Elixir of Life - Finnabair Creative Team

Those who read Bram Stoker’s thrilling novel will never forget the spooky atmosphere of Count Dracula’s sinister castle in Transylvania. The Count himself still ignites the imagination of those who see beauty in uncanny and mysterious stories.

He also inspired me to set off on a night date with his ever fascinating myth.

My creative journey hand in hand with the vampire started with choosing the images that would make a perfect portrait and a bit haunted background. I glued them to the canvas panel with my best adhesive of choice – Heavy Body Gel.
Both the landscape and the photo seemed to me a little bit too perfect, too neat, so I decided they just needed a few strokes of paint to even the composition and gain some artistic properties. I painted the blank areas with Black Gesso and then covered the edges of the pictures with messy brushstrokes of greenish blue Art Alchemy Paints. 

Soon afterwards I put over the canvas a thin coat of Clear Crackle Paste and sprinkled its damp surface with a pinch of Micro Beads.
Then came the most artistic part of the project. With the help of Art Alchemy paints I created a dramatic scenery surrounding the mysterious bust of the vampire. 

I added three focal elements at the bottom of my composition. The first one is a rusty Pocket Watch in which I placed a clear Art Pebble with a small photograph underneath. I also couldn’t resist attaching some Mini Hardware elements in the corners.

The two remaining focal points are an old key and a 'bloody' vial. I entwined them with some wire and fixed to the background along with a few tiny bells, all with the help of Heavy Body Gel. When everything was dry, I added some distressed touches with Rust Paste, which is a must have medium for all vintage lovers! And so the desired Transilvanian effect was reached with flying colours.

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Here comes the night! Sweet dreams, my dear readers! Sleep well...