How to Create Candle Flame Art

Finding a unique way to tap into your own creativity and imagination is not always easy. Every artist gets a bit bored with their usual routine, no matter how skilled they are, and breaking from the usual art making can help end "artist's block." Abstract art was "born" in the very early 1900s and reached popularity in the 1950s with the paintings of Rothko and Pollack. Painting with a candle flame can be defined as a bit abstract and unusual to be sure, but its random shape and color can inspire many other types of creativity. I first used this candle-smoking technique with geriatric clients to help break them out of routine thinking and help foster abstract thought. By using a candle flame to lightly singe paper you can create ghostly and smoky images that can be further explored in many different ways with paints, pens or pencils.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Candle
• Watercolor paper
• Watercolor paints or pens
• Adobe Photoshop (optional)

1. Light a candle. Tapered or pillar candles work the best as opposed to a candle in a glass container, as you want to be able to bring the paper closely over the flame.

2. Smoky paper

   Move the watercolor paper closely over the candle flame at the very tip of the flame where the smoke begins. You'll want to practice this a few times so that you don't burn the paper or overly singe it.

3. Vary the movement of the paper over the candle flame to create interesting shapes and lines that you can develop later.

4. Check your work. Take a look at your paper as you go to make sure you have enough white spaces between smoke marks. You want to create abstract shapes, not just a blob of burnt paper.

5. 

   Enhance the image. Once you have an interesting pattern you can enhance the image by adding some watercolor paints or ink work if you choose. Work carefully so that you don't smear or damage your smoky lines.

Tips & Warnings

• Further enhance the image by taking a photo or scan of it, and playing around with it in Adobe Photoshop or other photo software.

• Use spray fixative between smoky the paper and painting it to retard smearing.

• Use small sheets of paper to work with at first until you develop your own style. An 8 x 10-inch paper is usually big enough to get started.

• Cut smoked paper into bookmark sizes and develop images on a smaller scale to use as gifts.

• Create the smoke image in a kitchen or near a water source in case you set the paper on fire.

• Do not allow children to do this process unattended.

Resources

• Art Activities for Groups: Providing Therapy, Fun and Function - Diane Steinbach Idyll Arbor 2002