Art Journal and no I am not a domestic goddess!

This weeks prompt asked us if we were a domestic goddess or another type of goddess, use stamped wings and a figure. I began with one of the backgrounds I began last weekend and added watercolours to make me think of beach and sea colours.

I then added some of my extensive collection of sea glass, shells and feathers and my journalling explaining that I am the Goddess of Beach Combing. I found the figure below and added her to the page.

I stamped a boat and some birds and added a bucket and space cut out which I painted over. I also added some paint and pro makers to the goddess.

A very cluttered page as I do believe I could be the Goddess of mess and chaos too but it made me smile and I had lots of fun doing this. The Goddess wings were created stamping Dylusions Ruby Rainbow wings onto a piece of Kitchen roll paper that had been washed with watercolours (part of a batch I made a while ago) as I wanted it to look and feel more feathery.

The Octopus and fish were lying in my stash and I just added some doodling.

Playing with backgrounds

I had a little time so decided to experiment with some backgrounds using some of that leftover glitter and mod podge and an acetate sheet. The photo above shows the acetate after I had used it to print some backgrounds.

I had mixed some modge podge, ink and glitter in a round lid and then stamped the lid onto the actetate.
I then sprayed it with dylusion inks and each time took a print of the page to create a background.

A card and a mish mash of experiments and work in progress

I have been experimenting with the Faux Barnyard technique from Technique Junkies as I'm creating my week 8 Journal page using this page for UK Stampers and the Stampotique Challenge. However I do love guddling about with paint and so had to have a few attempts at this. I used my teal/white background as a layer for a 40th birthday card for my sister. I stamped "Oh my dear" from Stampotique onto card and then coloured her with watercolour pencils - it is  how she feels about her looming big day. As my sister is in denial about the big 40 I had to put it on the card - I used a number 40 chipboard as a stencil and sprayed Jade green dylusions to mask it and then doodled a little. The circular and wavy text is a rub on from Lilley-bee. I added some comments in black/white to add to this. On the back of my card and underneath the barnyard door mat I painted dylusions teal/white with a sponge and then stamped Olivia on the back with an apt quote.

I also had a play with acrylic paints and Ranger alcohol inks on acetate to see what kind of random effects I could achieve.

My DD is creating a piece of graffiti cross stitch from a photograph taken by Lens Guy as part of her school design project. I have not picked up a piece of cross stitch in ages and it got me to thinking. She drew her design on the linen in pencil and I wondered if you could stamp it on... I got out boy angle with wings as I want to use him for the jff challenge and had a go. The ink is hard to see in places but I sat with my needle last night and began it - whether it gets finished is another matter - and I think it will be a loose interpretation of the original stamped image.

Experiments with backgrounds: My Play School Moments

Splodges become flowers?

Paper Bag for Sweets Page and some alcohol inks

Kitchen towels and watercolours

 Lots of photos in this post - may be slow ...

Sometimes what I love the most is just playing with my materials and seeing what might happen. Sometimes it works and sometimes it is a disaster - I think of this time as my play school moments as there are no restrictions, no rights or wrongs and it is just for fun which is what we used to be taught at Play School (Kindergarten) before some government inspector and politician decided we should restrict and monitor and evaluate everything. After all that is why most of us do this, isn't it?

The paper in the bag seemed to almost stop the inks blending - I was thinking of rhubarb rock and cinnamon balls here

I also played with those cheap Lidl pearl acrylic paints. I had been painting some backgrounds and using a piece of card as a palette when I decided to see what would happen when I put some acetate onto the paint. Oh that was fun and the only acetate I had to hand was box lids for flowers.

I had downloaded the document about mixed media backgrounds from Cloth, Paper, Scissors and decided to try using water colours and kitchen rolls. I love the bright colours and will hopefully use these papers in a project soon.

Art Journal - Goals

Goals, Art Journal Week 1

I have completed my first journal page for UK Stampers. I may have gone a bit over the top... I added Red Stazon to the edges and page and then continued the doodling on the photo arrow down the page.
My Goals are 1)  Learn how to art journal 2) Don't feel guilty about spending time with paper, paint and mess 3) Learn to love my shape or do something about it so I have better photos of me.

The previous post has info on the background and stage one. It was then inked and stamped with DI and Versamark chalk inks. The photo was cut out and given a border, inked and doodled off the page. I used three stamps: the Butterfly stamp (crafty creations) was coloured with Sakura pens; Shabby French TH Bird was stamped twice - once in Versamark chalk and once in red stazon -and cut out; I stamped  part of TH urban tattoo and then cut it out and coloured with permanent markers and ink. 

