Well Used Stencils

Stencils are easy to find and purchase. Now we can skip the daunting tasks of  drawing or tracing a design then cutting it out. The same design can be purchased in multiple sizes. Sometimes it all seems too easy, as if not creating the stencils from scratch is cheating. I’ve come to realize that a stencil is a tool and it’s all in how you use it. Layering blue checkerboards over green swirls then adding a few fragmented bits of gold metallic script--reversed so it’s more of a texture--is an exercise in how colors combine and how a composition can develop. Get out those stencils. Try tracing the shapes with colored pencils or markers. Apply paint with sponges or your fingers. Then you might want to go out and buy a few new stencils.