I showed you a page from my art journal on Friday. If you remember, it had a design issue: The way it was laid out, the page was divided into distinct quarters with no flow between them.
I decided to tackle a revision of the design. The first step was to get rid of the worst parts and restore the basic design as best as I could.
I began with Liquatex white and bright aqua green gouache. I dabbed these over the wording using my fingers and a brush to blend them out into the background.
This is both a fail and a win. Initially, I started with the second color scheme challenge for February. I had brushed on streaks of Bright Aqua Green, Quinacridone Magenta and Dioxazine Purple. These colors are intense. I didn’t like what they looked like on the page.
After thinking about it for a while, I decided to tone it all down and possibly cover it up with a coat of gesso. When I did that, I liked it a lot better. All the colors were a pale value, which was easier for me to deal with.
Yesterday, I challenged the members of the Micro Art Journaling FB group to practice mark making. That was the inspiration for this layout in my tiny art journal.
I began with a Carbon Black, Liquatex marker. I made marks around the pages to create a kind of frame.
Next, I used Medium Magenta, Brilliant Purple and Light Blue Permanent, Liquatex markers to add scribbles of color to the pages.
I keep a container of small-to-tiny scraps of paper. I grabbed it and looked through to find pieces that had black and white markings, and anything with similar colors. I used Liquatex Matte Medium to glue these to the page.
This is the reverse side of the card I showed you yesterday .
When I flipped the card over, there was this shape that was part of a speech bubble in the advertisement that was originally on the paper. When I flipped the card upside down, the shape reminded me of a bird, so I went for it.
This began with painting the lighter blue, and violet color on the card, avoiding the bird shape. Then the bird shape was painted in with the dark blue.
This is a simple color test for a color challenge for this month.
The colors are Light Blue Permanent, Deep Violet and Prussian Blue.
This is a small (2-5/8" x 4") card cut from a junk mail advertisement. I hate to throw perfectly good paper and cardstock away, so I often cut the cardstock into this size/shape pieces. Then I use the small cards for various small art. In this case, the card was mostly white with a small amount of printing.
I’m creating a section in my art journal for things that I call “underpinnings”. These are basically ways to break the blank page syndrome that befalls all artists from time to time. It’s also a good way to pull out your supplies and try new things, because you can always cover it up and move on if you really don’t like it.
So this is my first one. It was done using Caran d’Ache Neocolor II crayons on “raw”, not gessoed paper. Then I mixed water and Liquitex matte medium together and used it to “activate” the crayon marks. This has the added effect of sealing the layer so it doesn’t move around if you add more media on top of it.
Here’s another color wheel added to my Art Journal. (You can see the previous one here. )
For the previous wheel I used opaque colors. This one was created using colors that are more transparent: Quinacridone Magenta, Pthalocyanine Blue (Green Shade) and Indian Yellow.
The center ring is the pure paints mixed with each other. The outer ring is these mixtures with Titanium White and the inner ring is these colors mixed with Ivory Black.
Yesterday, you saw my micro art journaling layout for a Facebook Color Challenge.
Today, here’s my full-sized page for the same challenge.
I began by using a palette knife to apply the three colors to my page. I didn’t have any particular style in mind, I just wanted to see what they looked like.
Then I used a couple of stencils to add more color to the page.
While that was drying, I started looking through a magazine that was in my office, because I was going to put it away, and I came across this image. It was absolutely perfect, repeating the rectangular pattern in the clothing, and picking up the color! I attached it to the page using matte medium.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted a layout from my tiny art journal. These books are 2-7/8 inches high by 2 inches wide when closed.
Today’s layout was inspired by a color challenge from another group. The colors were Quinacridone Magenta, Naples Yellow and Mars Black. I was working on a full-sized layout and had some leftover paint, so I spread it on the background on this tiny page.
This final layout in the Collaborative Artists’ Journal features Judy’s response to the “Self Portrait” prompt on the left and an abstract collage on the right.
The background of the left page is more faux journaling, and stamping with a handwriting stamp.
Judy created a pocket, to hold a folder from beautiful, torn, aqua, hand-made paper. She’s accented it with two rows of emerald jewels.
