Pages and News

The Bright Side:  I've been in a very yellow-orange mood lately. Just wanted to bust out a stencil I haven't used yet. I wonder if it's because I've been thinking about Halloween.

Done That:  This one may look familiar. I liked the other page so much that I wondered what would happen if I used black embossing paste for the flowers. This page was the negative image of the other. See:

When I made this page, I sprayed through the stencil to make orange and pink flowers. Because there was ink then all over the stencil, I flipped it over onto the upper page. So the background was orange and pink with the flowers blank. So even though the end result is basically the same, they were done differently.

In other news, I have fallen terribly behind in my 6 X 6 challenge. I think it may have run its course. Some of the recent themes are very interesting to me but for some reason I can't seem to bring it together in a page. I may try to catch up through the end of July and call it done.

I also will have a canvas on display at the end of the week at the Gibson Gallery on the SUNY Potsdam campus. Details can be found at my Facebook page. It's called "Moonshine" and if you follow the blog, then you've already seen my inspiration art journal page. If you are local to the Potsdam, NY area or visiting for college alumni weekend, stop by the gallery to see a lot of wonderful artwork from a host of local artists. 

Lastly, I am dwelling on Halloween. It's always around this time of year, I try to start planning projects for my HUGE Halloween month long blog celebration. Last year, I went with a theme of green but I'm not sure I want to go with a theme this year. All I am sure about is that a new Poe piece will be completed. I think there will be a lot of little projects this year and maybe some Halloween party invitations. Anyway, I have a lot of thinking and planning to do for this but it has to start with the brainstorming! If you have any ideas, let me know either here or at my Facebook page!

Thanks for reading to the end!

-Wy

Sonic Batman: Art Journal Pages

Ugh, I think I shoveled too much snow this past weekend. But I had to get out of my driveway!

I just get those lame muscles afterward and it makes for a tricky art day. So I didn't get much accomplished but I'll share a couple journal pages that I finished last week.

My large Dylusions journal is getting closer to the finish line.

The green parts of this background had been thrown on there to tie up the mop-up stenciling behind it. Copper glimmer mist next. I added the dark blue drippage to test out something. I wanted the dark color to "cut through" the lighter green. I was looking for a certain effect but it didn't work like I wanted. (I think my page was still too wet.) Anyway, the dark blue matched this image I found in my stash so I ran with it...or maybe rolled with it? As Sonic is a troublemaker, I added the snarky quote, "So when is this 'old enough to know better' supposed to kick in?"

Unlike the Sonic page, this page was built around the cut-out of Batman. I wanted the background to be very busy but I couldn't do it. I just fell in love with the copper stenciling of the circuit-like dial. While I am a bigger fan of the campy, Adam West Batman, this Dark Knight isn't half bad. And how could I not use that quote?!

Thanks for stopping in.
-Wy

Remember my Etsy Store still has some great cards...Easter as well! New sets coming soon!

Art Journal Pages

Just sharing a couple random Art Journal pages from my random, just-for-me Art Journal. It's the large size Dylusions journal and I started working in it last year. This journal is very experimental, prototype, and mop-up. When it's finished, I hope to do a video flip-through to share here.

Enjoy the pictures.

Godzilla vs. Purple Octopus:  Just playing around with ink sprays and tentacles.

Holiday:  Using up a mop-up background and a new stencil. Found my Back Chat stickers!

See ya in February, folks!
-Wy

Art Journal Adventure: November 2017

Once again, I find myself behind the 8-ball in art journals.
I always try to keep up with prompts but then things go awry and I end up not finishing them with the year.

So as usual, my 2017 art journals will be finished up in January.

But for now I have completed my November Art Journal Adventure prompts. Take a look.

Week 45: Bird: Lovey Doves:  I decided to de-stash some more flowers and use up a Joggles collage sheet. Mostly I wanted to play with some new color sprays I had bought to test out the variety of pinks. That flower stencil in the background is one of my new favorites. Despite it being winter, this spread feels very tropical to me.

