It started out fine, gluing the tree silhouette to my watercolor paper. I even waited a bit before adding clear gesso to the page (yay me!) So glad I bought the clear gesso - what a cool medium!
At this point I realize I probably should have picked a silhouette with a whiter background. Sucks to be me, but live and learn. Will just have to make it work.
What colors are in that printed background, anyway? Experimenting, and loving watercolor crayons.
Starting to figure it out.
So far, so good.
And here's where it all went wrong. I didn't allow the gel medium gluing the book text to the page to completely dry. While brayering on some white gesso, layers of the text peeled off and bubbled in a very ugly way. Crap. I had to rub my fingers over the rippling paper to remove it.
More gesso. It appears to cover a multitude of sins.
Take a break for another cup of coffee now.
Thinking about what kind of critter I'll add to this page.
A fox. Because the grass is so dark, I decided to paint the fox's silhouette with gesso.
Tried watercolor crayons and pencils to color the fox, but acrylic paint worked better. Now to draw the girl. I plan to have the fox looking up at her. The fox is a little too big, I think, but that's ok.
More Art Journaling Explorations HERE
Remember Deanna, journaling is as much about the experience of creating (and learning) as it is anything. Some of my most horrid mistakes have turned out to be some of the things I love most dearly. I'm one of those who ascribes to the belief that doing things the correct way teaches us nothing... there are no lessons there, you did it right... but, ah, when you don't do it just right, you get the chance to try it again, and again, and sometimes a multitude of agains... and with each and every one of them you learn something. All those somethings eventually add up to your own very unique style.
ReplyDeleteAnd I only know that because of how very often I have to do things again, and again, and again...
I love the tree.
I Love that tree too! Also number 7/10 would make a fantastic winter card! Just a thought. Looking forward to seeing what else will develop, loving your process so far and there are no mistakes, only opportunities for growth! blessings
ReplyDelete*jaw drop* Holy moly! What an amazing transformation and journey your art took from start to finish. Love it!
ReplyDeleteLooks awesome to me! One of my Mantras: There are no mistakes - just opportunities for creative engineering. Love what you have done here. Can't wait to see the page completed.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your encouragement ~ it's been a really great learning experience, and I've loved every minute of this exploration of media and techniques.
ReplyDeleteAs a dollmaker, I've had that wonderful experience of mistakes that turn out to be so much better than the original "plan." Those moments are such lovely surprises!
I'll have to go back to photo 7/10 and see if I can have cards made - what a wonderful idea!
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