Busy as a Bee: The background started as a "mop up" page. I used up some mixed orange acrylic for the large dots then mopped up some Dylusions sprays. I wiped off a circle stencil that had turquoise on it as I tried to experiment with contrast. (You can see on the opposing page where the circles are.) I probably shouldn't have. But ever onward, I drew some flower shapes out of the dots then decided I didn't much like them. Found some old square stickers and tried to cover some stuff up. Then, here's what happened: I tried to think of a title for the page of messy contrast that I didn't much like. I thought it was too busy and the title came to me. I had recently purchased a bee stamp that I adore and some small honeycomb to match. So I stamped the honeycomb to make it even more busy and stamped and cut out the bee to add to a flower. Smacked the title on the top and called it finished. Overall impression: meh.
A Taste of Orange: This page is on the BACK of the page above but I did this page first. This was just me using up the accumulating pile of scrap paper in my work space. I like to tear paper and this just made me happy. I experimented with a different type of flower. I usually do those round kind (on the right) so I tried for something more daisy-like (on the left). I liked the orange and green together as they worked well but didn't remind me of Halloween (which tend to be the only projects I use orange in!). Then, I did the other page and remember that wiped off stencil in turquoise...yep, it soaked through the page! So my Orange page became tempered with some turquoise. I was a bit annoyed especially since my text on the page now falls into the background and is difficult to see. But hey, live and learn! This page was the last straw in trying to make this journal play nice with sprays. Artist Journal: 1, Wyvern: 0.
Bleeding Heart Love: I had TONS of lilac paint left over and that's where the background was born. (My hideous attempt at free handing a sprig of lilac plants onto a canvas is a disaster still awaiting a make-over!) I flipped back through my journal to see earlier spreads. I like to be different but don't mind the variation on a theme. Flowers were prominent and my first page was a lily-of-the-valley draw by moi. So I decided to try my free hand with a bleeding heart. I used mostly acrylic and I outlined the flowers with a Sharpie Oil-based marker. It still seemed to need something so I added the word "love" to connect the two pages. The dragonfly was stamped and cut from an over-spray sheet of dictionary paper. I don't mind my depiction of the bleeding heart but it looks quite similar to my lilies! Overall impression: Just love the colors!
Negative Space: I have been cutting out lips and mouths from magazines (along with eyes for another project which may or may not turn out well) and have quite a little collection. So why not throw them on an art page? They certainly stood out well against this princess pink background on which, I think, I was first going to do something "alice in wonderland". The first thing that came to mind was talk and gossip and that little inner voice that continually tells me that "I'm no artist." So after I attached the lips, I wrote in all the little unintentional criticisms I've heard about some of the artwork I've shown to my family. It is both quotes from family members and also my own inner voice that wants me to believe it. For all the happy pink, I thought it quite fitting to be so negative. Overall impression: It turned out a whole lot better than I would have thought. It puts the "journal" in my artist journal.
When Old Men Plant Trees: I just collaged and cobbled the background from scraps of paper, then did my "mixed media" Thang over that. (random stamping, splatters, stenciling...) The shape of the paper that became the trunk of the tree was the inspiration here. I stenciled in the details on the tree before I assembled the tree and put it on the page. But then there was this open "empty" space. I thought about placing other images there but this quote stuck with me so I just made it fit. Prominently. "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never sit in." Overall impression: Love this page. Just...Love.
Inspiration: Frozen: If you know a kid, you probably know about Frozen. The Disney Movie. The Let It Go song. The hail to winter and snowmen in the summer. I got new Lindy Stamp Gang sprays and decided to test them in this journal AFTER I gessoed the page. I wondered how it would react and dry. The teal color I used with some silver Silks acrylic made me think of the movie. You can't see it in the photo but "Let it Go" is written in silver on the butterfly page with the snowball ribbon and icicles. When I added the Rusty Lantern Lime to the next page, it became a landscape and I was reminded of the Summer song Olaf the Snowman sings in the movie. So I put a snowman there but used the quote, "Do you want to build a snowman?" "In Summer". White paint splatter added a snowy effect. Overall impression: Really like the snowman page, indifferent on the other.
Break the Monotony!: I just needed to collage! I saw these big words in my magazine stash and went with blue. I was reminded of high school with this phrase where is was always the same routine. So I used the vintage class photo as my main focal. Got rid of some stickers I've had FOREVER and just threw it all together. I hadn't been playing at my art journal for a while and this page was much needed playtime! Overall impression: I like it. I don't know how "artsy" it is but I really like it. I am really discovering my love for collage.
?????: Yup, this is my current page in progress. Who knows what this will end up looking like by the end of the week!
Thanks for hanging in till the end. Feel free to leave me comments or whatever. And go down to the bottom of the blog page to feed my fish. I know they are just virtual but...hey, it's relaxing.
--Wy
"C'mon won't you turn my soul into a raging fire." --Song on the radio.
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