Be Fearless

First, I would like to apologize for running out of the masking fluid pen last week! It was a featured product in our last newsletter and we sold out in 3 days. Apparently I'm not the only one who loves the stuff! But the good news is that I just got a shipment in and updated inventory so we have plenty in stock again. Go forth and mask :-)

So what does it mean to "Be Fearless"? I had a little lesson in this while making this picture. I offered to make someone her favorite phrase with the masking fluid. First I started out practicing lettering, you know, pretty swirly script. My daughter: "Mom, that does NOT look like fearless lettering." She was right. I needed something bold, so I went with architectural type lettering (from the old days!) I wrote out the phrase with the masking pen, traced over the letters to make the lines thicker and let it dry. I threw the paper in my spray paint box and very carefully chose some dylusions sprays and very carefully spritzed certain areas. And very carefully made a muddy mess. Then I carefully threw it in the trash bin. Take 2.

The second one I did was on smooth bristol paper and I used Dye-na-flow dripped and swished with a soft paint brush. It looked pretty cool at first, very colorful and drippy, but when I went to rub the mask off, I discovered the paper had absorbed the dye under the mask and well... Number two went into the trash bin. Lesson: Dye-na-flow + Bristol + Mask = Mess. Take 3.

I was getting nervous I wasn't going to get anything good. (But I wanted awesome.) I prepared two watercolor sheets with the phrase, just in case one sucked. Something came over me and I just started grabbing stuff and being fearless. Not thinking about the result, not being careful or controlling, and not expecting anything in particular. With the above picture I grabbed my Autumn Brilliance Twinkling H20's, wetted them and just started smooshing paint all over, not thinking about results, just being in the moment. I puddled and dripped and smooshed.

I kinda love what happened.

The second sheet I had prepared was even more fearless because I already had one I liked, there was NO pressure to make it good. I used regular watercolor in a tube, so it was extra intense. I dipped and used broad bold strokes to paint over the masking.

This turned out kinda awesome too. I think I'll let my friend choose which one she likes best and that's the one she'll get. I'll frame the other for myself, as a reminder to Be Fearless when creating art.

Now let's see what YOU do with the masking fluid pen. Send me the link in the comments section.

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