Tuesday, December 13, 2016

How to Use Paper Business Cards to Create Paint Stencils

Fig.1 Business Cards
By Gary Boutin

Tools and Supplies:
Business cards
Sink
Water

This post shows that business cards can be used
as artist stencils. The one true fact is many people use business cards, and business cards either paper or plastic make good stencils to create a patterns. This post shows the majority of the business cards are paper, and the others are embossed paper. The best reason to use business cards is that most  cards come to our homes unsolicited. So we can the business cards without guilt of destroying them.

This post shows the eight steps that shows the use of business cards as art painting stencils with acrylic paint on watercolor block paper. 

Step 1: Fig.1 shows the business cards that will become art stencils. Fig.2 shows the watercolor block that will be used to show how each stencils is painted on the watercolor block paper. Fig.3 shows a television tray used as a palate paint tray. The sink is needed to be used to clean the paper stencils.
Fig.2 Watercolor block
Fig.3 TV tray paint tray
Step 2: Fig.4 through fig.6 shows the progression of the v-shaped business card stencil. Fig.4 shows a large v-cut stencil ready to be used. This business card had high gloss printing and was similar to card stock. Fig.5 shows that pink, yellow and aqua paint has been added to the stencil. Fig.6 shows a v-pattern from the stencil on the watercolor block paper. 
Fig.4 V-shaped 
business card stencil
Fig.5 V-shaped stencil 
with acrylic paint
Fig.6 V-Stencils on paper
Step 3: Fig.7 through fig.9 shows the progression of the teeth-shaped business card stencil. Fig.7 shows the teeth-shaped business card stencil cut with a pair of scissors. Fig.8 shows the teeth-shaped stencil covered with paint at its tip. Fig.9 shows the impression of the teeth-shape on watercolor block paper.
Fig.7 Teeth-shaped stencil
Fig.8 Teeth-shaped 
with paint
Fig.9 Teeth Stencils on paper
Step 4: Fig.10 through fig.12 shows the progression of the straight line-shaped business card stencil. Fig.10 shows the straight line stencil was cut with a pair of scissors. Fig.11 shows the application of paint to the tips of the straight-line business card. Fig.12 shows the stencil pattern on the block watercolor paper.
Fig.10 Straight line stencil
Fig.11 Straight line with paint
Fig.12 Straight line on 
watercolor paper
Step 5: Fig.13 and fig.14 shows the progression of the large teeth-shaped business card stencil. Fig.13 shows the stencils have paint applied to its tips and fig.14 shows the tips are dragged onto the watercolor paper.
Fig.13 Large-teeth stencils
Fig.14 Large-teeth 
on watercolor paper
Step 6: Fig.15 and fig.16 shows the progression of the round tipped-shaped business card stencil. This round-tipped stencil was cut using scissors, if the round part is difficult use a hole punch to get a perfect round cut on all parts of this stencil. Fig.15 shows the round-tipped has acrylic paint applied to it tip and body. Fig.16 shows the stencil being dragged on the block watercolor paper. 
Fig.15 Round-tipped stencils
Fig.16 Round-tipped 
stencils on watercolor paper
Step 7: Fig.17 through fig. 19 shows how each stencil survived the washing of the acrylic paint. Fig.17 large-teeth stencil did not fare well in the cleaning process. Its made of paper and the paint and water curled up the stencils and was unusable for future painting projects. Fig.18 and fig.19 also shows wet stencils that did not survived the cleaning process. All of these business cards were made of high gloss paper and could not be saved for future use for a painting stencil.

Fig.17 Wet large-teeth stencil
Fig.18 Wet v, teeth and 
straight paper stencils
Fig.19 Wet round, straight
and wriggly paper stencils
Step 8: Fig.20 through fig.22 shows bubble wrap with acrylic brown green acrylic paint. Fig.21 shows that this is not a good stencil because it just places a block of paint in one area and no clear definition of the wrapped paper is applied to the page. The only advantage of the bubble-wrap stencil is that the bubble plastic wrap is easy to clean and can be used again.
Fig.20 Bubble-wrap stencil
with brown acrylic paint
Fig.21 Block of solid paint
Fig.22 Cleans easily
Business card stencils are perfect for one time use and it give the business card a new life rather than throwing them in the garbage can. Using your imagination can give these stencils a new way to have a repeated pattern on any of your artist paintings. Professional would probably not use these cheap stencils but this could be a fun project for children. The only problem is that a responsible person would have to cut the business cards. 

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