The pocket contains a folder made from black paper and painted with aqua and white inks. It also has bits of faux journaling in white. Inside the folder is a bit of writing and a photo of herself. I didn’t take a picture of the inside of the folder out of respect for her privacy. I didn’t want to do it without her specific permission.
This spread was created to accomodate the back side of Judy’s response to the “Self Portrait” prompt. When she turned hers in, the back side had these beautiful, faux journaling markings on it. I didn’t want to completely cover them up because they were so wonderful.
Instead, I chose to create a contrast to the monochromatic paper by using this bright, turquoise blue paper on the left side, which has a rich texture on it’s own.
This wonderful layout is Madeline’s response to the “Self Portrait” prompt.
Madeline works in an intense collage style which yields lots of rich texture and interest. There are many 3D elements here, including ribbons and charms.
She has used papers, images from magazines, words from books and stamps, tape and paint to create this homage to the self!
Left: Madeline Hill Kasian Right: Madeline Hill Kasian
The final prompt in our collaborative book is “Self-Portrait”. I think that this is, hands down, the hardest prompt for most artists. We would much rather paint a beautiful, abstract scene than create something that is pointedly about ourselves.
So I chose to represent myself as my personal icon. Although I did make grey hair, with a bit of pink, rather than all pink.
I am surrounded by all the things from the sea that I love. I’ve also included a color swatch, to represent my art and a few hints of my southwestern heritage.
I wish you could see Judy’s wonderful pages in person. There is so much rich texture that I think is hard for the viewer to appreciate through a photograph.
I chose to include these at this point in the book as a transition to the “Self-Portrait” pages. The beautiful walnut brown in combination with the teal feels calm, almost a bit antique. The feeling is reinforced by the bits of lace and ribbon along with the musical papers. Songbirds remind me of singing, and using your own voice, whether in speaking, singing or art.
This is my shrine to my secret garden. I actually love gardens and gardening. However, where I live, they aren’t really practical. So instead, I draw and paint them in abstract.
I often imagin them with various benches and sculptures tucked in here and there. So for this one, there is a cement head sculpture overlooking the plantings. Perhaps it is some sort of guardian!
Aside from the butterflies, this was painted with Caran d’Ache, Inktense and Albrecht Dürer Watercolor pencils. Liquatex Matte Medium, mixed with water, was used to dissolve the pigments.
This layout serves as the introduction to the “Shrine” prompt. I think we all found this one difficult to work with because it could be interpreted so many different ways.
I chose to make two layouts, both somewhat related, for this prompt.
This is the first one, which in addition to being the introduction, is also a shrine to the past. It is about my childhood and events and people I remember fondly.
Flipping over Judy’s smaller page to the left creates a new layout.
While the first one, yesterday, appeared more green and pink, this one appears to be more turquoise and purple. The gold leaf, with it’s varied tones just adds a wonderful, rich effect to the overall design.
I chose the paper on the right-hand side to contrast with Judy’s page when it was turned this way, and to compliment it in the previous position.
As I mentioned previously, Judy didn’t give any particular direction as to which, if any, prompts she followed for her pages. So I chose two of her submission that, to me, seemed to fall into the Princess category because of their beautiful colors and gold leafing and the feelings they evoked in the viewer.
I mounted her pages back to back, with metallic foiled paper underneath the square cut edges. The paper I chose to fall behind each side I felt would set off her designs.
Madeline’s interpretation of the Princess prompt has a bit more of a regal tone because she’s created the Queen of Her Kitchen!
This is a fabulous layout with lots of interactive pieces including tags and things tucked into pockets!
I love the dimensional quality her pages have, inviting you to reach out and touch them!
p.s. The S&H green stamps brought back great memories. Many a kitchen royal collected them when grocery shopping and redeemed them for everything from new pots and pans to tableware!
This is my interpretation of the Princess prompt, The Princess of Baths. One of my favorite things in the whole world is being able to soak a relaxing bath. I think it is a fabulous way to pamper oneself and a great addition to a self-care routine.
I knew, right away what I wanted it to look like: pink, girly, bubbly and both the duck and the princess would need to have crowns!