing color palette.

I decided that I would use my own stencil designs (available from Stencil Girl Products) to "flatten" the image, and use the colors that either contrast or complement the existing ones. I added more colors with acrylic paint markers to make them look more like printed fabric patterns.

I then removed the canvas from the wooden frame, and cut two pieces from the upper right corner for the book covers.

I cut the binders board for the covers - I glued the cut canvas pieces to the boards and let them dry before attaching them to the text block that I bought from a book binding supply company. I spray them with glossy acrylic UV protection spray to make the colors pop out and to protect them from the UV. Shown below is the completed book with front and back covers.

When I first started this project, my original intention was to create a whole new painting, but after altering the existing painting, I liked the colors and patterns so much that I decided to make book covers from them instead.

In the future, I hope to be able to offer on-line classes on how to create these patterns and also how to make the book cloth from the canvas.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive compensation in the form of royalties for his own stencil designs from Stencil Girl Products.

Color Technique for Kunst Puppen Set B

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 20:41:00 +0000

Sometimes, using different colors for stenciling with the same image can be cumbersome if one has to use tapes or sticky notes as masks. But, I've come up with an alternative technique for coloring.

Using craft acrylic paint on one colored paper, I started with three different colors for one stencil:

I then cut them up horizontally using a metal ruler and an Exacto knife - be sure to use a new blade.

I then cut up them up vertically and sort them into three piles by color.

I then pick from each pile and prearrange them on a separate paper...

Using a fast-drying paper adhesive, I glue them down on paper strips - 4 inches wide.

After all of the body parts were glued down, I trimmed the edges.

This technique can be used very effectively with other puppets within two sets of "Kunst Puppen" that I designed for Stencil Girl Products. The above image is from the Kunst Puppen Set B.

I hope the above technique will make it easier for you to use different colors without having to use tapes or maskings. Also, I will show you more techniques for using my new Kunst Puppen stencils in my future blog posts.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive compensation in the form of royalties for his own stencil designs from Stencil Girl Products.

Kunst Puppen: newest stencil design releases from Stencil Girl Products

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 14:21:00 +0000

While I was designing the masks stencils (Kunst Masken), I was also creating the puppet designs. The designs of both the masks and the puppets was inspired and influenced by the various styles from several European art movements and design philosophies such as Bauhaus, De Stijl, Dada and Cubism, which occurred during early 20th century (1910-1930).

I have seen marionettes and puppet shows many times - I often enjoyed them in spite of the fact I was not able to hear the spoken lines - the lips are so hard to read as they're so stiff!

I also have seen mime and sometimes puppet-like performances by Mummenschanz. When I was a kid, I even wrote a script, created a puppet theatre using cardboard boxes, designed the stage sets, and directed one hand puppet show. Yes, I did all that when I was a fifth grader.

I was very fascinated with the stage costume designs done by Oskar Schlemmer for a ballet performance at one of the Bauhaus schools. I was also intrigued with stage costumes designed by Fernand Leger for Ballets Suedois (The Swedish Ballet), and with the marionettes designed by Sophie Taeuber-Arp. All of these influences served as a basis for my new puppet stencils.

Set A (left) L480, Set B (right) L481 - both of these are large 9" x 12" stencils

Kunst Puppen One Male One Female S442, 6" x 6"

Kunst Puppen Set #1 (S442) - I designed this couple as if they were attending a formal gala. The female figure looks like as if she was dressed in Roaring 20's clothing, and the male figure looks like he's either going to a ball or is working in an office with bow-tie and suspenders.

Kunst Puppen Two Females S443, 6" x 6"

These two figures - one "country" and one "urban" - were created so that they can be used interchangeably by using different heads, shoes, or torsos.

Kunst Puppen Two Males S444, 6" x 6"

Two "action" figures - one "medieval" wearing a beret and a "shield", and one "futuristic & robot-like" with an over inflated torso, arms & legs. They may look anachronistic together, but one can modify them to make it more like "time period correct".

These sets of puppets were designed so that they be used interchangeably with each other (within the same size), or used alone as "dolls" or "action figures". Or any one of these puppets can be used repeatedly to resemble a dance chorus line, a dueling match, or a couple attending a formal gala. One can create a whole new puppet using separate elements from each set described above.

You can order the above stencils through this link: Stencil Girl Products - Andrew Borloz.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive compensation in the form of royalties for his own stencil designs from Stencil Girl Products.

