Art Journal Page: Secrets

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It’s no secret that time flies when you’re busy! Lots of prep going on behind the scenes ready for my TV return next week, and a weekend away in the Lakes wasn’t exactly a rest, but it was a lovely break with lovely friends. But back to the here and now, and I’ve rustled up another art journal page. It’s been a while, but I have to make an example for Monday night’s art journal session in The Studio!

The highlights of this page are: brayer layers, and the newly available Molotow Liquid Chrome pens. These are alcohol based markers in various nib widths, and on a smooth surface, they really are impressively flat and mirror like when dry. I’ll let you know if they perform better than Krylon leafing pens after a couple of weeks of non-use. And I’ll let you know when and where you can get them – I’ve been sent samples to play with 🙂

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Art Journal Pages: Pockets, Flips and Flaps

It’s been a little while since I posted anything art journal related, what with one thing and another. One thing being completing the Creative Chemistry 103 course – definitely worth the investment. Another being design and installation of a new sand filter for the studio so that I don’t have to empty a stinking waster container prompted only by the stink as it overflows. It’s a simple enough idea – grey water goes into a tank of sand and gravel, filters out the large particulates and then drains out to my irrigation sump ready for watering the garden. No more overflows!

Sand filter

Another another was the creation of a water feature which is just outside the studio. I’d gone to look at the self-contained fountains/water features at our local garden centre, and somewhat astounded by the price tags was asked ‘surely you can do something yourself?’. So with a bit of thought, a quick shopping trip on Amazon, a tube of mastic, and some terracotta pots, a plan came together. Throw in a watering can previously belonging to my grandfather and a personal, upcycled, repurposed water feature now trickles away in counterpoint to the gushing waterfall that has just been installed in a neighbour’s garden.

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But, back to the point! It was raining today, so I got to work in my art journal with the intention of putting together the next art journal session samples ready for September. The theme is ‘pockets, flips and flaps’…

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Art Journal Page: Illuminating Letters

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The next art journal session in The Studio is on Monday, and this morning I’m prepping my samples. We’re going to attempt to create an illuminated letter. I’ve put together instructions for a basic Celtic arched lettering, but this is my take on a more Gothic Celtic style of illuminated lettering.

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Art Journal Page: Not As Obvious As You’d Think [Pick-A-Stick Challenge]

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I’m having a go at catching up with some of my art journal online challenges and classes I’ve been neglecting for a few weeks (actually probably months). I’ve caught up with the Wanderlust One Collage Challenge, but part of the deal with that is that I can’t show you it until the last stage at the end of the year. But I have been taking pictures of each stage, so it’ll be worth waiting for!

Then I moved onto May’s Pick A Stick Challenge – ten prompts drawn at random and completed in order. I pulled out the very first journal I started way back in 2011 and found a background to work on – oh how my art journaling has developed! Continue reading

Art Journal Page: One Word Prompt – Bananas

Bananas

Tonight’s art journal session theme is ‘one word prompt’. I’ve done two more reflective, emotional one word prompts – ‘tired’ and ‘recurrent’, but wanted to show that the theme could be more frivolous as well.

This started as an acrylic background using various yellow paints and sprays, before whiting out with rough brushed gesso and then detail work with Pitt artist pens and Ergosoft colour pencils and a smidge of Posca pen work.

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Art Journal Page: All Change

Perfect

Something about this page reminds me of naff pub decor. For the anaglypta effect, I used the embossing paste through the stencil, let it dry, scumble glazed with the tan colour and then sponged the darker colours through the stencil to catch the raised areas. Napkin decoupage and an image transfer of my own typography completes the layout.

Used on this page:

  • Frisk LayFlat Sketch Pad (small)
  • Dutch Doobadoo Stencil: Squares
  • Royal Talens Amsterdam Standard acrylic paints (24 set)
  • Royal Talens Amsterdam Gesso: White
  • Ranger Multi Medium: Matte

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Art Journal Page: Pick A Stick Challenge (June)

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I’ve snuck this creation in between finishing a commissioned art journal, and making the samples for tomorrow’s fabric printing/painting workshop. The Pick A Stick Challenge for the uninitiated is ten techniques or journal prompts pulled at random by one of the four coordinators of the challenge, and you must then create your page using those steps in the order in which they were pulled. This is what I came up with for June’s ten sticks 🙂

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Art Journal Page: Be A Rainbow

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I guess you may be noticing by now there’s a common thread for my recent art journal pages… I’m using supplies provided by Judith at Woodware for my art journaling shows on Hochanda. She asked to borrow the journal for a Retailers’ Training Event at the beginning of July, and I’m determined to finish off all 21 double spreads to demonstrate the versatility of the media, particularly the Royal Talens Amsterdam paints. This layout exemplifies the vividness of the colours available in the 24 pack.

Used in this layout:

  • Frisk LayFlat Sketch Pad (small)
  • Royal Talens Amsterdam Standard acrylic paints (24 pack)
  • Royal Talens Amsterdam Gesso: Black and White
  • Sakura Permapaque Marker: Black (Basic set)
  • Posca Markers (1M)

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Art Journal Page: Retro

Retro

I started this page with no real idea of where it was going to end up – scraping the paint on with an old gift card was the start of the background, before I added the retro oblongs using one of the same colours. The rest built up from there using the stamp set as inspiration.

Used on this page:

  • Frisk LayFlat Sketch Pad (small)
  • Royal Talens Amsterdam Standard acrylic paints (24 pack)
  • Woodware clear stamp set: Retro
  • Woodware Mask-It sheet
  • Royal Talens Amsterdam Gesso: White
  • Ranger Stickles: Stardust
  • Uniball Signo Broad: White

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Art Journal Page: Try Something New

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I love the translucency of a thin coat of gesso – pop that over a pointillistic background and I can almost imagine it’s a frosted glass panel. Reversing the stencil  direction and moving it into the spaces of the previous colour developed the pattern over a sprayed page. I sealed the Distress Sprays with the solvent based spray varnish – it doesn’t move the water-reactive inks and stabilises them enough to work over them with waterbased media.

For this layout:

  • Frisk LayFlat Sketch Pad (small)
  • Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Sprays
  • DecoArt Americana Sealer/Finisher Spray: Matte
  • Royal Talens Amsterdam Standard acrylic paints (24 pack)
  • Dutch Doobadoo Stencil: Faded Dots
  • Royal Talens Amsterdam Gesso: White
  • Woodware Mask-It sheet

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