Finishing Up a Visual Journal

I have been trying to put the finishing touches on a 9" x 12" visual journal that I started last year.  It is a Strathmore Visual Journal for Mixed Media. 

I used some of the printed/painted papers from the Traci Bautista Strathmore Artist's Workshop to make the front and back covers and inside covers.

Front Cover

Inside Cover and Title Page

This spread had remained half done until today when I added a lot more collage elements to make a "Spring Fever" spread.  There are more of my printed/painted/stamped papers at top. Hopefully the photo will enlarge if you click on it.

This one features a print of one of my watercolor figure paintings on the lower left and a silly painting doodle on the right.

This one is a hot mess.  Had too much stuff going on in the background, so I added some white elements (dogs and clock) and large text on vellum.  Still not crazy about it, but it looks better in real life!

I've been adding finishing touches to a few other pages.  Forgot to take pictures of the back cover and inside pages.  Next time!

Strathmore Free Artist Workshop 2: Visual Journal Fodder

Visual Journal Fodder,  the second of the 2014 free Strathmore Online Workshops began May 5, and this time the instructors are David R. Modler and Eric Stott, the authors of The Journal Junkies Workshop.  I purchased that book a couple years ago.  I used it as a guide to make my Grow Old With Me collage.


These online workshops are a great bargain.  (Can't beat free, right?)  Each workshop has four weeks of lessons, which include videos and written instructions.  You don't have to use the exact materials that are listed, just whatever you already have.

Week One is titled Engaging the Page with Watercolor Paint.  Several fun techniques for backgrounds are included.

Here is what I did for the first week's lesson.

Splattered some paint, stenciled, added salt

Stencil, several shades of watercolor paint

Pulling string through paint on page, stencil (isn't the Pomegranate stencil cool?)

Rubbing alcohol drops on wet watercolor, a little stenciling, some salt

This one is just blocks of Caran d'ache water-soluble crayons activated with water.

This one has watercolor through a very interesting new stencil of two trees.  I think I used some saran wrap on the blue section of watercolor and got that crackled effect.

Week Two: Building Layers with Watercolor had us dividing the pages into geometric shapes with watercolor pencils, then activating the pencil with water, watercolor paint, or water-based markers.  There is some additional layering with watercolor pencils (the short and long lines.)

I went a little crazy on the next one.  I used the Caran d'Arch Neocolor II water-soluble crayons to make the outlines of the shapes.  I used some additional watercolor paint on the backgrounds.

All of these are just backgrounds.  I'm not sure if we will be adding to them during the subsequent lessons, or just adding on to these as we feel inspired.  All of my pages from the workshop are in my Strathmore Visual Journal Watercolor book.  It has a spiral binding so it lies nice and flat, and the pages are heavy enough that they do not buckle.

If you have not tried art journaling, why not sign up for this free online workshop and try some fun art techniques?

Art Journals

That gray, cold wet weather of the past couple of days inspired me to get out my art journals and play with some pretty color.  I finished a page that I had previously painted a hot pink with acrylics.  I drew a lady's face in pencil.  To help get the proportions correct, I cut out a face from a cosmetics advertisement and put it on the facing page while I was drawing.

The butterfly is from a copyright-free Dover image.  I cut up scrapbook paper for some of the collage elements.  The little butterfly was originally a doodle on a Post-It note.  The page also includes black ink from a Pitt pen, and silver markings from a paint marker.

When I was scanning this and the image started to appear from the top of the page, her eyes looked wild and red.  Maybe I should give her some white paint as artistic Visine!

Some of my journal pages were mentioned on Tracie Hanson's blog today.  She is the online instructor for the Doodlicious Daybook class at 21 Secrets.  I need to get that journal back out and doodle some more.  Maybe next time Lily comes to visit. 

Doodlicious Daybook- 21 Secrets Journaling Class

What a beautiful day!  I treated myself to an hour-and-a-half walk on the greenway near my house.  Since it was such a gorgeous autumn weekend and we were not in the mountains to enjoy it, this walk along the creeks, woods, and wetlands was a great substitute.

After that, I took a set of watercolor paints outside and used a fall palette to paint some background papers.  Then I stitched some of these to other painted and assorted papers, from calendars, magazines, and scrapbook papers.  I assembled these with loose-leaf notebook rings into a "Doodlicious Daybook" or journal.  It is fat and funky!

When we had the grandkids in the mountains last weekend, Lily and I did some painting outside on brown Kraft paper and card stock.  She produced the pink page by smearing her hands all over a glob of paint.

I used a technique from the online workshop 21 Secrets, which is a series of videos and instructional pages by some of the top names in journaling and mixed media.  This one was called The Doodlicious Daybook with Tracie Hanson.  You are supposed to paint really large doodles on mural-size paper.  I just used the brown paper left over from wrapping paper rolls.  Then you cut up the big sheets to create journal pages.

On this page, a part of a big doodle is on the left, and a failed painting on the right.  This is a great way to use paintings that you don't like, but wouldn't mind journaling or collaging on top of.

