September 22 Weekly Post

 Happy Sunday!

Hope your week went well.

We had a few days of great weather but then the heat came back and I've kind of withered. 

Still feeling poorly. Taking it day by day.

I have another art journal page for you and some 4x6 art.

I'm guest hosting Art Journal Journey this month with an Anything Goes theme. 

Check it out and join us!

This art journal page is in my Little Book of Wisdom journal. It was created earlier this year while  and after watching watercolor artist Liz Chaderton's YouTube video "How to Paint Watercolour on Tissue Paper".

I basically tried my hand at her lesson, with a few of my own differences.

 

I started out with a page (first photo above) that I'd previously done hidden journaling on, then covered with torn pieces of masking tape, then gesso'd. 

So, using my Inktense blocks, I laid color down on the page: blue on top for the sky and below that bands of earthy colors for the ground. I wet a large brush and activated the Inktense colors, which behave like watercolor with enough water, but then they dry permanent because they are india ink.

Next I cut a piece of wet-strength menu tissue large enough to cover the ground and a little bigger. I wadded/crinkled it up, spread it back out carefully, covered the ground area on my page with matte medium and lay the tissue on it, smoothing it out gently while trying to keep as many crinkled veins as possible, then let it dry overnight. The second photo was taken the next morning.

Liz didn't have bands of color under her tissue. I did that after looking at the Inktense tin and seeing this painting on the front:

I was like, oh my gosh, that is so similar to the lesson! So that is why I did my own version of the colored bands, lol.

 

It was then time to apply watercolors to the tissue. Using supplies I had that were a bit different than what Liz used, I began tracing the veins with a few different black and brown artist brush pens and charcoal pencils, laying down a stroke on a vein and quickly adding water with a small brush to spread it out and keep it from looking like harsh lines. I also used my cheap brown, black and grey watercolors here and there. This was done over and over and over until I got an earthy feel to it. I then drew the tree freehand with the brush pens and added colored fall leaves with a very small stencil brush and distress inks. I also drew the fence with a brush pen. (I used the brush pens/pencils for this part of the lesson while Liz used a rigger brush and paint.)

The scene reminded me of an old African proverb I always have liked, so I created the words in PSE and printed out, cutting and edging each word with a blue brush pen before gluing down.

****************************

Next is my 4x6 art. I have 10 or so more pieces to create to fill up my 4x6 Art Journal, so while Hurricane Francine was still deciding whether to hit us or move east a few weeks ago, I calmed my nerves by making this. It qualifies for Marion's Sing theme this week at Sunday Postcard Art because the theme was posted ahead of time. I got additional inspiration by watching another You Tube video (this time though, I cannot remember whose). She was demonstrating how stamped and heat-embossed silhouette images can act as resist for stenciling with Distress Inks. People tend to stencil the background first but here you do it after stamping and heat embossing.

 I used the singer and musical staff stamps from Visible Image's Sing set and the sentiment is from Impression Obsession Wonka collection stamps.I used Warm Breeze and Morning Mist Versafine Clair inks to stamp and clear embossing powder. Over all of that I ink-blended the entire surface using Squeezed Lemonade DI and a foam tool and then rubbed the DI off the embossing with a soft rag.

Next, I laid this cool Sheena Douglass 7x7 stencil over my 4x6 piece and stenciled using Mustard Seed, Wild Honey and Crackling Campfire DI inks with blending brushes. I positioned the stencil to suggest rock concert stage lights. After removing the stencil I rubbed the ink off the embossing again. Lastly, I brushed Hickory Smoke DI along the bottom for grounding and also all around the edges to add a bit of grunge.

And that is it for me this time. 

These projects were fun and freeing for me. I got to try new techniques, practice old ones and use supplies that were gathering dust or had not been used yet.

Thanks for visiting me and have a great week ahead!

XOX