Looking for some Fun, Creative Halloween Projects? Here we go… :)
Worked in oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel or colored pencil, a Halloween themed painting can be a great way to get outside your typical comfort zone. This is a perfect excuse to let your imagination go off the deep end, whether in subject matter, color and texture, painting surface or brushes.
Not every painting you produce needs to be a serious Work Of Art. An artist looks at the world with a child’s sense of open mind and enthusiasm, and what better theme than Halloween to step back into that world we gave up for hard soled shoes and evening news and eating dessert only after we finish our supper.
Witches, goblins and ghosts populate the silvery grey world of spider web festooned crypts where black cats and bumps in the night still can bring a shiver up the spine and a hair or two raised on a forearm.
Mixed Media Collage
Mixed media is a great way to let loose and indulge in things that a serious painting may not support.
Working large or small depends upon the found items you select to add to your collage.
Convey the eerie feel of the fog shrouded night with wisps of organza or silk. Strings and thread become webs, Medusa-like tresses or Spanish moss hanging from the skeleton of a live oak tree. A tiny glass jewel becomes an unnatural eye peering through a crevice.
Supports
If the piece is of ample size, a firm support is required. Small pieces may do well on cardboard, stretched paper or canvas, but if there is significant weight, a rigid support must be provided.
Gessoed Masonite is a relatively inexpensive solution. Two generous layers of gesso applied to the hard board should be sufficient preparation. In assemblage, the artist is working almost like a sculptor. The three dimensional aspect can open up new vistas for the two dimensional painter.
Acrylic Paint
Acrylic paint can be used as coloration, as well as an adhesive. Adding thickening compounds allows the paint to build up and obscure found objects as well as binding them to the support.
Use a variety of paints and textures to increase visual interest. Watercolor or pastel on top of acrylic or paper found objects as well as ink and markers add topical interest and movement to the piece.
Foraging For Found Objects
If there is a seamstress in residence, haunt the sewing room for cast-offs and rejects. Yarns, threads and snippets of cloth add an unexpected splash of color and texture. The kitchen cauldron may provide eye of newt or toe of frog, or perhaps interesting dried pasta and parsley.
After exploring the closet depths, attics and pantries for potential quarry, take a walk in the neighborhood. Look not to the stars. Look down, around and under the flora and fauna. A piece of bark, an odd stone or a bird’s feather could inspire a theme or add an additional message to the piece.
Use bits of Mother Nature as a stamp or brush to apply paint, leave an impression in impasto layers or as added texture left right in the work.
Get Inspired
Creep around the internet if the muse fails. A gothic website or fantasy poem may light a spark of inspiration. Explore ethnic and historical traditions of Halloween, The Day of the Dead and Danse Macabre. An element from one of these sources may bring about a whole series devoted to the subject.
If revering the dead is a bit too heavy, conjure up the fanciful whimsy of the child’s Halloween. Bright primary colors, unlikely ghosts, witches and ghoulies cavort and appear with the sorcerer’s palette and brush. Candy corn bejeweled autumn trees hovering over a smiling jack o lantern sparkling with glitter may be more the Halloween atmosphere for some artists.
Let the fun and frolic of Trick or Treat set the mood.
Today, Tomorrow And Forever
When crafting these adventuresome creations, decide what the result will be. Is it to be a long-term piece of artwork? If this is the case, care and thought must be given to the permanence of the ingredients used to produce it.
Organics will weaken, decompose or otherwise deteriorate with exposure to air, light, pests and heat. Some substances may leach dye or colorations into adjoining areas of the painting.
A fun, seasonal piece may not need a great deal of preservation, as part of the enjoyment is being able to create a new piece the following year.
However, if this is a permanent piece, conservation is necessary to maximize the work’s life. Make sure that substances used together do not have negative impact upon each other.
Metal can rust and leach color onto paint surfaces. Turpentine and solvents used with oil paint can degrade some plastics. Aerosol propellants can also degrade plastic.
For a lasting piece, the artist is also a bit of an alchemist making sure that his formulation remains golden for years to come.
