Cigar Box Art

...a non smoking situation...

   I don't like anything about smoking...except empty cigar boxes and labels. :) ...admittedly I've been hoarding some cigar boxes. I keep thinking that I'll make some kind of cool shadow box art, but still haven't gotten around to it. I sorta have that fear of messing it up, much like a new clean sketch book. I got as far as cutting off the lid of one of these boxes. (It stayed that way for months.) Then I tried a painting...and I think...hmm...it's not that bad. Here's where I started...

First, I ripped up a thin brown paper bag and decoupaged it to one side of the cigar box lid. On the lid the word "handmade" was on it...so I left that spot open, along with some of it's gold designs. I'm using "Collage 'Pauge" matte. 

After the decoupage has dried, I do a little sketch. I lined the sketch with Sharpie and Micron pens. Then comes the fun part...color. I used Inktense water soluble pencils.

I used a sort of grey green and Payne's Grey on the fish. Their under belly done in yellow to give off a light source. I used a few different colors of teal and blue around the fish. Loaded my brush and dabbed at the color. With each addition of dabbed on water, I let it drip. To make the drip marks pop more, I lined them with a white pen. (Uni-ball Signo) I used the same pen to put a glint in the fish's eyes. A few sprays of clear coat keeps it all in place. :)