Creative Process with Stencil Designs

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Thu, 25 Aug 2016 04:01:00 +0000

I gave a short story of how I came up with the designs for StencilGirl Products in their blog post, Stencil Girl Talk. In addition to what I have already given in Stencil Girl Talk, I decided that I would give three more examples of how I came up with the designs.

Here's my first example: one summer day a few years ago, I was looking at the lawn chair with webbing and decided to come up with a design that would allow the artists to create their own weavings or patterns.

By looking at the pattern carefully, I created different linear patterns that would give multiple variations of the weaving.

The set of four designs above gives a lot of design possibilities. After I digitally created these designs from scratch, I was able to digitally stencil many different patterns - a few of which are shown below:

Shown below is one more sample stenciled with acrylic paints - it was stenciled first with black paint on top of a white box & later layered with paints in various colors:

Another example (a second one) of my creative process involves using my childhood memories of playing games. One of my favorite games involves creating amoeba-like shapes based on the hidden cards in hand and plastic squares with raised quarter circles. Since I saw how different shapes can be created with one basic shape - an arc (quarter circle), I came up with the concept of using three different shapes: quarter rounds, half rounds, and squiggly lines (two quarter rounds combined).

Using these three basic shaped generated on my computer, I have created rows of different arrangements so that different patterns or shapes can be created:

From this one sheet alone, one can create an infinite array of different patterns. It also enabled me to create two other spinoffs (L021 and L022):

From one of the above two stencils, I've created a pattern on the corrugated cardboard for use as a frame:

One third and final example from my stencil design creation process is X & O. It was originally created from two sets made with thick glue gun lines. I was using it as a printing plate rather than as a stencil - hence the darkness of the glue. Before it was used, it was clear.

I did use it as a stencil one time for spraypainting:

But for the purpose of make prints for stencil creation process, I made several more prints with black paint and took photos:

I then uploaded the photos and digitally combine the best ones together to create one stencil.

Although it does not create new patterns, but it does create more interesting visual effects when layered over top of other stencil designs that I've created. Here is one example where I layered the X & O stencil over the chevron stencil on top of gessoed corrugated cardboard.

I used the large stenciled cardboard for making two frames as shown below:

As you have seen, I used various techniques for creating new stencil designs: digitalized observations from ordinary objects, inspirations from puzzles or game boards, and glue gun. I hope I have either inspired you to create your own using my techniques or to create new patterns from my stencils.

You can purchase the above stencils from StencilGirl Products' website here.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive compensation in the form of royalties for his own stencil designs from Stencil Girl Products used in this project, however, he does not receive any form of compensation or "free" product used in these art work above from other designers, manufacturers or retailers.

New set of stencils - Kunst Masken

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 04:01:00 +0000

Ever since I learned about Bauhaus from the design history course that I took when I was an industrial design major, I've always loved its design style. I have looked though the books containing the works of the Bauhaus instructors, and also visited Museum of Modern Art in New York City for the special exhibitions of various instructors.

As inspired by the masks and ballet costumes designed and created at the Bauhaus schools, I have created a set of art masks - three 9x12s and three 4x4s.

I have used them for creating my own art postcards (5.5 inches x 8.5 inches) - they were formerly advertising postcards that came into the mailbox almost daily.

These above masks are easily customized with paint markers. I've used part of the overall pattern to create "strips" on the postcards as shown below.

I have used various techniques for creating different effects with the same stencils (9x12). The left side of the photo below were stenciled directly on the white mixed media paper, and the right side were done on the painted backgrounds.

You can purchase these stencils from StencilGirl Products' website here.

White-lining Technique for Stenciled Patterns

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 15:27:00 +0000

I just wanted to show you the "white-lining" technique that I used to create "tiling" or grout-like effect on my stenciled patterns. Before I white-line them with my white-out pen (white paint markers or white gel pens can be used instead), I stenciled the triangles with the first row of the designs on the Chevron stencil (L204) that I designed for Stencil Girl Products. The focus of this post is on the white-lining technique, and another post will be written showing how I created different designs/images with the Chevron stencil (L204).

Starting with the first pattern (upper left of the above photo), I used a metal ruler with the cork backing to keep it off the surface while white-lining so that it won't "bleed" under the ruler. A wooden ruler with the metal edge can be used instead.

I kept on adding the lines until I got the effect I wanted. I noticed that the lines made the triangles a little more sharp, neat and precise.

The next one is a little more complex. I drew the diagonal lines from left to right and then from right to left.

