January 2010 Journaling

Journal page in progress. These "tiles" were punched from a 4x6 card that I used to experiment with this color scheme. I had tucked the card into the back of my journal. Last night I was inspired to use a 1-1/4" punch to make tiles. I found this already prepped page in my journal with a compatible color scheme.

This spread had been prepped with left over green and a bit of burnt sienna some time in the past couple months. I have several pages in this journal that get started this way when I finish a painting session on canvas, etc.

Right now I'm only thinking of adding some thoughts to the blank page on the left. The cardstock sticker that I applied to the right hand side provided a theme that I would like to write about.

This spread has evolved over several months. I tested a different brand (Amsterdam Expert) & color of acrylic paint on these pages. Later I glued the bird image on the page. The birds were printed on paper a friend used to send me a note. Several days ago I sketched the magnolia with chalk pencils.

I used Prismacolor pencils to build up the color on the flower and background of the page. A white Galaxy marker was used to write "Spring" and a Sharpie pen was used for the journaling.

Are you a fan of "24"? You know, the Fox drama series. There were FOUR hours of it to watch on Sunday & Monday this week as the new season kicked off! I HAVE to be doing something besides just relaxing in my recliner when Jack is on. This is high tension drama. Would you believe that I colored the Spring page while watching "24"?

Here's another spread in progress. I worked on it a bit last night, but this is a "before" shot and you'll have to check back later when I reveal more progress. It's another spread using up paint from a project. While working on the GPP snowflake pages, I flipped through this journal and added touches of gesso to several pages. That helped to tone down this spread that had been quite vivid and slick from the acrylic paint.

Last week I happened to glance up at the TV at just the right moment during an HGTV decorating program and noticed some appealing abstracts hanging on the wall of a remodeled room. They were on gallery wrapped canvas and had a border similar to what you see on this page. I didn't want to forget the idea, so I jotted a note for myself. But I still had a nagging feeling I should do more to remember. So I flipped through the journal and thought this spread would be a good place to add some type of textural paste or gel to obtain the look.

I used Liquitex Blended Fibers Gel which I had picked up on clearance at Hobby Lobby but hadn't used. It is different from Golden's Fiber Paste which is opaque. The Liquitex product is translucent - more like thick matte gel, but it has fibers in it that give a fun texture. I will be posting an abstract that I've started since and used the Blended Fiber Gel on. I just need to get a decent shot of it. We need some sunshine!