Painting by Rachel Harries

11:00

I would have used one of my old ruined paint brushes but sadly I couldn't find one so brought a pack of cheap brushes to play with and its probably a good job as having done a search for altered paintbrushes on Pinterest I think there will be a few more projects featuring paintbrushes. If you get the chance have a look at the wonderful inspiration that's out there.

I started with a Chunkie Surface which is a fabulous alternative to a canvas and much sturdier to add 3d elements to, I can also stand independently which I like. I start by assembling the Chunkie.

I then added some pieces of torn pages to add texture and interest to the finished piece.

I then use a stencil and some texture paste, when I'm using my stencil I take a bit of time to think about how to position it to get the elements I want in spots where they will be seen.

I then start adding my elements including the paintbrush, I used some pieces of cardboard behind my paintbrush to raise it a little. The elements I add are a mixture of resin, greyboard and air dry clay, I also add some paper flowers.

I give everything a good coat of gesso and make sure it is dry.

I then start adding layers of acrylic paint using a water spray bottle to disperse the paint as I dab it in places, I dry between layers.

I then add some waxes in places, at this point you could leave it but I wanted to add some extra detail.

I added some glitter paint to the bottom of the brush and some of the area beside it, the photo doesn't really show off the glitter, I am going to add more glitter to this as I feel it could do with more because you know sometimes there just isn't enough sparkle.