I stopped after two diagonal lines as I didn't want to make it look too "busy" with horizontal lines.
The next one is a bit more complicated - I created two different effects on the same page.

I created the above patterns for my collage stash/decorative paper collection for use in my future projects. I'm sure that some of you are interested in how I can create more designs with the same stencil (Chevron, L204) from Stencil Girl Products, so multiple tutorials will be developed in the near future as there are so many different possibilities from just one stencil.

Binding the Art Postcards

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 15:50:00 +0000

Since May 27 of this year (2016), I have been "upcycling" the advertising postcards that came in the mail at my house. It was a lot more economical than buying cardstock and gave me greater freedom to experiment and make a lot more mistakes without worrying about my money being wasted. Also, I need to use up the craft acrylic paint that have been in storage for too long. When I first started this art postcard project, I didn't realize that I would be producing so many.

As I was enjoying the process of creating them, it became apparent to me that it is getting more difficult to handle loose postcards and keep them in chronological order. I thought up several ways these postcards could be bound or stored somehow until one day I remembered keeping several spent sketchbooks with the perforated pages torn out, hoping that some day I would re-purpose them.

I looked closely at the paper left in the sketchbook, and decided that I could attach the postcards to these strips of paper still in the sketchbook. I cut the 9 x 12 sketchbook in half with a pair of pliers and X-acto knife.

I then pried open the wire binder to take the covers and strips out so that I could glue the postcards to the strips one at a time. I then painted the strips and back of each postcard with black gesso.

The first one took me a while as I was trying to figure out how to make it work.

The second one was a breeze. I used a white wipe-out pen for the cover titles.

I've provided two videos showing the fifty postcards in two books for your viewing pleasure.
The first one shows a set of postcards - no. 001-025:

*Post publish notice (Jun 24 2015 5:10 pm): I've noticed the quality of the above and below videos were not good, so, here's the links to the better quality videos: Book One and Book Two.
The next one shows second set of postcards - no. 026-050:

With the above videos, I hope I have inspired you to re-purpose the "junk postcards" or sketchbooks instead of throwing them away or sending them to recycling center.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive compensation in the form of royalties for his own stencil designs from Stencil Girl Products used in this project, however, he does not receive any form of compensation or "free" product from other designers, manufacturers or retailers.

Newest Stencils from StencilGirl Products

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Sat, 18 Jun 2016 06:00:00 +0000

Today's the day when my latest stencil designs becomes officially available for purchase from StencilGirl Products. In this post, I'm showing you a few samples of what can be done with these new designs, plus a mini-tutorial for one of them which can be done in celebration of the Fourth of July here in USA. Let me start with the first one, City Buildings (L443):

After having done several urban sketches in New York City, I was inspired to come up with a stencil where anyone can use to create their own "urban sketch". For the background, I used paint markers with wide nibs and for the city buildings, I used black gesso. If you want the stencil to look more like hand drawn as shown below, you can used white gesso over the background and draw over the white gesso with paint markers:

Or you can use different colors on the dark background as shown below:

The above photos shows a few possibilities. Let's move on to the next stencil which gives you the option to modify the "landscapes" to suit your taste. It's Rural City Mountain Scape (L445) - the cityline's at the top, the farmland's in the middle, and the mountains' at the bottom. I'm showing you two examples that you can create from one stencil (the top and bottom can be used as masks):

The above art work was created with pastel in the pans. It reminds me of the farmlands with New York City as the background. The next one below shows the farmland with the mountains:

The above artwork was done with craft acrylic paint and cosmetic wedges. I have flipped the stencil over so that the barn is on the left instead on the right. You can create your own scenes with this stencil!
The next and last new stencil is Rural Buildings (L444). I've created three samples plus one tutorial:

For the sample above, I used craft acrylic paints in various colors on mixed media paper. The next one below was done with light blue pastel in a pan, and then with the stencil flipped over, dark blue acrylic paint was applied as shown below.

The next one shows how I used the above stencil as a "background" for a "flag".

Here's a tutorial which shows how the above work can be created:

I painted about 1/3 of the mixed media with medium blue paint and the rest with red paint. I put the stencil over the painted paper.

I mixed both colors with black gesso to make them darker and apply them with cosmetic wedges.

This is how it looks after the darker colors are applied:

I then cut two stencils myself - one with dots for placement of stars (done with Japanese punch) and one for strips. I used white index paper for these temporary stencils.

I started with the strips first by placing it down on the red part, and pounced it down with white gesso and cosmetic wedges.

