Let that be a lesson to me...

I've been working on both versions of my art journal workshop exercise off and on for the past few days, squeezing in a scribble here, a smudge there, and a swipe of the paintbrush in passing.

Right now my desk is covered in supplies -- my color journal and my art journal, various watercolor pencils and watercolor crayons, pens, brushes, paints, and various other implements of artistic nature. And -- most significantly for this story -- a jar of water to rinse my brushes.

At least, that jar of water HAD been on my desk. When I walked away from the project early last evening, I forgot to empty it. Mayhem (one of my loyal feline studio assistants) took care of that for me.

You know it's a bad thing when you're sitting downstairs and hear a hard clink, a soft thump, and the sound of water hitting a hardwood floor in your office above.

The damage to the desk, floor, and supplies was minimal. (The toe I stubbed on the chair in the dark, however, not so much.)

Let that be a lesson to me: empty the water jar. No exceptions!

Art Journal Workshop 1: Do-over

My first attempt at the Strathmore Visual Journal workshop exercise was less than satisfying. I didn't like working with the oil pastels. I thought the charcoal dirtied up the page. I didn't have gesso, so I used a semi-opaque watercolor instead.

So I decided I needed a do-over, using materials that I'm more comfortable with. After all, they keep saying it's all about the process, right?



Steps from Lesson 1

• I resized the sketches and reformatted the text and printed them out.
• I prepped a two-page spread with a random application of turquoise watercolor, added texture, stenciled stars, and random sprays of ultramarine blue.
• Strips of blue metallic tissue paper provided my vertical element.
• After topping it with my sketches and text, I brushed on a light wash of my turquoise watercolor to tone down the white and darken some of the shadow areas.

Steps from Lesson 2 and Lesson 3

• I added a few details and "underjournaling" in white crayon, which will provide a resist under the next layer of water-based color.
• Using Derwent Graphitint and Inktense water-soluable pencils and an unknown brand of watercolor crayon, I added the shading in blue and purple, and highlights in yellow and green.
• A thin application of white gouache enabled me to smooth out and re-establish the white areas, and to add highlights to the eyes. I then added more shading and color.
• For the stars, I made a stencil using cardstock and a punch.
• I used a blue Faber-Castel brush pen to re-darken the text.

Lesson 4 is still a mystery. I expect we'll be able to access the video for it this weekend.

Artist Journal Workshop: Getting Started

I signed up for the Strathmore Visual Journal workshop series. I was intrigued by the idea of working with new media (collage) in a new format (bound journal).

I'm getting a late start because I packed up my office/studio over the holidays so I could remove the carpet. I'm still unpacking, but I'm itching to get caught up on this workshop.

Today I watched the first 3 of the 4 lesson videos in Workshop 1, and I've read many of the discussion forums. I must admit I'm baffled at the concept. The materials and the process I understand. The purpose of doing so, not so much. Then again, the whole reason to take a class in something new is to stretch your mind and your comfort zone, right?

Since I always start a new sketchbook by jotting down "New Sketchbook!" and the date, I took a similar approach to this new project -- but in the spirit of the workshop.

I resized some scans of sketches I did last summer, and manipulated the fonts and font sizes on a few phrases until I had a starting place. I printed them out using my Epson Artisan 710 on plain inkjet paper.

I cut the images apart and moved them around on a blank page until I was satisfied with their placement.



The arrangement was very horizontal, so I decided it needed a vertical element. I chose a piece of scrapbook paper, mainly because it was a color and design I'm least likely to use in cardmaking. I ripped it into strips, then used YES paste to glue them to the page.



Next, I glued down the sketches and phrases in the arrangement I planned out in Step 1.



From previous experience, I know that YES paste causes my paper to curl, so I've placed a heavy book onto to hold it flat until it dries.

Next up -- add color!