Under paper

This week the art challenge at DLP was to use under paper. At first I didn't know what that was, like a lot of other people. It turns out that it is the paper you spread out under your artwork to catch the extra paint that spills off the edge of the page. I hadn't thought of keeping it before because it doesn't look that great to me and I would prefer to make nicer paper to use but as my goal this year is to try new things I decided to give it a go.

I didn't have very much paper to choose from on my desk but managed to find a few pieces of copy paper that I had used under my pages and some of the paper towel that I blot my brushes on. The prompt this week was 'what lies beneath' which made me think of the ocean. I found a great quote so made a little under sea scene.

The copy paper with acrylics and watercolor on it was easy to use. The paper towel that had mainly watercolor on it did not work out so well. When I glued the towel to the page the water in the glue made the colors run and it looked really dull and muddy when it dried. I scribbled on some Inktense pencils in the same color as the original towel and wet them to make the colors bright again. I won't be saving paper towel to use in my future projects and only really attractive under papers. I would prefer to use gelatin plate printed papers instead.

My writing exercise for this week was to use a paint brush to do the lettering. I found that fairly easy to do but the color I used didn't stand out against the similar background so I used a fine-liner to go around each letter. Looking at it now I think I should have outlined with black to match the rest of the page. I will leave now and go do that. See you next week.

Try, try, try again...

This week my Documented Life page was quite a long journey to get to the end. I wasn't sure whether I should share the whole journey but decided it may help some people. The prompt this week was words with friends and the art challenge writing.

 I started my page with 3 colors that appealed to me. Turquoise, magenta and pale pink. They seemed like pretty colors for a page about my friends. I randomly applied them with a brush.

 

Next I used a rubber brayer to spread more of those colors on the page and blend the paint that was already there. At this stage I could have left it and used the background like this but I wanted to use a bit more of the light color.

I added more pale pink then thought it was too much so I spread more of the other colors around too. Again the page could be left like this and finished off but I decided my images and writing wouldn't stand out on this busy background. 

I covered a lot of the page with the green and left just a little of the other colors peeking through. I decided to leave this overnight to dry and see if I liked it better in the morning. 

In the morning I decided the background was too dark so I covered the whole page with a little white paint using my brayer. I was thought that was it now.  I got out some scraps of paper to do the paper piecing and when I put them on the background they didn't stand out at all. I needed a dark background for the paler colors of my paper.

 I went through my stash and found this container of Moon Shadow Ink. It has been open for a while and the ink had evaporated into a really thick brown goo. Perfect! I spread it over  the page and then splashed on a few drips of water. The water lifted the ink in spots so I blotted them off and finally was happy with the background.

Looking back I can see that the colors I chose at the beginning did not work with the papers I had for the cups so that is probably why I didn't think the background was right. Lesson learned - to trust my instincts!

 The finished page. I sketched some cups, cut them out of paper scraps and glued them to the page. I added some black and white pen details. I wrote the quote out to look like stripes across the background. It was quite a journey but the finished page pleases me and reminds me of many cuppas shared with wonderful people I love to call friends.

In this photo you can see the metallic pigments of the ink. When I turn the page in my journal it catches the light.

  

 My handwriting for this week is another idea from the Creative Lettering book. I used my own writing and added the little flowers like the example in the book.

Each month I am also doing an extra page of watercolor paper. I will add 4 images to about that month. For me that means summer and Australia Day.

Documented Life Project

I decided to join the documented life project this year because they are going to do a year of art journaling and it looks like fun. I had already decided to do a year long journal after buying the 'No excuses art journal book' so I am combining the two ideas.

The first prompt for DLP is: be your own goal keeper and the challenge is to use book paper. My main goal this year is to experiment with my art and use familiar materials in unexpected ways.

I started with a blank journal and drew in my own planner, leaving a lot of blank area for art. I did not rule the lines because I wanted it to look handmade. I slapped on two blue colors of acrylics for the background. When it dried I also sprayed it with brown but later on washed off those spots because they were distracting to my eye.