After the strips are dry, I placed the other stencil and lightly stenciled the dots on the blue part - just enough for me to see the dots.

After the dots are dry, I drew the stars with white highlighter.

I've drawn the stars on all of the dots. After the stars are dry, the next step is trimming it down.

Here's the completed work and I hope you have enjoyed reading this post. I also hope that it has inspired you to think of other ways that my stencils can be used!

May your summer be a GREAT and a creative one!

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive compensation for his stencil designs from Stencil Girl Products in the form of royalties, however, he does not receive any form of compensation or "free" product from other designers, manufacturers or retailers.

Second Art Postcard Marathon 4 - 5 June, 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 00:03:00 +0000

After creating 18 art postcards (shown above) last week which took me between 30 to 60 minutes each plus time for clean-up, I decided that there has to be a better way to produce more within a shorter time. Rather than starting from scratch for each postcard, I came up with a plan for one big piece of artwork that can be roughly cut up and trimmed later.

Last Saturday morning, I set up a temporary table using two sawhorses and four shelves (each shelf measures 11.75 inches wide by 72 inches long). I then rolled out a large white paper (available from art supply stores) which is larger than the width of the table. I also pulled out the acrylic paint, stencils, blocks, carved stamps, paper towel, and all kinds of mark-making tools.

Instead of covering the whole surface with gesso, I would apply gesso (white, black & clear) on certain areas, using different techniques such as stamping, brush strokes, or even stenciling.

After the gesso have dried, I started apply acrylics (craft and artist grade) in light or neutral colors on certain spots.

I kept on adding colors until I had most of the surface covered. Once I was satisfied with the general coverage, I started the stenciling process, usually with darker or lighter colors depending on what color I was stenciling on.

I kept on building layers and layers of colors, paints & stencils until I'm satisfied. I then started gluing the collage materials on the paper with Mod Podge - mostly newspaper and deli paper that were once used as underpaper. I also used paper towels that were used to wipe or remove the excess paint from the artwork.

After they have been dried overnight, I took a quick look and see what needs doing. I decided that I would use some paste paint, water-soluble colored pencils, and paint markers. I also did several block printing in certain areas.

I decided to leave some areas blank so that I can either add more collage, paint, marks or even stencils after the whole thing was cut up into smaller pieces. Before I started to cut the paper up, I took close up photos for digital print-outs so that I can use it as collage materials for other projects.
Here are a few:

After I took several photographs of the whole piece, I cut a rectangular hole (6 inches x 9 inches) from a large piece of white paper so that I can use it as a "cropping tool" to find the sweet spots on the painted paper.

I moved it all over the place to find good compositions, and as soon as I find one, I draw the lines with black paint markers and then move on to other area for another one. I don't have a fast and hard rule for finding the good compositions, but I just simply keep on moving the cropping tool until it "looks" good or interesting to me. You can see the black lines in the photo below - they don't always lined up with each other.

Once I outlined all of the areas to be cut up, I used a pair of sharp scissors and happily cut them - I don't even think about whether it was good one or not - I can always make it better by adding another element or two.

I saved and added all of the trims, scraps and small extras to my current collage stash.

I am very happy to report that I have 36 rough cut pieces (approximate size: 6 x 9 inches) that will be later trimmed down to 5.5 x 8.5 inches after more details & finishing touches have been added. It took me only six hours to produce all of them.

The stencils that I used in the above project are from Stencil Girl Products (including mine), Green Pepper Press (Michelle Ward) and Donna Downey Studios. Other stencils were either cut by me or reused from manufactured products or fabric. It was a quick and fun project - I will later show the finished postcards one at a time.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive compensation for his stencil designs from Stencil Girl Products in the form of royalties, however, he does not receive any form of compensation or "free" product from other designers, manufacturers or retailers.

Art Postcard Marathon 27 May - 30 May 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Tue, 31 May 2016 22:57:00 +0000

Last Thursday, (26 May 2016) as I was going through the piles of stuff that I meant to sort and organize, I came across a good number of advertising postcards that I had meant to re-use as "art postcards" instead of using expensive watercolor paper. I finally decided that I would spent some time making them during the Memorial Day weekend.

At first I was going to do one postcard per day, but I have come to realize how quickly I was able to create them in a short time, so I ended up making three per day for a total of 12 postcards. I spent between 30 - 45 minutes per card.

Each card measures 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches which is a good size for me to create art postcards using various media and techniques. Shown below is the first three cards that I created last Friday, using my own stencils, found hand-decorated paper, and color photocopy of my own digital work. I utilized stenciling technique, paint markers and craft acrylic painting techniques to creative decorative effects.

