GPP Crusade No. 32 - Knock Yourself Off

The above is my latest attempt at melding my scanned artwork with Photoshop Elements text and editing. I was inspired by the GPP Street Team's latest challenge. Read on for more info-

In an earlier GPP Crusade, I played with circles. Lots & lots of circles.

The following is acylic paint on rice paper. I like it very much, but it needs to be with something.

This is a page from my visual journal from January 2009. I used permanent marker and watercolors on watercolor paper. One of my goals is to improve my faces.

Last week I sketched this face. (Both were drawn from my imagination.) After roughing her in with graphite on watercolor paper, I inked her face with a Pitt Pen. Next I added color using Caran d'Ache Neocolor II (watersoluble crayons) which were applied using a water reservoir brush. This is such a neat procedure that I paint while sitting in my recliner in front of the TV.

I can see that I'm making progress with faces. But won't it be fun to keep working on them?

To challenge myself more, I decided to digitally layer the portrait with the circles page. I learned a few new tricks in PS Elements as I worked through the process. I'd like to revisit more of my simple pages to see what I can do with them. Now that Michelle has extended the deadline for this challenge, I may try to work on new ideas that have formed.

I chose the Scripture verse because it was part of a passage read at the funeral of a dear friend last week. I've been pondering it much since then. Our friend lived a long and full life. So many lives were touched in a wonderful way because of her. She had marked this passage in her Bible and she truly was a wise woman.

I'm blessed to have known her.

GPP Crusade 28: Portion Control Part 5

Here's another installment of my portion controlled shape, circles. This first image is a large piece of waxed paper that I used to blot paint from the surface of my painting several times. The last blotting was when I used gesso to stamp circles on the canvas. I think I used a cardboard tube to make the circles. The paint was rather juicy, so I blotted the surface with the waxed paper. When I lifted it up, I was happy with both surfaces. I set the waxed paper aside. I'd like to use it in a collage, but I'm not sure I can successfully adhere it since it IS waxed paper. If anyone has a tip on this, please leave a comment. BTW - this blotting was taken from one of the layers of the painted canvas board I showed you in my last post.

This is a journal page I started last Saturday. I lightly drew a circle, then I wrote the words, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever" around the circle. I was in the middle of a Bible study where I came across that verse. I thought it was perfect for a circle. I've added paint to the paper different times this week. You can see that the writing is pretty much gone. I may or may not add more paint. I might journal on it or not.
In my last post I showed how I played with a color palette for my latest painting. Here are a couple more examples. I was using up the last dabs of paint on the palette so it wouldn't go to waste. If I use my stay wet palette, I can save paint for several days. However, I have a different color scheme on in right now, so it's not available. I'm really getting excited about the possibilities all my circle play will give me for digital manipulations. By avoiding journaling (at least at this stage), I've got images that I can explore further with Photoshop Elements. Now that's another crusade for another day.

GPP Crusade 28: Portion Control Part 3

After warming up with the pages in my last post, I went very abstract with my circles. The paper was painted with an uneven mix of yellow. Next I used an incomplete cardstock circle as a mask. Using a stipple brush, I rubbed paint onto the surface starting on the circle mask and moving outward. Using the corrugated insulation paper from a cup of gourmet coffee, I punched circles. Paint was applied thinly and I used them as stamps. I also painted onto a round makeup sponge and used it to stamp more layers of color. I used the circle template as a stencil just a tiny bit, but turned it over and pressed the dabs of paint around the edge of the circle onto the paper for more texture. I just kept building layers of color until I was satisfied with the composition.
I'm looking at this image two days later thinking I could have given it more punch. But the photograph is a bit flat compared to the reality. And I can always do more and go further next time. Right? Right! Some of you would have journaled in such a lovely fashion over this. I can image it. I just have a horrible time doing it myself. It's such a luxury to be able to play with words in PS Elements. Well, time to get something done around here. See you later.

GPP Crusade 28: Portion Control Part 2

It was our favorite night of television, but the circle was calling me! So I sat in front of the tv with some art supplies and started drawing. I used a Pitt calligraphy marker to trace a small circle. My thoughts went to a string of pearls. (Yes, I am that simple.) Well, that's how the queen of O's was started. After drawing the necklace, I sketched the rest with a pencil. I can't tell you very much about what was on tv, since I headed for the art table so I could apply paint to paper. I've been using up paint on my palette that is left over from my bird of paradise painting. I just used sequin waste and a stipple brush to stencil in the background. I layered it for depth and to break up the circles a bit.
Now my engine was fired up and I was ready for more. What else could I do with the same tools - sequin waste and circle templates. By placing the sequin waste down first and laying the circle template on top of it, I came up with some pretty nifty circles. I used the same stipple brush and acrylic paint. The paint was a little wetter than I would use for a clean edge. I purposely smudged the edges a bit after removing the template. I saw a group of topiaries, so I just filled in with simple shapes.
This technique could really be expanded on and I think I'll be playing with it a bit more. I did one more page that night, but I'll save it for my next post.

GPP Crusade 28: Portion Control

I jumped on the GPP Crusade wagon last month using circles for my shape. I decided to follow through on this month's crusade using the same shape. After all, I'd invested in some circle punches last fall and I thought this would be a good time to play with them. I also have a Fiskar circle cutter that I got out last month when working on some cards. It's not my favorite tool. I'm just not very proficient with it. But I saved some of my practice pieces and they ended up being used as masks. I had some scrapbook paper with circles that caught my eye, so I built a page based on it.So far this month I've been spending more of my creative time on a large painting, but I must be thinking about this crusade a lot. I even woke up with a circle idea in the middle of the night! Temporarily forgotten, a conversation later the next day jogged my memory, so I wrote down my idea. Now... to have some time to play with it.
I did this earlier in the month. I took a couple wine corks and carved lines into them. Then I stamped the circles with ink. The rest of the design was done with gel pens and a circle template. There's not much portion control here. I think I did that before Michelle announced the details of this crusade.

This is just a quickie I did at the beginning of the month. I just used highlighters and ink and the waste from a page of stickers. I used the sticker waste like a stencil and filled in the colors somewhat randomly, but with a plan. Then I moved the waste and traced the circles with a pen. Last night I did more and I'll be posting them soon.

Circles - GPP Street Team Crusade No. 27

I had been considering participating with the Green Pepper Street Team Crusade, but I've been focused on my journal. But with my post of circles last week, I was on my way to having something to post for GPP. I have been doodling and playing with circles. Last night I took a square of illustration board that I'd primed with grey gesso several months ago. I built a base of Prussian Blue & Unbleached Titanium. Next I used matte medium to adhere green polka dot tissue paper to much of the support, but leaving the center portion open. Layers of gesso and paint were built up and tamped off. In the middle of the support, I started "seeing" the face of a woman emerge. You know, it's like when you see things in the clouds.
What did a woman have to do with all this layering of circles I was creating? Don't over think it, and just go for it. So I did. I didn't use any reference pictures to paint her. I've been studying faces and I'm learning. There are some areas that are quite the struggle for me, but that just gives me more to work on.
I'm not sure where I'm going with this, but I have some ideas. I'm at the point where it's hard for me to add more because I don't want to "ruin" it.