ArtLessons11 FantasyHousePortraits Swider EDITED

art LESSONS
COLLAGE & PAINT SERIES

volume eleven
fantasy house
PORTRAITS
BY staci
swider
art LESSONS

VOLUME
eleven
own a home in a historic urban neighborhood where the houses range in age from around the
early 18th century to 1930. I distinctly remember
shopping for property in this neighborhood because I instantly fell in love with the old architecture, and was even moved to tears when I stepped into a turn-of-thecentury cottage. It felt like I was inside a Victorian playhouse, complete with nooks and crannies for storage and display, fancy woodwork, and other little details uncommon in modern houses. I wanted to buy every house in the neighborhood. After a quick reality check, I decided the next best thing was to create my
Staci Swider lives in Aiken, South Carolina, with her husband and extremely large chocolate lab puppy that eats paintbrushes.
Website: staciswider.com Blog: staciswider.blogspot.com Email: staciswider@gmail.com facebook.com/staciswiderartist @staciswider
own fanciful neighborhood with paint and paper. I started by photographing a roofline here, a third floor detail there, plants, iron fencing from my front courtyard, vacation photos of Brazilian sidewalks, stone walls in Virginia, and anything else that could be a potential landscape element. For instance, why not use Persian rugs in place of sidewalks? I printed
MATERIALS YoU NEED

Pencil Ruler Panel, hard (I used a 16" x 20"
piece of MDF.)
these photos and assembled my own fantasy house with every tiny detail I wanted.
Photos, printed: house or building

for base image and a variety of other architectural elements.
Matte medium Paintbrushes, a variety Gesso Palette Paint, acrylic, varied colors Container with water Watercolor pencils Sharpie, black Gel pens, black and white (I use Uniball Signo Broad UN-153.) Optional
WATCH Staci plan her fantasy house portrait!
Scissors
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FANTASY HOUSE PORTRAITS BY STACI SWIDER
art LESSONS

VOLUME
eleven
[1]
1. Use a ruler and pencil to draw a
horizontal line across the board, parallel to the top and bottom of the panel. Use this line to correctly orient the house and lay out the other photos. (Figure 1)
2. Use the matte medium and a
TIP : Avoid placing the house in the

center of the board. Instead, imagine the board divided into four equal areas and place the focal point in one or two overlapping areas.
3. Audition and adhere the photos
paintbrush to glue down the base house image, aligning the bottom of the roof on the pencil line.
of architectural details like sidewalks, fences, gates, and outer buildings such as sheds or garages.
art LESSONS

VOLUME
eleven
[2]
4. Arrange the photos of landscape
details around the architectural details. (Figure 2) Place smallscale items near the pencil/ roof line, and large-scale items toward the bottom of the panel to give the illusion of depth and distance. Do not worry about filling the frame with images
at this time. Once satisfied with your arrangement, glue the pieces in place with matte medium.
TIP : Think of other subtle details
when arranging the photos, like a portion of a tree overhanging at the top edge to frame the house.
art LESSONS

VOLUME
eleven
[3]
5. Use a wide paintbrush to dry brush
gesso over the piece, focusing on the exposed areas of the panel and preserving small details you want visible. (Figure 3)
6. Thin the acrylic paints with
water to the consistency of watercolor paints, and add washes of paint over the photos and the background.
art LESSONS

VOLUME
eleven
[4]
7. Once the previous wash has
9. Use the watercolor pencils to
dried, fill in any empty spaces with varied shades of green; these areas will become trees and shrubbery. (Figure 4)
8. Use a large paintbrush to paint
add pops of color over the greens to create flowers, details to the house, and highlights to the clouds and trees. (Figure 4)
10. Continue drawing over the
washes of blue for the sky. Allow the paint to move around freely and puddle here and there to create clouds.
painting to add details using Sharpies, pens, and other drawing media of choice. Work back and forth between materials.
art LESSONS

VOLUME
eleven
[5]
11. Outline everything with the fine-
line black pen. (Figure 5) This layer will create unity and cohesion in the piece. The more detail you add over the painting with the black pen, the better the results. to finish the piece. (Figure 5)
12. Use a white gel pen for highlights
art LESSONS

VOLUME
eleven
TooL highlight
Uni-ball gel pens
These gel pens:
Flow
Uni-ball gel pens are one of my favorite supplies. They write beautifully across a variety of surfaces. I especially love the white and metallic colors for creating highlights on my paintings and collages.
smoothly on all kinds of paints, gel medium, gesso. effortlessly between glossy and rough paper. ink that is opaque and crisp, creating just the right amount of dimension.
Transition Have
art LESSONS

VOLUME
eleven
boNUS art
Dont want to create a fantasy house? Try this technique with other photos. I mixed photos of flowers with fabric and collage to add extra texture.
art LESSONS

VOLUME
eleven
boNUS art

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art LESSONS

COLLAGE & PAINT SERIES

COLLAGE & PAINT SERIES

early 18th century to 1930. I distinctly remember

MATERIALS YoU NEED

Photos, printed: house or building

WATCH Staci plan her fantasy house portrait!

FANTASY HOUSE PORTRAITS BY STACI SWIDER

COLLAGE & PAINT SERIES

1. Use a ruler and pencil to draw a

TIP : Avoid placing the house in the

COLLAGE & PAINT SERIES

4. Arrange the photos of landscape

FANTASY HOUSE PORTRAITS BY STACI SWIDER

COLLAGE & PAINT SERIES

5. Use a wide paintbrush to dry brush

FANTASY HOUSE PORTRAITS BY STACI SWIDER

COLLAGE & PAINT SERIES

7. Once the previous wash has

9. Use the watercolor pencils to

FANTASY HOUSE PORTRAITS BY STACI SWIDER

COLLAGE & PAINT SERIES

11. Outline everything with the fine-

12. Use a white gel pen for highlights

FANTASY HOUSE PORTRAITS BY STACI SWIDER

COLLAGE & PAINT SERIES

FANTASY HOUSE PORTRAITS BY STACI SWIDER

COLLAGE & PAINT SERIES

FANTASY HOUSE PORTRAITS BY STACI SWIDER

COLLAGE & PAINT SERIES

FANTASY HOUSE PORTRAITS BY STACI SWIDER

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