The next day, I decided to use different painting techniques in creating the next three postcards. I also used the stenciled tape in one of the postcards below, and used paint markers quite heavily in above and below postcards.

The next set of postcards created last Sunday - again, I used different methods and media. The second one (lower left) was done with spray paint - two stencils were used: Crafters' Workshop and Stencil Girl Products. The last card (lower right) is the one that I used the paint markers the most in this group.

The last three postcards were done yesterday which was Memorial Day. To commemorate this holiday, I decided to utilize the elements of a U.S. flag with the rural buildings in the background. The stencil that I used for the background will be made available from Stencil Girl Products next month of June. I also used two cardboard stencils from Martha Stewart Crafts for stars and strips. The next postcard was created with carved stamps that I accumulated over several years but were stored in a storage box and forgotten until yesterday. The last one was done with stencils made from found objects. Sticky foam rounds were used to created these round dots.

It was an excellent opportunity for me to refresh my knowledge and skills that I have accumulated and developed over the past several years. These art postcards provided me the means to exercise my creative muscles and at the same time, to have fun and enjoy the process. Shown below is a digital collage of all of the 12 art postcards that I created.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz designs stencils for Stencil Girl Products and receives compensation for them via royalties. However, no compensations were received for the use of the stencils, paint markers, and craft acrylic paints from other companies.

Mini-tutorial: Lined Envelope from Stencilled Cardstock

noreply@blogger.com (Andrew) — Wed, 25 May 2016 20:04:00 +0000

Yesterday, while working on new samples with the three latest stencil designs (due to be released next month of June), I was going through my stash of stencils and stenciled paper, I saw two pieces that I thought I could make an envelope from them.

The beige piece (left) was done with two stencils, L022 and L023, using copper metallic and brown acrylic craft paint. The harlequin piece was done with one stencil, L111, using acrylic craft paint in various colors. Using the plastic templates (available from craft stores, art supply stores, or stationary stores), I cut the envelope and the liner.

I then pre-fold all of them and then I cut so that the flap can be inserted in.

I glued the top part of the liner to the inside flap of the envelope.

Turning it over, and it's a nice pattern on the front of the envelope. I'm saving it for another project - most likely in a journal.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive royalties from the sale of the stencil shown above directly from Stencil Girl Products. No promotional fees were paid to Andrew Borloz for promoting his own stencil designs and others.

My Past Stenciling Experience - A Personal Odyssey

noreply@blogger.com (&rew) — Sat, 21 May 2016 12:46:00 +0000

As I was going through the posts that I have created since 2007 (and most of them were taken off the blog), I came across several posts which showed my past experience with the stencils before I start designing them for Stencil Girl Products.

Three posts were originally published on February 10, 2008 (Stencil Talk); March 12, 2008 (Stencil Talk II); and April 26, 2009 (Spray Paint Stencilry). I combined them into one post here and edited to make it more current:

I just wanted to talk about my humble beginnings with stencils - nothing fancy or fabulous to show you today. I was busy trying to get things done for several long distance trips as I was sorting and cleaning out the boxes and boxes of art supplies today. I finally found the stencils that I have been trying to find for several weeks. It was my first set of cardboard stencils (over 50 years old!), and I had wonderful memories of stenciling during my childhood.

Also, on another large table, I was going through piles and piles of stuff, and I came across a large manila envelope. It was my father's and I had forgotten that I inherited his collection of stencils dating back to late fifties - early sixties (~1958-1963). Several of the stencils came from a stencil manufacturer, Stenso, and I found its interesting history written by Jeffrey Levine in Larabie Fonts' website.

Front & Back of the Package - Note the price!!

And I also spent quite bit of time in my father's workshop, staring at the black stenciled last name. My father stenciled it on his square workbench, and it is still there. He also stenciled our last name on the trash cans as well.

And I found another artwork in the basement - I did it when I was a senior at my high school back in 1974. I actually created and cut the stencils for this artwork - the petals, leaves, and the vase.
The whole thing was done with tempura paints. I wish I could say that I did the whole thing by myself - the art teacher was not a patient person. He did the shading and the shadows on the vase.
Eleven years have passed by before I did the stenciling again. In 1985, my mom wants the decorative border stenciled in the living room, so I did that on two side walls (photo of one wall above). And I suggested stenciling on the door frame, too (photo below). The oil paint sticks and stiff stencil brushes were used in both projects.
And it was not until the fall of 2007 did I do more stencil work - in a class with Michelle Ward (spray paint techniques) at Valley Ridge Art Studio and later at home. A year later (2008), I started getting more serious about incorporating stencil techniques in my work.
Since some of the stencils can be very expensive especially the ones used for automotive paintings. One day, I was food shopping and I saw a laundry basket with holes of various sizes, and I fell in love with it so I bought it to be used as stencils (only $4.99!!)

