Italian Renaissance

I started and finished my Italian Renaissance ATCs today for a swap through the Advanced Artist Trading Cards UK Yahoo Group because it was such a hot day today (39 degrees celsius I believe) and I just wanted to stay in my air-conditioned office instead of being outdoors.

I had so much fun making these ATCs ... I think the messier and dirtier I get the more fun I have. The image I chose is a painting by Antonio Pisanello called Portrait of Ginerva d'Este (1433-1438) that I found through Google Images to be on a page dedicated to "Head Taping". So the title of my card is "In Fashion - Head Taping" and then I used a free translator on the net to convert it into Italian and it became "Alla Moda - taping dei capelli". Now, I am not sure if the words or grammar are correct, but I think for the purposes of this card it'll do.

So in accordance with the Head Taping theme, I covered an arch shaped ATC in masking tape as my first layer, then painted with red and yellow ochre. I stamped a couple of definitions stamps of "original" and "create" in black and painted over this in a ruby glaze paint. Next layer is copper glaze paint dabbed onto sequin waste in various spots. I stuck down my words and embossed a flourish arch that covered the entire card in Alison Ellis Design Antique Sand embossing powder.

To finish off I inked the edges and a bit of the embossing with Timber Brown StazOn, added the german scrap and the image that had been painted with Crackle Medium.

I have to say I didn't have to wait long for each layer to dry ... in this heat I barely need to use a heat gun to melt the embossing powder ... ok maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
~Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519, Italian Painter and Sculptor~