Journal Page and ICAD

OK…I made a mistake and tried to use an orange Bic marker on this…it was a mess.  I used some oil pastels on the background and the marker wouldn’t mark in some areas.  I got out my Dr. Martin’s Bombay India Inks in golden yellow, terra cotta and yellow ochre.  I was able to use my dip pen and the inks and “fix” it.  I also used a tinted charcoal burnt orange pencil and a burnt ochre Prismacolor pencil.  I also used the inks thinned  with water and painted over some areas with a brush.  It was an interesting experiment that I probably won’t be trying to duplicate (because I don’t think I could if I wanted to). 

Here are my ICAD’s for yesterday and today:

Composition Journal – #18

Lately, I can’t seem to get away from green and pink   I started this by gluing down a page from an old murder mystery novel. I drew the big flower image on the page first with my dip pen and India Ink. Then I colored the page lightly with Caran d’Ache crayons.  The collage pieces are from an old atlas that I stamped and painted. 

My time on the computer has been limited the past week,  so, I am behind visiting  my favorite artist blogs. I got up earlier than usual this morning and found Dianne Bishop Carey’s blog: Art Beneath the Cottonwoods .  She is a new (to me) artist and you might want to check out her blog if you have never been there.  Her blog heading says mixed media, altered books, journal pages, calligraphy and fiber arts.

Working on Postcards

As I mentioned a few posts ago, Hanna is sponsoring a postcard swap. She said:  “280 people x 10 postcards equals 2800 postcards!”  

That’s a lot of postcards going off to various parts of the world.  I will be sending two to Sweden, one to Malaysia, Spain, Germany, UK,  and Canada.  Also, three, in the US.  I have five almost completed.  I think I will be doing some pen doodles over the cards.  I started with painted phone book pages that I tear into collage pieces and glue down on the postcard.  This time I am using precut watercolor paper by Strathmore.  Here are some photos of painted papers and the five postcards that are almost completed.  The first photo shows how I do the painted papers, the next one shows five cards in a semi finished state.  I hope to get my cards finished and mailed out by the first week in April. The deadline for sending them out is April 8. 

The next photo shows some quick sketches done with a dip pen and India Ink on pages from my old Gregg Shorthand book:

Moleskine#23

I just finished reading Janet’s fantasy about going to the Academy Awards tonight.  Go over there and read about the lovely gowns she picked from and her escort for the evening.  To be honest, I don’t know how many years it has been since I watched the Academy Awards.  It drags on and on for hours and I can always read about it the next day if I want.

If anyone is interested, Workshop 2 will start Tuesday(March 1), over at Strathmore Online Workshops.  It’s free to anyone, all you need to do is sign up.  Linda Blinn is teaching this workshop and a portion of the description about the class says:  “To personalize your journal, notice how the addition of fold-outs and embellishments make the pages interactive. Play with design layouts and spreads, and learn how to integrate writing and images while keeping design principles in mind… but not being constrained by them!”

I completed this page in my Moleskine today. I had a background on there for days but didn’t know what to do with it.  I  drew the faces and used my dip pen with India Ink to emphasize the lines.  Seeing the crow on the page reminded me that we saw a huge blackbird migration fly over our house yesterday….there were hundreds!  Early this morning, there was a smaller group that stopped and landed in the trees surrounding our house. They were making lots of noise and I went out and started clapping my hands and they all flew off.  I’m not sure what attracted them…I hope it wasn’t my bird feeders.

 

 

The Best/Worst of Times – Art Journal

A few years ago, we picked up a  book about Picasso and his art on the bargain table at a  book store.  I was looking through it and was inspired by his painting, “Child with a Dove,”  c.1901. I sketched my version in my Strathmore Journal. I tried to use a thin wash of acrylic paints and watercolor pencils and I’m not really happy with the end result.  I caught a snippet of an interview on tv yesterday and the Dickens quote  stuck in my head as the man being interviewed said that he has lived in the best of times and the worst of times.  We are off to have lunch with my mom so I’m keeping this short.

