Art Postcard Marathon 27 May - 30 May 2016

Last Thursday, (26 May 2016) as I was going through the piles of stuff that I meant to sort and organize, I came across a good number of advertising postcards that I had meant to re-use as "art postcards" instead of using expensive watercolor paper. I finally decided that I would spent some time making them during the Memorial Day weekend.

At first I was going to do one postcard per day, but I have come to realize how quickly I was able to create them in a short time, so I ended up making three per day for a total of 12 postcards. I spent between 30 - 45 minutes per card.

Each card measures 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches which is a good size for me to create art postcards using various media and techniques. Shown below is the first three cards that I created last Friday, using my own stencils, found hand-decorated paper, and color photocopy of my own digital work. I utilized stenciling technique, paint markers and craft acrylic painting techniques to creative decorative effects.

The next day, I decided to use different painting techniques in creating the next three postcards. I also used the stenciled tape in one of the postcards below, and used paint markers quite heavily in above and below postcards.

The next set of postcards created last Sunday - again, I used different methods and media. The second one (lower left) was done with spray paint - two stencils were used: Crafters' Workshop and Stencil Girl Products. The last card (lower right) is the one that I used the paint markers the most in this group.

 

The last three postcards were done yesterday which was Memorial Day. To commemorate this holiday, I decided to utilize the elements of a U.S. flag with the rural buildings in the background. The stencil that I used for the background will be made available from Stencil Girl Products next month of June. I also used two cardboard stencils from Martha Stewart Crafts for stars and strips. The next postcard was created with carved stamps that I accumulated over several years but were stored in a storage box and forgotten until yesterday. The last one was done with stencils made from found objects. Sticky foam rounds were used to created these round dots.

It was an excellent opportunity for me to refresh my knowledge and skills that I have accumulated and developed over the past several years. These art postcards provided me the means to exercise my creative muscles and at the same time, to have fun and enjoy the process. Shown below is a digital collage of all of the 12 art postcards that I created.

 *Full disclosure: Andrew Borloz designs stencils for Stencil Girl Products and receives compensation for them via royalties. However, no compensations were received for the use of the stencils, paint markers, and craft acrylic paints from other companies.