I cut the side off with a box cutter - it's very soft but one does need to be careful when using a box cutter.

Inside of straight cutting, I scored the lines around the edges and then bend the edges down- they come right off.

An improvised stencil completed and ready to be used as stencil or template. I used this template to draw the circles in one of my journal pages (full page on the right side and close-up on the left side below).

About a year later (April 2009) I was taking Mary Ann Moss' on-line class, Pure Experimentation - Stencilry. The class already started three weeks later after I registered for it. For two days, I watched three weeks' worth of videos.

Although I was not able to hear what she said, I figured out the techniques just by watching. After watching the videos for too long, I decided to get up and get started despite the record temperature outside here in northern NJ (it was 96 degrees!).

I happened to have black foam core boards, and two buckets of spray paint. I can't remember where I put my stencils so I settled for the improvised stencils that were cut from the laundry baskets. Plus, I found the punched metal sheet in the garage.

I turned the foam core board over and did another background.

To make a portfolio for my future collage pieces done with stencils, I cut one piece and then cut it half. I should be using duct tape, but instead I used the packing tape with barbed wire. I love it!

It's pretty simple and sort of plain compared to other students' work, but I do plan to add more layers later in the near future. Here's the inside:

Today (May 21, 2016): By looking back, I can see how much I've grown and have amassed a good amount of experience and basic skills for stencil work. Over the years since the above posts were published, I have develop stencil design techniques on my own. They provided me the foundation for the design work that I did for Stencil Girl Products since the time I was at Penland School of Crafts back in 2010. In the near future, I will be writing more about how I came up with the stencil designs done for Stencil Girl Products. Stay tuned!

Stenciled Cardboard Frames - Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (&rew) — Fri, 20 May 2016 14:03:00 +0000

After I created the two tutorials in the past two posts on how you can create your own corrugated cardboard frames, I am still creating more frames with the other stencils that I designed for Stencil Girl Products. Here in this post, I am presenting to you four more new ideas.

Shown below is one set of frames created from one piece using X & O stencil and Chevron Set #3 stencil. So far, this is the only one that utilizes two stencils instead of just one. After creating the background with black & white gesso, I started first with X & O stencil and then the Chevron. I then used the X & O stencil again on top of the Chevron - making some of the images "float" above the Chevron. The result is a "layered" look.

The next one (below) in a series of six frame designs is simpler than the above. I created the background first using craft acrylic paints in various light or medium colors, and then placed the Curvies Dash Stencil over the top, and applied the darker acrylic paints in three colors - one of them metallic.

The fifth one in a series of six different designs (two of them are already shown in previous posts) utilizes the same technique as above but in reverse - dark colors for the background and light colors for the stenciled pattern done with Crossed Rounds (top of the three designs on the stencil). Yes, I had to reuse the same top pattern, using the top row as a "register" for alignment of the next repeat.

The last one in this series utilizes black, white and clear gesso for the background and four craft acrylic colors in various shades for the stenciled pattern - one color for each set within the Mini-Dots stencil. I placed this stencil on the top, and applied four colors, then I moved the stencil down and applied two colors, and then move it back up, placing the bottom sets over the top of the stenciled dots. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, do please let me know by leaving your comments here.

I hope I have inspired you to create your own frames, and I'm still creating more designs using the other current designs available from my page in Stencil Girl Products.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive royalties from the sale of the stencil shown above directly from Stencil Girl Products. No promotional fees were paid to Andrew Borloz for promoting his own stencil designs and others.

Stenciled Cardboard Frames - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (&rew) — Mon, 16 May 2016 02:04:00 +0000

After I created the first two frames with one stencil, I decided that I would create a collection of cardboard frames using my stencil designs available for purchase from Stencil Girl Products' website. This time, I'm using the Wheel Spokes Set #2 stencil for this second set of frames.

I was trying to figure out which design and colors to use for the second set. As I was doing my laundry today, I saw a load of dirty shirts and thought that it would make a great color scheme.