The only problem was that a later page leaked through the spine and bled into this page. Normally, I don't sweat that too much but the contrasting color was soaked up by some of the flowers and I was disappointed. This, to me, is the only drawback of working in the Dylusions journal. I try to be careful but sometimes that ink just gets away from ya. Otherwise, I consider it a very successful page.

Week 46: Clowns: Neon Clown:  I'm not much of a fan of clowns. But I tried not to cop out on this prompt. So I tried my hand at a face. I did glue down a magazine cut-out face first then just painted my clown face over it. I more or less just wanted to play with some neon colors.

Week 48: Splash: Splash:  This prompt didn't merit a whole two page spread so I bumped it ahead of Week 47. I basically just threw down more neon paint and called it done. Honestly, that was hard to do but it does seem finished.

Week 47: Thanksgiving: Space:  Ok, I honestly have no idea what this has to do with Thanksgiving but sometimes a prompt just doesn't hit me. While I try to stick to it and tie it in, sometimes, it just feels like I'm working too hard. In the end, it's my journal and I can do what I like in it. My brain was craving deep colors and more black. I had done my autumn pages and my brain was already engaging in Christmas. Doing another "Thanksgiving" page felt like a step backwards. So I moved away from the prompt for this week. Very far away.

The trend of "galaxy" backgrounds is one I can ride for a long time. I LOVE them. And these pages came out so great that I didn't want to put anything over them. But I felt I should try to add a little something. So out came my underused Lawn Fawn stamps. I added the images in a long line to draw the eye across the page and to relay the feeling of the vastness of space.

I may be adding a quote to this page but since I considered it "finished" with the galaxy, I don't know if that would be overkill.
I will be making more galaxy backgrounds in this manner as it turned out with just the right colors and all with Dylusions products. I was amazed at that. I was certain the colors weren't quite right but the Pomegranate color was exactly what my collection had been lacking for this to work.


There probably won't be another blog post until after Christmas so Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! Hope to see all of you back here to help me ring in the new year with my list of goals, resolutions, and reflections...my to-do list for the coming 2018 year, so to speak. I will be trying some changes to the blog posts next year as I don't anticipate doing as much Art Journaling.

But anyhow, hope you'll join me again soon!
-Wy
"The children all nestled, all snug in their wee little beds...while visions of sugar plums danced in their wee little heads." 

Art Journal Adventure: February 2017

Ok, so I totally forgot I was supposed to post for the month of February. Of course, since I took a vacation, I didn't really have time to catch up with all my prompts until this last weekend.
Overall, I like the pages I've got done. One page just doesn't float my boat but it's done.

Without further ado, here's pages from the AJA for February.

 Week #6: Use a Subtle Color Palette:  This page cannot be photographed by my amateur skills with any real success. Take my word for it; it's way prettier in person. I used all Lindy's Starburst sprays. I'm not entirely sure on the colors but I think Cosmopolitan Pink, Fuzzy Navel, and Edelweiss Green with a touch of Glory of the Seas Gold. In all honesty, I liked the way the background looked so much, I didn't want to mess it up. So I just used two stencils with the same colors and added in the rays and the tree.

It is REALLY subtle because you need to adjust the page to even see the patterns. I even wrote the word "peace" in white pen in the corner. It's just barely there. But it's a page you really have to look at and I like that.

Week #7: Use Text as the First Layer: I have often used dictionary pages as a background paper and wanted to try something different. I just wrote down the lyrics to songs that were playing as I worked. I didn't need to get all of them just the lines that I could scribble out in the time it took to fill the page. I've got about 4 songs in there in some form.

I've always like to do flowers on top of text so I decided to just go for that and use up some old gelatos. It was working ok until I added the black outline. Yuck. It seems too thick and too bold. Not quite what I had in mind. But it is what it is.

Week #8: Include a reference to Time:   This was a tough prompt for me as I didn't want to go down the path I always have. I didn't want to end up with clock faces all over my page. So in trying to meld this prompt with another project, (and with a little help from my sister) I remembered a poem of Poe. The Bells. I took that quote and ran with it.

