How to create a flower bouquet canvas by kathy adams

Grab some of those paper flowers you've been hoarding, a 6" x 6" canvas, and Art Anthology mediums, and lets make a spring bouquet! Pick 9 different flowers and arrange them on the canvas.

I picked different sizes and types because it adds interest to the finished canvas. Don't worry about colors. The flowers will be completely covered with paint.

Add Art Anthology Mud to the canvas in a thick layer. It doesn't have to be smooth.

Add Mud to the back of the flowers and place them down onto the canvas. When dry, the Mud acts as glue and holds the flowers in place.

Cover the flowers with fluid gesso.

It may take a few coats of gesso to cover the flowers. I also painted gesso on the petals underneath. Let dry completely

Use Velvets for the first layer of color because they are more opaque. Three flowers are painted using Orchid and Mardi Gras, three using Tango and Persimmon, and three using Cotton Candy and Fiesta.

Keep adding color until you love it. Make sure the background is covered and no white is showing.

Here is the canvas so far. I added a bit of Tango and Persimmon to some of the purple and pink flowers to add a bit of contrast.

Spray Patience Colorations Spray on the pink flowers, Plush on the purple flowers and Salmon on the orange flowers. This helps to cover any white areas that are showing. Dry with heat tool.

I decided to add Minx to the mix. I added Enchanting Minx to the pink flowers, Radiance to the orange and Majestic to the purple.

I applied the Minx using a small brush and concentrated the color mostly in the center of the flowers.

Make sure the canvas is completely dry before moving on. I also used a bit of Zip Dry liquid glue to make sure the flowers were secure.

Gemstones are the perfect finishing touch to add some bling to the flowers. Add touches of Amber to the orange flowers, Rhodolite to the pink and Fluorite to the purple.

Not done yet! A touch of Metal Effects Gold will bring out all of the texture created by layering all of mediums. I used my finger to add it to the petal edges and flower centers.

And don't forget the sides! Whenever I had mediums on my palette, I brushed it onto the sides of the canvas. Then as a final step, painted a coat of Mardi Gras Velvet and the rest of the Gold.

That middle flower was bugging me. It needed something in the center. I tried glitter and different colors of micro beads, but finally settled on copper micro beads.

Apply Glossy Accents to some of the flower centers and randomly to the petals.

Sprinkle beads onto the canvas. Place paper under the canvas to catch those suckers! Turn the canvas over to remove the excess beads and return the extras to the container.

Layering all of the different Art Anthology mediums creates lots of color dimension and interest to each flower. And the addition of the copper micro beads adds texture.

It would be fun to make another one using a different color scheme. Blues and greens, yellows and greens, or even neutrals.

I also added Gold Metal Effects to the edges of the canvas.

My spring canvas bouquet is ready to hang and enjoy! Go grab some Art Anthology mediums and make one of these!