So, based on the colors of the shirts, I picked the colors from my craft acrylic paint collection. I then pour a few drops of white gesso and spread the paint drops with a wallpaper smoother.

I then poured a few drops of black gesso and used the same technique as the one done with white gesso. I then poured a few strings of cream-colored acrylic along the edge and smeared them over the black and white gesso. I allowed the top surface to dry a little bit and then I placed a piece of paper towel over the slightly wet paint to remove some off the top layers of gesso paint.

I aligned the top of the Wheel Spoke Set #2 stencil with the top of the cardboard, and covered the bottom half of the same stencil with a piece of paper. I then poured lighter shades of blue-green colors onto the paper plate.

Using the cosmetic sponge wedge, I randomly apply the color to the dots - lighter colors for the big dots and darker color for the small dots.

I didn't worry about the precision or the bleeding as I wanted to achieve the "grungy look" for this board. I removed the stencil and moved to the right - I aligned it by using the right column of big dots as a guide and also moved down. I completed the whole piece in clockwise manner.

I then poured some darker colors onto the paper plate for the second layer of stencil. Starting at the bottom right, I used the bottom half of the stencil (wheel spokes) and applied darker colors on the big dots and lighter colors on the small dots. I covered the top half of the same stencil with a piece of paper as a mask.

I moved the stencil clockwise and applied the paint. I then dry the whole piece with a heat gun.

After studying the position of the stencil, I decided that I would cut two frames from this one piece.

I'm very pleased with the result, and since I had so much fun with it, I've decided to start a series of frames. Looking forward to making more and I will show them to you later.

You can purchase the Wheel Spokes Set #2 on-line from StencilGirl Products here.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive royalties from the sale of the stencil shown above directly from Stencil Girl Products. No promotional fees were paid to Andrew Borloz for promoting his own stencil designs and others.

Stenciled Cardboard Frames

noreply@blogger.com (&rew) — Sat, 14 May 2016 15:09:00 +0000

With so many cardboard boxes and boards that I have at home, I've decided to start making painted frames and mat boards from them - some of them with stencils that I designed for Stencil Girl Products. I also created a new tutorial on how the Pseudo-Squares stencil (available from Stencil Girl Products' website) can be used.

I started with one board from one of the boxes and painted most of the top surface with white gesso. Since the middle will be cut out, I didn't bother to cover it with gesso.

After the gesso is dry, I poured craft acrylic paint (in dark color) directly on top of the board and spread it around with cosmetic sponge wedge.

After I cover most of the gesso with acrylic paint, and before they're completely dry, I throw some water on it and let the drips sit for a minute or so. I used the heat gun to dry some of the paint, and then place a sheet of paper towel over it to pick up all of the water - this removes some of the dark paint off the gesso, creating a splatter effect.

With Pseudo Squares stencil, I start apply the basic shapes all around the edges, creating a frame-like composition.

I then flipped the stencil around to use the different design on top of the first layer of stenciled image.

I used different shades of greens to create gridlike effect.

After I created the kind of effect that I wanted, I mixed together gesso, few drops of yellow acrylic paint and water to create a "wash" to mute down the colors. After I let it sit there for a few seconds, I wiped off most of the wash, leaving some behind.

After the paint was completely dry, I first sprayed it with clear gloss acrylic finish to make the color pop out a little bit more. I then sprayed it again with matte acrylic finish to remove some of the gloss from the surface. If I sprayed it first with matte, it would make the colors duller. I then cut the center out with a box knife as if I was creating a mat board.

I decided that the center hole is too small for most of my artwork, so I cut some more from the center, creating two frames.

I plan to create more painted cardboard frames using the above stenciling techniques and other techniques as well. The above process took me about an hour to create. The Pseudo Squares stencil can be purchased on-line from Stencil Girl Products' website here.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive royalties from the sale of the stencils shown above directly from Stencil Girl Products. No promotional fees were paid to Andrew Borloz for promoting his own stencil designs and others.

Mini-tutorial: Stenciling & Urban Sketching Techniques

noreply@blogger.com (&rew) — Sun, 01 May 2016 15:26:00 +0000

Last Friday night (April 29, 2016), I decided that I would try a different approach to using my City Scape stencil for the urban sketching session held on the next day (April 30 2016) at Brooklyn Bridge City.

The above image was done back in 2013 when I was testing out a stencil proof for Stencil Girl Products.

I tried to make the above stencil as generic as possible so that it could be used to represent some cities instead of just one. Before I went to the Brooklyn Bridge Park, I did several pages of stenciled images - shown below are two of the pages that I did in my sketchbook (SuperDeluxe from Bee Paper).

