Being Me Is Enough

The prompt for DLP this week was use gesso and the one for Journal 52 was Just Be... This is what I ended up with after playing for a large party of Saturday. I started with a thick layer of gesso. I carved lines in it with an old paint brush that was very stiff with paint.                                      

I thought I'd try a gesso/newspaper transfer. I was told to let the gesso almost dry and my impatience got the best of me and I didn't follow those instructions.  My gesso was too wet and I kind of made a mess as you can see above. I decided I'd go with it and see what happened.  

Next I tried some yellow spray ink. I have no clue what kind it is. It was in a bottle I've had on my shelf for months.  Next I added some pink Radiant Rain.  I ended up spilling the pink spray and as I type I still have pink fingers even have a shower, many hand washing and even cleaning brushes.  I'll go to work with pink tinged fingers... Oh well they are use to it by now I hope.

I love this next photo because it shows the texture I got from using the thick gesso. After it was dry and I'd cleaned up my pink table I added more pink and yellow creating a bit of orange in the background. I also used some Golden High Flow Acrylic Purple paint with a homemade mark maker (aka a credit card cut with pinking shears) and a Catalyst tool to add additional texture to the background.  I also used whatever else was sitting on my table to make additional marks. The truth is I just played until I liked how it looked.  I added bits of green and orange craft paint and a few stamped images.  

The flower is made of gelli prints and a Sizzix die.

I found the quote on facebook and have been saving it for the right page.  I love the idea that it's ok not to be perfect. The quote was perfect after the mess I made with the transfer.

The large words were done with a paint pen from WalMart. It's something I tell myself often. Being Me is Enough.

If you are art journaling I hope you are playing and having fun. Whatever you create is enough because it's yours.  There are so many things in life that are difficult... art journaling is not one of them. It's a place to play, have fun and let go of the anxiety of life.

 

 Link to: Documented Life Project 2015, Journal 52, Paint Party Friday, Art Journal Everyday, 

Everyone Needs a Hideaway

Did you ever wish you had a house at the beach or a cabin in the woods?  A place that was quiet and peaceful?  My place would be at the beach. The beach conjures the sound of ocean waves and a lazy days. 

This is my imaginary beach house by the sea.  It's quiet, has a wonderful space with lots of windows for my studio and has a screened in porch that faces the ocean where I can nap.  It also has room for a least 5 art friends to visit and play for hours on end.  Since it's imaginary, it also has someone who cooks for us so we can play with paint and ink all day long.  Do you have an imaginary place?

The house is made from a very cool piece of paper I've had for years. It's shiny and looks like real wood. I torn the edges to give it a rustic look.  The windows are a gelli print that I stenciled with a screen pattern.  The tree was done with a catalyst tool and the leaves were made with a pallet knife.  The letters are stick ons that someone was getting rid of and of course I took them.  

Link: September Colorful Gelli Party

Creating with Tools

This piece was done with my new tools. I started a Catalyst Wedge Tool to apply the background colors.  The background is gesso, a Hero Arts Word stamp, then several layers of acrylic paint. 

The flowers are on a Gelli print base and the petals were painted using a pallet knife.  There are three layers of color (butternut, sunshine and orange) on each flower.  I tore around each flower instead of cutting to give them a more realistic look. A Sharpie Glitter pen was used to outline the flowers.  The stems and grass were painted with an angled brush.  The lettering is a Sharper Marker and outlined with a Sharpie Paint Pen.  

Link:  Paint Party Friday, Artist Play Room