Art Journal Day 31 - Playful

A little tidying up produced a small stack of tags I'd saved because I found them interesting in one way or another. I saw this "Playful" tag and knew it would be my next journal page's theme.
I'm interested in exploring various versions of this scroll tree that I developed after being inspired by Pam Carriker's video using Pitt Pens earlier in the month.
The base is one that was prepped with left over paint from my palette. You may have noticed there's a lot of blue in my work this week. Instead of using white paint, I've been using gesso. It makes the page toothier for this mixed media work. First I stamped the flock of birds with pigment ink. I added some colored pencil to beef up the color.
I decided to try colored pencils for the tree. In this case I used Col-erase pencils and I really liked how they went down on this surface.
The tag was altered with distress inks and applied to the page. Lastly I used graphite to write a few verbs along the tree that describe where this month long journaling journey has taken me.

A couple nights ago I painted the cover of my journal. This is a standard 5.5 x 8.5 Strathmore sketch book. At the beginning of the month I prepped the cover with gesso and a layer of rice paper. More gesso was added. When we did our pink page, I added a bit to the cover. But I just didn't know what to put on it yet. Sometime in this past week or so I realized what a wonderful journey this has been for me. The consistent practice has led me to developing some themes. I've found new ways to express myself. I surprised myself a few times. I've made new friends for which I'm grateful.
So my journal is titled "Journey" and I chose a motif that I'm having fun with trying out in different media. I may add more words to the cover, but I'm not sure.Sometimes I forget what a treat traditional watercolor is. Sure, it can be very challenging and it takes patience. I enjoy the quietness of the process as compared to how I work in traditional acrylic.
So, before I close - how about a little give-away? To celebrate the end of January Art Journal month, I will give away a postcard sized original.
Here's what you need to do leave a comment stating what you think my "playful" tag came from. If you are correct, I'll put your name in the hat twice.
Comments for the give-away will be open until midnight CST on Wed. Feb. 4th. NOW CLOSED. I WILL BE IN TOUCH. The Playful label came off a Cacique bra. Now you know.

Art Journal Day 20 - Word Art

This prompt from Misty's challenge was to create a journal page focused on one word. I have already started a separate journal based on the word hope and considered posting from that journal, but I decided to go another direction. In my mail were offers for artist magazines and there were reply cards in artist magazines I purchased last week. There was my word.
I recently purchased the book "Art and Fear". I started the spread by writing a quote from the book. From there I drew the word and outlined it with a Sharpie. The letters were colored with highlighter markers. I printed definitions from the Internet that I glued onto the pages. Marks were made with colored pencils and chalk pastel pencils. I glued down the ephemera I gleaned from the mailings I mentioned earlier. The painting came from a frame catalog.
The bright colors were just what I needed after the somber tones of the previous post.

Wild Sweet Orange

A few weeks ago the local supermarket had TAZO teas on sale, so I decided to try a couple boxes. Wild Sweet Orange tea inspired this ATC I created using Primacolor pencils, Turpenoid (for blending the cp's), gesso, pastel pencil, Ranger Distress Ink, Staz-On Ink & Golden Gloss Soft Gel.
The orange circles were drawn with colored pencil & blended with Turpenoid. The circles were stamped with found objects.
I've made a couple additions to my Etsy shop. Thanks for checking it out.

Illustration Friday - Theory

Another week, another challenging topic for Illustration Friday. Theory. First thing that came to mind was a line from the song "Speed of Light" by Bruce Carroll that goes:

"When I add up Mr. Einstein's calculation, The theory of relativity say E=MC squared..."

I know next to nothing about physics. Scientific theories that I've heard of didn't inspire me. So I stuck with with a topic that interests me very much. Color theory.

If you google that term, you'll get plenty of hits and find lots of info.

The relationship of complementary colors interests me, so I came up with a project where I would layer complements in a way they could not blend.

After reading some blogs last week where artists were using Caran D'Ache Neocolor II watersoluble pastels for underpaintings for colored pencil work, I came up with an idea for adding texture to the paper so I could build up plenty of color.

Neocolor II pastels were used on Crescent Illustration Board for the underpainting. I started with a loose sketch of an imaginary sunflower that I colored in with scarlet red on the flower and vermillion orange for the background. Just a touch of olive green was used on areas of the center of the flower. I used a wet fan brush to blend the pastel.

To add texture and seal the underpainting, I applied Liquitex clear gesso using the fan brush and horizontal strokes. Clear gesso is very gritty compared to regular gesso. It reminds me of a cat's tongue. Once dry, I was ready to apply colored pencil.

The background was filled in with Prismacolor Ultramarine Blue. You can see the underpainting coming through because of the textured gesso. The complementary colors (blue & orange) play off each other and make the background exciting compared to a monochrome or analagous color scheme. I love Van Gogh and this reminds me of effects seen in his paintings.

The petals were worked in shades of yellow and red with white accent. The center was done in olive, red, yellow & white.

One undesirable outcome of this method is color smudging. I tried working the color in with a stencil brush and rubbing some excess off with a tissue. Due to the nasty cold weather, I didn't take this piece outside to apply workable fixative. I want to explore this technique more and will try the fixative in the future.

Coneflowers - Colored Pencil on Black Paper

Yesterday I started this drawing of coneflowers on black paper that I based on a photograph from my garden. I began the under drawing using a white Col-erase pencil. Once established, I added more white with the Prismacolor pencil which is a brighter white and covers the textured paper better. Next I added color with Prismacolor pencils, building layers of color. About this photo - the actual work is not as bright as it shows up on the computer.

I'm still not feeling my best, so colored pencil is a good medium to work in. I can sit on the couch, and it doesn't take a lot of energy like painting does. Sometimes when I paint, I get so caught up in it that I almost get breathless!

Illustration Friday - Choose

"Choose" - what a challenging theme for IF this week. My first thought was that I wouldn't be posting for this topic, but it wouldn't leave me alone. I kept thinking of all the choices we make every day. As artists, we make millions of choices with the accumulation of the marks we make. What subject? What medium? What support? What color? etc. etc. etc.

As a jewelry designer, it gets even harder to choose. If you don't believe me, just attend a bead show sometime where there are thousands of items to choose.

It occurred to me to take a more literal interpretation of the concept "choose" for an artist. Maybe paint/draw a palette of paint, a box of pastels... Another thought was more abstract - a door, a place you choose to go through or not.

But I decided to use one of my favorite subjects, the bird of paradise. I chose to work with Col-erase pencils, a fairly new choice for me (I got a set for a bargain $1.39 because the packaging was ruined!). Inspired by an artist I found last week, I chose to work on black paper. That was a new experience for me, too. While working on my sketch, I remembered another time I chose to paint a bird of paradise. It was a couple weeks after Dad died and I was feeling so very sad. In a moment of inspiration, I chose to paint instead of sink into that sadness. I wasn't sure what I would do as I headed for my art area, but it just came together for me. I painted that one in bright colors. In fact, the painting isn't done, or maybe it is. Maybe it's as far as it was meant to go. I don't know. But somehow it makes me remember Dad's sense of humor. He was known for his goofy puns. I don't have a photograph now, but I am posting a digitally altered photo that inspired that painting.

So as much as possible, I try to remember to choose to do something uplifting.