The images were created with pastel pans and cosmetic sponge wedges. I used one color on the 9x6 page, but used multiple neutral colors & layers on the larger 12x9 page. I had no idea as to where or whether I might be able to use these stenciled images until when I went to the Brooklyn Bridge Park and search for a spot where I might be able to use of them. I found a spot near Jane's Carousel which is located near the Brooklyn Bridge.

The stenciled image is not an exact replica of what I saw out there. So, I started the sketch with mechanical pencil instead of with a permanent ink pen as I didn't want to waste it if it was not successful. I added the buildings, bridge structure, FDR drive, and railings - by drawing them first with a mechanical pencil, and later inked with Uniball's Eye pen. Some watercolor was later added to the sketch with the tube paint and water brush. The photo above was taken sitting up, but the sketch below was done sitting on a bench.

The sketch was completed in about an hour & half or so - it would have taken longer if I didn't prepare the page beforehand with the stenciled image. It is an interesting experiment and I look forward to doing more of the stenciling and urban sketching together in the future.

My City Scape stencil is available for on-line purchase from Stencil Girl Product's website here.

Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz receives royalties on the purchases of City Scape stencil (and any other stencils designed by Andrew Borloz) from Stencil Girl Products. No compensation was given to Andrew Borloz for any of the products mentioned here except his own stencils.

New York City Skyline

noreply@blogger.com (&rew) — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 12:37:00 +0000

During the past couple of months, I've been working on new stencil designs for Stencil Girl Products which will be introduced to the public later this year. While I was working on the new designs, my colleague, Michelle Ward, announced the release of her new stencils that she designed exclusively for The Ink Pad in New York City. A month ago, we talked about using both of her stencil, NYC Skyline, and my stencil, City Scape, together to create a city skyline of New York City.

At first, I had to test out different layering and ordering before I come up with the final result as soon above. I started first with Michelle's stencil using black gesso and cosmetic sponge, and worked from it with my City Scape stencil with acrylic paint in lighter colors (above and below the NYC Skyline stencil), creating a foggy or misty atmosphere. After I have successfully achieved the depth that I was looking for, I took a photo of the stenciled image and add the text digitally to the photo. The result is that it looks like a poster for New York City and I'm pleased with the result.

The City Scape stencil can be purchased from Stencil Girl Products' website here or from The Ink Pad in New York City.

The NYC Skyline stencil is available exclusively from The Ink Pad - it can be purchased either from their website or from their store in NYC.

*Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz does receive royalties from the sale of the stencils directly from Stencil Girl Products using his own designs to retail customers and retailers, but not from other designers and retailers for the sale of their own designs or stencils. No promotional fees were paid to Andrew Borloz for promoting his own stencil designs and others.

Featured Artist for The Documented Life Project 2015

noreply@blogger.com (&rew) — Sat, 30 May 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Hi! I was asked to be a Featured Artist for this weekend's art journal challenge for The Documented Life Project 2015 group (you can click on the above badge for further details). I actually joined The Documented Life Project 2014 group for a year-long documentation project where I bought a thin Moleskine planner and turned it into a humongous book with six-inches thick spine. I even made a slipcase for this book (photo below). The next photo shows all of the challenge pages that I created for the year 2014. The spreads behind these pages were not shown, though.

But this year (2015) is different - I had to scale down and simplified my documentation process due to time constraint. I am now using a bound sketchbook, and I am not documenting as much as 2014 as I have other commitments. Instead of the usual collage techniques, I have been using paper-cutting methods, thus keeping the book from expanding too much. The theme for this month of May 2015 was Touchy Feely (Texture). For this weekend of May 30th, the art challenge is Textured Paper and the journal prompt is I'm so not feeling it! The whole spread sums up the general feeling that I often experienced from the museum visits - historical, cultural, natural life, sculptural and art. Most of the museums that I went do not allow the public to touch, and since I'm crazy about textures and love to touch them, I had to remind myself not to touch them at all. It indeed does take a lot of effort for me to resist the temptation to touch them.

To create the art for this spread, I used several textured paper that I pulled out from my own collection of decorative paper that I bought from various stores. With a circle compass, I cut out rounds from these textured paper in different sizes and framed them with painted circles. For the background, I created the paste paper a while ago using brown paper. They were glued to the journal pages using adhesive spray, and the lettering was done with a white-out pen. It was a fun page to create!