Art Journal: Underpinnings 4
· Art Journal stamping underpinnings page starters 
Another underpinning! Again, this is a text example, but this time, the text was added to a gessoed page using rubber stamps and various colors of Archival ink. When the stamped images dried, I went over them with a heat gun, just to make sure they were set. Then a light coat of gesso was applied. This knocks back anything that is too strong, and insures that the next layer will not cause the ink to bleed.
Art Journal: Underpinnings 3
· Art Journal collage underpinnings page starters 
Today, I have another underpinning. This week I am experimenting with different ways to get text texture added to the backgrounds of pages. Here, I’ve used various sheets of printed text, torn into pieces and glued to the page with matte medium. There are pieces from books, junk mail, calculation sheets, a print out, and even some hand written notes. After the papers dried, I added a light coat of white gesso to knock back the contrast while allowing the texture to still peek through.
Art Journal: Underpinnings 2
· Art Journal Caran d'Ache underpinnings page starters 
A while back I showed you a page in my art journal that was just a scribbled background. I call this kind of page an “underpinning” because it is what will end up under whatever else goes on the page. It may or may not show in the final version. I’m making a section in my journal of various type of underpinnings. I’m showing you this one this week because I’m working with teal, yellow and grey. I used those colors for this example.
Art Journal: Underpinnings 1
· Art Journal Caran d'Ache underpinnings page starters 
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.