I have 4 books that I use for my mixed media work. 3 of them were falling apart already and the 4th is an old Anne of Green Gables book that I chose because the words were nice. Be careful when you are choosing a book to use. Once I did a class where the teacher bought an old book for a couple of dollars only to find during the class it was full of violence and swear words so nobody wanted to use it, lol.

 I painted one page with blue for the water and while it was still damp I tore it into strips leaving a white edge. I used the brownest book for the sand. The wavy edge comes from tearing across the grain. Any type of paper has a grain and when you tear in one direction you will get reasonably straight lines but if you give the page a quarter turn and tear, the lines will be uneven. The other objects were sketched on the book paper and cut out. The bird wings were done with cut out lines of print.

I glued down the water strips and then the sand. I used a clip to hold the page flat while it dried. With the sand I tried to put some blank areas between each of the printed strips to make them stand out more.  Later on I thought that I should have alternated them with some horizontal strips of print for an interesting look.

I used colored pencil along the edge of the sand to make it stand out. It probably would have been easier if I had done that before they were glued down! I also added a little blue pencil at the base of the waves for shading.

I glued everything down and added a little watery acrylics for color. I kept them watery so they would be transparent. I left the whole thing to dry before I added the shading. 

I did some outlining and shading around each of the parts of the picture. I used a Quick Kutz alphabet to cut the letters out of book paper and added them to my page with some shadows.

I have also bought the 'Whimsical Lettering' book so I am doing a different exercise from that book each week as well. Here I have used a pencil to doodle on the letters that I had cut out. In the book it is supposed to be marker doodles on letters that have been drawn with a marker but this is close enough. I am also adding the weather each day and a brief description and image of what I have done. I hope it will be an interesting journal/diary by the end of the year.

52 Card challenge

As I am doing less classes this year I am able to take part in more challenges. I like challenges because they inspire while allowing me to create in my own style. I have decided to do the 52 card challenge organised by Kelly Hoernig. The idea is to make one card per week for the whole year. It should be easy to keep up.
If you are not familiar with Kelly's work she has a blog at http://www.kellyhoernig.blogspot.com 
Kelly has done a video explaining the challenge on Vimeo at http://vimeo.com/83183535
You just sign up to the facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/409056572490404/ and start making cards using the given word as a prompt, then load them up to facebook so everyone can admire your beautiful work.

The first week has the word 'box' as a prompt. I am starting off the year using quotes to inspire the art. I say starting off because I may not continue using them all year. A woman is allowed to change her mind, lol.

I am using a deck of jumbo playing cards that I had in my stash. I can't even remember why I bought them but I think I was going to use them for scrapbooking. I am glad I didn't now because it probably would have been a pretty horrible scrapbook page. I have used Mod Podge to glue tissue paper to one side of the cards. I used any colour I could find because it will probably be painted over anyway.

When the back had dried I painted the other side with gesso. I sanded the card first to remove that layer of plastic that cards have. It helps the gesso stick better. I tried using a cheap gesso first but it wasn't sticking well so I switched to a higher quality gesso.  It went on smoother and gave me better coverage. I did all 52 cards to save time later in the year. They did curl up when I gessoed but as they dried they went flat again.

My first card was given a coat of Adirondack acrylic called Pool. It was all one colour so while it was wet I brushed on some white paint and blended it into the aqua. I didn't blend it all over so it looks more interesting. 

When it dried I did the same on the tissue paper side. This one had yellow tissue paper that you can still see a little of around the edges. Some of the tissue paper was scrunched before I glued it down so there is a bit of texture.

I used scraps of paper to cut out crayon shapes. I made the box with two pieces of paper.  I folded the back to look more real and glued it down. Then I glued the front box shape on leaving the top curve unglued. You can't see it here but I put a few scraps of paper into the fake box to make it 3D. I used pens to add shadows, outlines and highlights. Notice how the crayons go off the card. I think it makes the image more interesting to look at.

The back of the card has the quote I found at quote garden that inspired this card. I wrote with a marker than outlined with a fineliner pen. I added a few white pen highlights and a border.

This first card is done. I won't be sticking with one particular style all year. I want to experiment a lot. Come and join in the fun. You don't have to be an established artist, beginners are welcome.  The group is very friendly and supportive. I like that.