I didn't realize I had so many paintings I could use for this purpose! 

One of today's painted backgrounds is on the left, and a NC Wildlife magazine cover is on the right, with the delightful zebra duct tape.

Painted doodle on the left, watercolor on the right. I used those cheap acrylic paints like Folk Art from Michael's for the doodles.  I buy them when they are on sale for like 69 cents apiece. 

This is one I did today...can you tell how happy this beautiful fall weather has made me?

India ink doodle on watercolor on left, big doodle on right

Doodle on left, pocket made from scrapbook paper on right to hold bookmark

Well, you get the idea.  This is going to be so much fun to fill with journaling.

I hope your weekend was fun!

Two New Journal Pages

Here are the two latest projects from my online workshop, Artistic Journaling, with Jodi Ohl.  The lessons involved creating a painted background, adding collaged paper elements, and then writing or adding additional embellishment as desired.

The background for this page in my Moleskine was painted by young friend Joey, age three, who blobbed black and brown paint in my journal during an outdoor painting session.  After that I wrote in marker that he had painted the background, and that I loved children's art ...although these pages, not so much.  So I used the dark background and added fun words and shapes that I cut from magazines and catalogs.  With the whimsical flowers and critters, and the reference to kid's art, I decided to add a little drawing by my Kindergarten grandson, Avery.  I love the big belly buttons and the creative "journal-writing" of our last name.  The big figure in the middle is the Easter Bunny.

The next one is another ocean-themed page.  We go to the beach with the whole family for a week every June.  When I was still teaching, it was always the week after school was out for the summer.  True bliss!  The week of swimming, sunning, reading, eating fine seafood dinners, and enjoying sunsets and Margaritas on the deck inspired this page.  The sunset picture was on the cover of one of the endless Coldwater Creek catalogs I get in the mail.  The background is watercolor, and the collage elements are cut from catalogs (except for the word TIME, made from those adhesive scrapbook letters.) The surf is a piece of lace.  I added doodling and accents with markers, gold and copper leaf pens, Tsukineko inks, and Sharpie marker. 

                               

I should have a lot of new ideas for art after this weekend.  We are off to Merlefest, a music festival in the mountains featuring many well-known and also up-and-coming musicians.  The festival was started in honor of Doc Watson's son, Merle, who was tragically killed when his tractor turned over on him.  Some of the artists who traditionally drop in include Allison Krauss, Emmy Lou Harris, and Bella Fleck.  This year there will also be appearances by Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown Band, the comedian Steve Martin and his blue-grass band, and the Avett Brothers.  I am looking forward to browsing the vendors and checking out the crafts.  Will report in on Monday!

Mountain Weekend and More Journal Pages

Things were looking up on Thursday.  Many phone calls to insurance companies, appraisers, body shops, and finally a rental car company.  Here is my temporary new ride, a Dodge Caliper.  The insurance company for the driver that struck me is paying for it.

Since we had planned to take the Subaru to our mountain place this weekend, we took the rental instead.  Charlie was getting ready to load up the phlox I purchased at Lowe's, even though the frost-free date up there is not for a few more weeks.

We had such gorgeous, sunny weather and enjoyed being outdoors.  The seasons are a couple weeks behind us up there in the mountains, so I got to enjoy all the early spring flowers all over again.  This shot is not from a botanical garden...it is the entrance to McDonald's!

When we drove up our driveway, I was delighted to see the hillside of blooming daffodils!  I planted these last fall after Ricky and Gary cleared the scraggly trees  and blackberry brambles off our hill above the pond.

I loved seeing all the trees in bloom.  This was a nice display of redbud trees, nicely popping against the dark green pines.

I did a little bit of "homework" for my Artistic Journaling class while I sat outside enjoying the warm weather.   The second lesson involved painting backgrounds with watercolors or acrylics, then adding words or images.  This one is painted with watercolors in the fresh spring greens I saw all around me.

The next one is also watercolor.  While I was outside painting, our neighbors drove up with a cute little three-year old boy named Joey who was visiting.  He wanted to paint, too, so I set him up with his own  paper and a brush.  All of a sudden he added some of his rust-colored paint to my blue and green background.  It made a wonderful rose!

The previous pages are in my watercolor field book.  The next two are in my Moleskine sketchbook, and I painted the backgrounds at home with acrylic paints.  Then I used felt-tip pens to add the artwork.  I thought it was significant that I had my little traffic accident on the way home from my shopping trip to buy the journal!

For the next one, I looked at the blobs of color and was inspired to make this big-lipped fish!

And finally, this page is not based on a lesson from the Jodi Ohl workshop.  I just wanted to remember the visit from at least twenty goldfinches, who all descended on the feeder at once.  They were so pretty, shining like golden coins in the bright sun.

I did hang my hummingbird feeders at home and at the cabin and was rewarded with sightings at both locations.  I love it when they return after their winter in Mexico or wherever they migrate to stay warm.