Unable to stop there and have a more is less approach I added Crackle accents to the heart, butterfly and a long strip of paper pointing to the goals. 

I love the colours under the crackle accents

Perhaps a little too much here? 

Crackled well here

I think I should try not throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the next page...

Art Journal, Handmade Background Paper, Canabalising old sketch pads

Homemade background paper for journal with a little bit more paint and ink

Acrylic and oil pastel experiments

Quick colour sketch at Glen Brittle, Skye

I think I was considering turning it into some kind of stained glass - always make notes beside sketches

More attempts at learning to draw

Pulling the sketch pad apart - i like this shape

Starting point for my 2011 Art Journal

I was feeling a little better yesterday and decided I was going to start work on creating an Art Journal for this year - nothing like musing about art journals and thinking you can give it a go. In between bouts of hallucinations last week I had been surfing some of my favourite art journal sites (will put up links to these on another post) and decided I had to give it a go.  I came across Julie Kirk's Notes on Paper and found out about a journal challenge on UKStampers and this seemed like perfect serendipity. As a total art journal novice I like the fact that prompts are given each week to get you going and I finally know what I can do with all these background papers and paper experiments I have created and not used.
As usual I launched into the thing without reading the small print and began to take apart various old sketch pads to use as the paper and recycle some paper pad backs - hence the pics at start of this blog which I found in pads. I really need to make notes on what I am thinking when doing this and I really need to start drawing again every day as I've forgotten how.

Handmade paper background

I did this a couple of months ago when I felt like experimenting. I took plain white card and painted over it with watery blue acrylics and then sprayed pva glue over the paint. Finally I took some metallic spritz and sprayed it everywhere. I also did this in an orange colour way. I liked t he effect but like many of my experiments wasn't sure what to do with it.

The challenge is ideal as it asks you to use a handmade background paper, photo and 3 goals.

I decided to tear up the paper along some of the glue lines to see what shapes I could get.

I couldn't stand the look of the bare paper underneath so took Shabby Shutters and Broken China Distress inks to page. I haven't got an ink tool applicator thingy yet but it is on my list as all the demos with distress ink use this - at present I use paper towels and fingers... Still seemed lacking so adding versamark chalk turquoise gem ink. How to stick down? Mod Podge of course but am not sure if this is the right way to go - will need to ask around the forums.

Liberal application of mod podge

Once this was dry I took out some Blonde Moments suet pudding paint and began to highlight different shapes with different size dots. I wrote in Goals at what looks like the top of a hill/spike to me and the numbers 1 to 3.  I was then too tired to do much else.

I took a photo of me in Paris and decided if I cut it out and gave it a border it could become an arrow pointing to my goals - the border and arrow base were doodled with a sharpie and I added more paint and chalk ink.

I was going to do more today but having just blogged about the stuff so far am so tired. This flu has a lot to answer for... Progress so far below.

Playing with paint, paper and junque journals - work in progress

Sea Fever

Junque/Inspiration Journal page

After I finished the digi layout yesterday morning I was going to do another as at present I am feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of photos I have. Then I remembered that I do this for fun and if I think it becomes a chore it ceases to be fun. I looked up and saw my abandoned junque journal and decided to do a page. So painted on several layers of acrylic paint and then I doodled with the pva and added beads taken from a broken bracelet. It reminded me of the sea and the poem "Sea Fever" by John Masefield so I added a few lines from that and a title torn from an old dictionary. I misted it with glimmer mists. At this point when the paint was wet it looked wonderful but lost some of the vibrancy when dry but I still kind of like it.

Experimental background paper using junque techniques

Background two - but now heading towards my sunflower moments

Inspired by this I created two 12x12 background papers using the white card that comes inside pva sleeves. I used the same techniques - painting with acrylics and then doodling pva lines on, misting with glimmer mists and lifting up to see the colour run. Watch this space for the layouts I make from these. Finally I decided to try painting on acrylic sheets and looking out my window I saw the sunflowers so painted one free hand. I really like it but not sure what to do with it. I think I might make a collage picture as a present or maybe I'll just tape it to my window.

Against my window

Overlays

Here is the poem. It is special to me as it reminds me of my dad who was always happiest when sailing around the West Coast of Scotland.

Sea Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

John Masefield