 The entire poem is really about the advancement of Time through the tolling of various metal bells. Brazen bells, iron bells, silver bells, golden bells. The repetition of the poem is practically a chant, the progressive march of time over life. So this page with its three different bells is my interpretation of the poem. I was trying for the feel of the inside of a clock tower that chimes on the hour.

I was so happy with this background. I LOVE IT! I honestly didn't think it would turn out. But using Dylusion Black Marble paint with a Tim Holtz ink applicator was the key to success on this one. The paint dried quickly and the applicator allowed a thin coat that didn't seep under the stencil. The black paint also covered very well with just a couple coats. The coppery colored background is Lindy's Starburst sprays in various coppers and golds. It's hard to cover up the mica but the Dylusions paint did a pretty good job.
I tore the bells from scrapbook papers and went over the torn edges with gelato. (You know, my usual.) I'm not sure I spelled rythme correctly (it should be rhyme)...but I don't even care. This page is ranking high in my all time favorites!

Week #9: Transform one or more of your edges:  I never remember that I can alter the size of pages if I want. I never remember that I could just rip out half a page and work with the remainder. While this was a good reminder, I had trouble deciding what to do with the page. At first, I wanted to incorporate the edge into the design but I wasn't sure how to do that without going totally abstract. I decided to use a stamp I got a while back and hadn't yet used. (I showed it to my sister this past weekend and said, "I really need to use this." So hey, El, I did it!) The wavy edge would work for an underwater scene.

Initially, it was all going to be about those fish bones but I was reminded of the scene in Finding Dory where Dory is stuck in a bucket with a bunch of dead fish. I decided to go with the notion that these bones were what was left from some sea creature's lunch. I went with an octopus...because hey, Octopus! I didn't have room for the entire octopus but tentacles are the best part anyway.

I wanted the background to be more green than blue because I wanted to keep it a little creepy. I added the large pink circles of paint as a finishing touch as it seemed to need a pop of color. And let's face it, those circles look like the sucker marks of an octopus. Am I right?

So those are my February pages for the Art Journal Adventure. Here's to hoping the March pages will be just as satisfying!
-Wy
"To the moaning and the groaning of the bells."  --Edgar Allan Poe, "The Bells"

Creative Chemistry 103: Join the Resistance!

Last technique I will be attempting for this course is Texture Paste Resist from Day 3.
I just started a quick spread in my Large Journal to test out the principles. I had both Transparent pastes, in matte and gloss. I own these because I WANT my paste to resist. I don't want my paste to be sucking up color from beneath it or from above it. But I hadn't actually used them with ink, only over collaged paper. So...time to experiment.

I decided to do a side-by-side comparison. The page on the left is the Matte transparent paste and the right side is the Glossy. I applied the matte to a blank page and the glossy to a page that already had some spray on it.

The matte side dried clear and so I decided to put spray ink over it. I knew it would resist the ink but I wasn't sure if the ink would seep under the paste through the paper. It did not. I was very impressed. So I decided to go all-in and try black ink spray over the Glossy one.

It worked perfectly. I was mindful of how much ink I was spraying at first and blotted it up too early. I actually blotted up all the ink that was in the fine lines between the paste. Ooops. So I did it again, this time I even added some water and it worked fine. I really thought after my first saturation that the ink would seep underneath the paste via the damp paper. It DIDN'T! Happy, happy!

Just look at that close-up! I'm going to be trying this out for several ideas. The black background was Dylusions spray ink then I went over it with Dylusions paint because I didn't want any of the other ink to show through. And I just adore the glossy sheen.

This definitely makes my back pocket!
-Wy

Art Journal Adventure: Part 4

This journal is dedicated to the Adventure prompts over at the Joggles Blog.
You can also find it on Facebook in a private little group. Everyone is welcome, you just need to be added in.

Because I don't always get time to work in my journal every week, I tend to do these pages in batches. So here's the next "batch".

Week 19: Borders of a Different Kind:   I followed the inspiration pretty closely. I just didn't go through the process of making my two sides mirror reflections of each other. I like symmetrical but I didn't need them to be that perfect. It took forever to draw in all the circles but that's what I love to do. (In my school notebooks, you'd find borders and corners of little circles...doodles.)

