A Large Handmade Journal

This summer I want to work in several art journals and a couple of other projects while I take a weird bird break.

I started this handmade journal last November when I took an online class with Pam Garrison. It is made with 140 lb hot press watercolor paper.

I thought you might enjoy seeing the pages in a video before I fill them:

The journal size measures 15.25 inches in length by 11 inches in width for each page.

As you can see in the video, I made some marks on some of my pages as a starting off point.

Here are a few pages I’ve been working on:

I used stencils with watercolor in the bottom of the first page. And the page below is shown closed over the above page with some doodles and a butterfly.

Sometimes I like experimenting with collage and adding a quote:

A fish collage using my Gelli-printed papers inspired by the artist, Clare Youngs:

I used the watercolor circles to experiment with drawings in color pencils. And I added some whimsical lettering:

The insert papers are good for experimentation also. I used a stencil for the first one and collage for the second photo.

I was inspired by a wall calendar by the artist, Caroline Simas for the page below. I liked her color choices:

I am experimenting with collage, color pencils and water soluble crayons for this page…it is a work in progress! I find circles meditative.

I hope my art journal inspires you in your own art making.

What art projects are you working on? I’d love to hear about them!

Cheers!

It’s Fish Fry-Day!!

I had FISH on my mind yesterday and the Bad Bass Fish I created in my art journal last year:  FUNny Fish Saturday?

When I created this fish lettering:

Wishing you a happy Fry-day!!

Cheers! 🙂

We Grow Old…

I was experimenting in drawing and collage yesterday.   When I remembered this quote:

I used my non-dominant hand to write it:  “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” – George Bernard Shaw

I like how my scribbly handwriting adds to the playfulness of my collage.

How do you keep playing to stay young?

Cheers! 🙂

Apples – Tart And Sweet

Sometimes creating art is like an apple… It can be tart and sweet!  

I started this mixed media piece I showed you in yesterday’s post – with watercolor and walnut ink on hot press watercolor paper.

I color copied a cut apple directly on my copier!  I learned this technique recently from Lendon Noe in an online class hosted by Carla Sonheim:  “Meaning Making: Inspired by Poetry.”

After I color copied my apple, I transferred the image to my paper with matte medium.  I like how the background colors show through my apple!

Next, I drew three crabapples directly on the right side of my page with Stabilo CarbOthello which are Chalk-pastel coloring pencils.

I added the words, “Apple and Autumn” with a Pilot Parallel Pen with a 2.4 mm nib – which is a calligraphy pen that uses water soluble ink.  I discovered that the ink bled over the apple transfer when I tried to write the word, “Autumn” using the “A” from the word, Apple.

Instead of scraping the whole project, I tried first to cover up the letters with tracing paper where I had lightly drawn apples as you see below in the photo on the right:

However, I still wasn’t satisfied with it so removed the tracing paper and covered the letters with computer typed letters.  How do I blend the typed letters with my piece?

I solved the problem by gluing a piece of Gelli-printed deli paper in a light orange color over the typed letters.

I added three autumn leaves that I color copied and transferred the same way as the half of apple.

The words describe an apple to me:  Tart and sweet, juicy, fresh, round, red and green, yellow.

I learned a lot from this art piece!  It may not be frame worthy but I learned how to persevere and FINISH it!  Sweet, I say!

Cheers! 🙂

 

FUNny Fish Fry-day

I decided to add a new series to my blog with funny fish!

Fridays or as I will call them, Fry-day will be a great day to have FUN with some weird fish… and end your week with a smile! 🙂  (I hope!)

Today’s fish is the name of a REAL fish that I found on Wikipedia’s common list of fish from A to Z – The Bigeye Square Tail…  I added my own artistic touch to it of course!

I hope this fish “lures” you into a FUNtastic weekend!

Cheers! 🙂

A Letter Day

Yesterday, I finished doodling my letters in my World Watercolor Month sketchbook that I posted recently:

This inspired me to use the letters, “WBW” for today’s Weird Bird Wednesday:

I knew if I moved my paper around, I could find a weird bird in the letters… Can you find one?

This one flew off the page at me – so I added a few more details with watercolors:

Next, I decided to doodle my letters with an ink pen to finish it:

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!!

Cheers! 🙂

Creativity Is Not A Talent…

“Creativity is not a talent… It is a way of Operating.”  – John Cleese

Wishing you a happy and creative day!

Cheers!  🙂

Ribbons Of Paint

Sometimes I just like to swirl my paintbrush around with watercolor in my art journal. No thinking involved… just playing with color:

Yesterday, I didn’t have much time but I still wanted to DO something! So I created this haiku over my ribbons of paint:

I remember using scissors to create ribbons for wrapped gifts before store bought bows became popular.  “Zip!!” And curls appeared like magic!

Wishing you a day with happy memories!

Cheers!  🙂

A List of Likes

I don’t know about you but I’m a “List Maker.”  I like creating lists because a) I have a poor memory and b) I like crossing things off my lists – as a feeling of accomplishing something – even if it is rather small.

The list I created here was a different kind of LIST.  It was an art form!

I created a list of what gives me JOY in an old book of names:

Sorry the light isn’t very good…

Here is a better photo:

I started with while chalk paint and wrote into the wet paint with a pencil.  After it dried I added a dab of this and that to complete my list:

Of course I have more likes than what is on this list!  Perhaps I will have to make another “painted” list…

This was a lesson in the Word Play Painting online art class with the fabulous, Lynn Whipple!

I would love to hear what brings you JOY!  🙂

Happy List Making!

My Love of Nature

I was looking for inspiration this weekend and I discovered these wonderful paper strip collages by Darlene Maciuba-Koppel in Art Journaling Magazine by Somerset Studio.  You may want to check out her blog: cinnamonpink.typepad.com

From her inspiration, I created this paper collage:

It says, “Keep your love of nature – for that is the true way to understand art.”

I started with a print I made several years ago using gelatin as a printing plate, (this was before the Gelli-Plate) and a variety of leaves, etc from the lake:

The above is a sampling of some I had made.  I decided to choose the one on the right and cut into strips using a paper cutter.

I used Matte Medium to glue my painted strips to 140 lb cold press paper.  In between these strips, I used pages from an old book on flowers.

I sandwiched my glued collage between wax paper and used a stack of old dictionaries to help it lie flat while it dried.

I then wrote the quote about nature I found on the internet.  I added a couple of rubber stamps – a feather and a tree.  I doodled the rest with a black pen – using the plants in my yard as inspiration, such as a blueberry bush:

My assistant, Jack helped me – here he is showing off for the camera:

A Daylily in bloom:

And Coral Bells – but my assistant got his tail in the way:

May you find inspiration from nature today!

Happy Creating!  🙂