Every month we like to spread the love by sending a 1 gallon kit to a couple of artists who have tagged us on Instagram ... and then we share their work with the world!
Congratulations to Kelsey Garland ... our 1st lucky winner for June!
Kelsey is a mixed media artist based out of Tacoma, Washington who creates whimsical layered paintings on alcohol ink coasters. Kelsey paints mermaids, birds, butterflies and florals but currently, her favourite subjects are bees.
Kelsey starts her process with a coaster made from alcohol ink dropped in ArtResin, and cast in a silicone mold. ( Want to know how to make a coaster like this? Check out our blog How To Make A Resin Coaster and forward to 12:42 )
Once the coaster has cured, Kelsey sands down the surface in order to create some tooth for her paint to adhere to. Using acrylic, oil and sometimes encaustic, Kelsey paints her design on multiple resin layers to create depth and a 3D effect. First, she paints a honeycomb background using gold acrylic paint on the coaster.
Once the paint has dried, she pours on a second coat of ArtResin overtop.
After the second resin layer has cured, she sands it down once again and paints her bee directly onto the sanded resin using oil paint - scroll through to see each step.
Once the oil paint has thoroughly dried, it gets a final top coat of ArtResin. Note how the resin not only restores the clarity to the sanded resin but also gives the bee a 3D pop!
She uses the same process for her mermaid pieces ... painting background details on an alcohol ink coaster, applying a fresh coat of ArtResin, and sanding and painting her main subject before finishing the whole piece off with a glossy resin topcoat.
Kelsey uses a similar process on wood coasters. First she paints a honeycomb background with gold acrylic.
Then gives it a resin coat ....
Next Kelsey starts painting her subject on the dried, sanded resin ...
... before beginning her bee.
Next is a coat of glossy ArtResin to really saturate the colour and protect her painting for the longterm!
Congratulations on your win, Kelsey!
To see more of Kelsey's work:
Follow her on Instagram: @kelsey_garlandart
Check out her Etsy page: Kelsey Garland Art
Don't forget ... tag YOUR ArtResin work with @art_resin on Instagram, and YOU could be our next monthly winner!!!