I really liked the look of Barb's trees so I replicated them! I added in my little purple house for a little scene. I colored them in with Dylusions ink spray. I just dipped a brush right into the bottle and painted them.

Week 20: Sticky snippets:  Sticky snippets are a product at Joggles that is basically a blank adhesive label sheet. The idea was to "junk" up the sheet then you could use the labels on your projects. You could also use the negative space for a whole page which was the prompt for this week. I didn't have any sticky snippets but I did have a bunch of old inkjet label pages so I decided to try them out. They worked well. I used acrylic paint and a few sprays on them. I pulled the background up and left the labels on the sheet. The adhesive wasn't super sticky anymore but I got it on the page. Added the buttons to the center of the starburst shapes and outlined the shape with a black PITT pen.
The color inside the starbursts was a soak-through from the previous page.

In the top photo, you can see a sneak peek at the page I'm working on. Here's another quick shot without the glare:

I was cat-sitting this week, so went for the feline stamp. I'll let ya know when it's done.

-Wy

Art Journal Adventure Part 2

Remember that sneak peek?
I finished the page for my Art Journal Adventure. (See THIS POST for the beginning details.)

Week 13: Stuff a Mushroom:  This is the completed page from the sneak peek. This week's theme was to illustrate a quote. I decided to go to the old tried and true method of making a really busy background and then just blacking out most of it. I used Dylusions spray inks and paint. I stamped, colored, and cut-out the mushrooms then just attached in a window. My quote, "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom." Not a big fan of my own writing on this one but hey, I like the mushrooms!

Week 14: ????:  This weeks idea was to use deli paper in the layout. I don't use deli paper so I just substituted scrapbook paper of which I have a never-ending supply. I used gesso and Dylusions paint on the background to cover up a splattery mess on the pages. I wanted something very soft...and oops...too much Bubblegum Pink! I tried to add some copper acrylic ink over it but it didn't seem to dull it...AT ALL. Ah, well, I added the paper anyway but now am totally stuck for an idea. Every time I look at it, I see that scene in Star Wars where Obi-Wan battles Anakin with all that lava. Sigh....this might end up being my geeky indulgence.

And here's a sneak peek at the Week 15 page, which is coming along so much better that the above pages.

Week 15 was all about Funky Flowers. I didn't really want to use stamps as I can draw flowers pretty well. I also got some practice this week as I had to sit in a waiting room for 3 hours...guess what I drew? Yuppers, all kinds of flowers. All this spread needs is a few more doodles and then coloring.

I was thinking I was pretty caught up in this journal but then realized that tomorrow is Monday which means a new AJA over at Joggles! I'm gonna try to catch up tomorrow.
Have a great week!
--Wy
"This is what it sounds like when doves cry."  ---Prince, RIP

Sneak Peek: Art Journal Adventure

Coming soon...to Art Journal Adventure...

Working on Week 13.
Wonder how it will turn out?
So do I.
--Wy

Let Them Eat Cake!

I love making birthday cards with cake images. I mean let's face it, the only reason to celebrate a birthday when you're over 40 is for CAKE! And don't pretend that you're one of those people who say "no" to cake at a kid's birthday party. Don't pretend that the frosting is too sweet or you don't want extra. Ha! Gimmie those frosting roses and pile it on high!

So I made some birthday cards with some more "background" paper I had lying on my table.

Party Cake:  The stamp is from Hot off the Press. Stamped onto glossy cardstock with Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger). I colored it with Distress Markers (Ranger). In case you didn't know, Distress Markers work very well on glossy cardstock. You just need to make sure not to smudge it because it takes a bit longer to dry. It also doesn't dry over the Archival Ink so don't just color over the black parts; it could cause a smudgy accident. I just cut my background paper to fit an A2 card, layered the stamped image on top and added a couple Dazzle jewel stickers in the corner. I also stamped a greeting on the inside of the card.

The background is a combination of sprays (Lindy's, Dylusions) and stencils. I even cleaned my skull stencil on here which had texture paste on it. I thought it was busy and messy enough to look like a real confetti and ribbon throwing party. :)

Thanks for gazing.
-Wy
"Age is just a number."