Be You!
I believe strongly that every person is unique and every one has their own unique style. It is only the matter of time and practice to find it.
This time I did not want to create anything particular, just let go and relax. I love ornaments and dig some from my treasure box. They were made some time ago using watercolors and markers. Then I grabbed black background paper and started doodling. Color pencils add extra interest. Using various supplies makes the collage interesting.
By using a variety of supplies and taking care of the composition is often enough for the eye. The only third thing you need to add is You!
Behind The Butterfly
I have spent most of the spare time taking care of the new puppy. It has been pretty difficult to find time for creative stuff. I have moved most of the art supplies to our dining area table where I can watch the puppy more easily. That way I have been able to make something, now and then, in small steps.
Stella’s point of view can’t be missed. She thinks the summer smells great. I might have got some inspiration from her for the illustration! And the butterfly might actually represent her in the picture, who knows!
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Creating Wood by Doodling Layers
My husband is into woodworking, and he often shows me stuff that inspires me too. Like this box! After seeing it, I wanted to work with papers like they were wood. Carve with my pen and all!
Here’s my little piece of wood, only on paper!
Doodling on a Transparency
First, I only had an idea of how wood is constructed. It has lots of layers. I made the bottom layer with inks and chose deep orange shades. Then I took one of my illustrations, converted it black and white with a computer and printed it to a transparent film. It was pretty full of everything – as my work usually is – even in black and white, but of course it was not quite enough. I added some more doodling on it with a black marker. It already began to look like wood when setting the transparency over the orange background.
Doodling on a Print
I was not finished, though. The two layers were then scanned and manipulated digitally to make the black look like it’s gone deeper into the orange layer. The result was printed on paper. I added “the carving” using a white gel pen. Then back to the computer! I cut the piece in Photoshop and added the original scan as a background. Some fine tuning and there it was!
Doodling Layers – Creating Your Own Visual World
An American artist Georgia O’Keeffe said: “To create one’s own world, in any of the arts, takes courage.” I do not know about courage, but it surely is the best art can give to me: to create my own world. By process-oriented approach like by doodling layers, it’s both easy and fun!
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Pretty Art Journaling
I have started to wonder: is there only one style in art journaling? Is it only for those who are ready to explore with paint and who are not afraid of getting messy. And scrapbooking: is it about using commercial products and aiming for pretty pages?
Can’t there be pretty art journaling?
I bought this pink Smash book some time ago. The pages were so pretty I could not put any mess over them. And my style of making scrapbooks was not suitable for them either. But after getting fed up with messy mixed media, I dared to open it and just make it pretty!
So why not glue all the pretty stuff to your art journal? Add lace and frills and anything you find beautiful!
I added both commercial products and my own hand decorated papers to the page. Even my handwriting is a bit more controlled than how I usually write.
Finished Journal
>> See the flip-through video of this art journal!
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