Beauty – Art Journal

Beauty?… To me it is a word without sense because I do not know where its meaning comes from nor where it leads to.  ~Pablo Picasso

If I had this to do over, I wouldn’t give her the big chocolate chip earrings.  This is another page from my Strathmore Journal. I like working larger.  This is the second attempt at this face and I’m still not 100% happy with it.  I was trying to get rid of some old white acrylics craft paint and it wasn’t going on smoothly…the rest of that paint will find a place in the garbage.  I am happy with her eyes because it’s a departure from how I usually outline the eyes with pencil or black ink.

(ADDED LATER)-After I finished this post, I went to Sharon Tomlinson’s blog  and she posted an old Navajo prayer yesterday,  “Walking In Beauty”…go here to read it.  It’s amazing!

Here are some snow photos I took yesterday:

Contemplation

I finished this last week…I was having difficulty with the paint going on smoothly on this Canson paper.  It is what it is.  I used Higgins Eternal Ink to outline part of the face and dress.

 

I tried a writing exercise as suggested by Misty Mawn for last week’s online class lesson.  We were to use the phrase “I am the” and finish with the first things that came to mind.  She suggusted listening to this video by Billy Collins.    Here is what I ended up writing…only I used “I am.”

I am getting older but far from done yet

I am over trying to be perfect

I am past the old ways of seeing myself

I am victorious, magnificent and unshakable

I am waiting, waiting for the next chapter

I am getting older but I am not done yet

Moleskine #21

I was going to stop working in my Moleskine and move on but decided that I should try to finish it.  I started this spread with a thin wash of white acrylic paint.  I let that dry and used Caran d’Ache crayons and used a water wash to blend and smoosh them around on the pages.  I used some painted phone book pages for collage pieces.  I used black acrylic paint for the bold black lines and Higgins Black Eternal Ink with a dip pen for the thinner lines.  The Higgins ink says it is permanent but it isn’t waterproof….or maybe I didn’t let it dry well enough?  Last of all, I used my new favorite white pen (recommended by Misty Mawn), a uni-ball Signo pen.  It writes on almost everything! 

Journal Page – Reinvention

I tried out my new yogurt maker yesterday.  The book that came with it said that you can use milk right out of the refrigerator….next time, I will heat the milk because I think it will shorten the incubation time.  I made two quarts of yogurt.  I had two wide-mouthed quart Mason jars and they fit perfectly with the higher lid.  Viola! It was easy! 

I also spent a great deal of time at Traci Bunker’s blog today.  If you were like me, and it’s been awhile since you’ve been there…I think you will appreciate taking a look around, especially, if you are into art journaling.  She is doing “30 Days of Carving” and today was Day 10.  She is using dollar store erasers to carve all kinds of great stamps.

Here’s my latest composition book journal page.  I reused a previous piece of my art work  as suggested by one of the journal groups I joined.  You may recognize the angel from a previous post.  Her wings were cut from some painted phone book pages.

Doodles & Books

I have read three books in the past week, plus a few days…maybe that’s why I’m not getting anything else accomplished.  One of the best books I have read lately is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I found it on Amazon while searching for another book.  Check out the book on Amazon…it’s gotten high praise by most of its readers.  Another book I read is The Witch of  Hebron,  a sequel to World Made by Hand, both by James Howard Kunstler.  Here’s what Publishers Weekly had to say about this book:  ”Kunstler’s post-apocalyptic world is neither a merciless nightmare nor a starry-eyed return to some pastoral faux utopia; it’s a hard existence dotted with adventure, revenge, mysticism, and those same human emotions that existed before the power went out.”  The third book I read is Digital Fortress by Dan Brown.  I really didn’t like it very much but I kept on reading until the end.

Today I finished this piece I had started on a piece of watercolor paper.  I used some of my foam stamps on the background  and some collage pieces.  Then added to that with black India Ink using my dip pen.  I hope to get the denim jacket finished some time this week…I’m trying to decide what to do about the sleeves.