Happy New Year 2014
With this overly doodled number, I wish you happy new year!
Doodling Idea
I made this image by making a roughly doodled collage that I scanned to the computer. Then I adjusted the colors and printed the photo. I made the size bigger than in the original.
Then I began doodling again. After doodling I adjusted some areas by coloring them with color pencils. I also added some collage pieces.
Finally, I scanned the collage again and adjusted colors in some areas.
This way I was able to add detail after another. I could have continued these steps over and over! Crazy – I know!
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Wrapping Paper from Newspaper
Did you know that newspapers are treasures? Neither did I before I began to wrap Christmas presents and realised that I had ran out of wrapping paper. I solved the problem by creating decorated gift paper from newspaper sheets!
Here’s the sheet in the beginning of the process.
I had three various reds of india inks which I used to color the background. Any ink would be suitable. And if you do not have ink, paint a thin layer using acrylic paints.
After the background paint was dry, I painted round shapes with gesso. If you do not have gesso, use white acrylic paint. Thin, even layers are better than thick and bumpy ones. Let dry.
Finally I took a correction pen, some markers and india ink to decorate the white areas.
Ironing makes the papers smooth and shiny.
I could not help making some more. I varied the shape of white areas to make different designs.
I was pretty pleased with all the three of them!
Who would have guessed these were just newspaper sheets in their previous lives!
Art Nouveau Houseplants
I love my houseplants and many of them appear in this collage. Its style is a mix of art nouveau and the 1960s. It is the result of staring some art nouveau tiles and the works of Birger Kaipiainen. Namely, not too long time ago I went to see Birger Kaipiainen’s exhibition in Espoo, Finland.
This decorative plate was one of my favorites. I love the way the artist used textured surfaces to show off the details. And I have always loved ceramics, one of the favorite materials that I like to think of when making art. I am constantly inspired by materials and I try to imitate them by using inks, markers, and other supplies.
Creative Process
I took some photos of the phases when making the collage.
I began with india inks.
Then I randomly added some cut pieces of hand decorated papers. In the beginning, I work very systematically but for a while, I start to get impatient.
I have reached the point where I want to do something crazy. This time I just made a mess with a correction pen!
I added collage pieces and doodled with markers. Then I decided to add black acrylics to add contrasts. Looks pretty awful but I do not mind. It always looks terrible at this point.
India ink looks great over white doodles.
Here’s a detail of the finished work. I love to use thin markers, it is like sharpening a blurry image!
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Finding Your Identity
I am often unable to put my thoughts into words before I see them as a visual image. When creating this art journal page spread I had a strong feeling, a specific set of colors and a visual sketch in my mind. When I transfered the image to paper it became easier to catch the words that I was chasing: The Glass Gate.
Finding what you are and what makes you happy is like traveling in the fog. You see things that you are drawn to. Often they do not seem to make sense. Once you spend enough time for searching it becomes more and more clear that all those things do have a connection. There’s something what you’ve made for. You only have to find this glass gate, standing in the fog. You pass by it, you are so close, you just don’t know it. Once you see it, it’s all so obvious. The gate is huge and the pilars are shining. You can walk through and it’s not a big task at all.
I strongly believe in this. By listening yourself and analyzing things around you, you will find your own style, your own mission and your true identity. It might be a journey that takes the whole life but once you are on a right track it feels so good.
For me one mystery has been the watercolor paper. I have always loved it but never really cared for painting watercolor landscapes or still lives. Now, when I began to used it as the foundation of my art journaling, I feel more free than ever when creating images. A very small little detail, not even very philosophical, but it has made a big difference for me.