Working on a new journal

The green is two shades of pan pastel and sprayed with fix.

The dogwood flowers were painted with white Higgins ink.  I loved the way white looked aged because it sunk into the brown paper.  I added a bit of colored pencil around the edge.  I sprayed fix over the pages in layers so I could work on the whole page without smearing the green pan pastel.

I started making a journal to work in at work on my lunch break and it was pushed aside a bit by life and working on other projects but I'm starting it up again.  I still work much better when I bind the pages after I finish them.  I have always been into story telling in the way of fairytale and myths so it creeps into my artwork in the way the pages are arranged.  If I were to bind the book I would be forced to think a bit more about where I drew each picture.  I'm not one of those people who gets over something that isn't working but at the same time I don't think everything has to be perfect.    So for now it remains a folio until I get to the binding stage.  The pink jacket is still a work in progress since it is way to bright and almost glows in the dark.

The Sketchbook Project.

 The theme was "Travel with me," and I decided to draw pictures of my dreams and a few meditations thrown in for good measure.  I'm sure these themes will pop up in my next journal.

I finally invested in a new computer and some new photo editing software along with a new job that I finally feel settled in.  The good news is I can get back into blogging and posting art quickly.  The sketchbook project was a lot of fun despite that fact that I didn't actually get started until the first of January and it was due the 31st.  I work better under pressure but my next project isn't due till August and I've already started it.  I may use a few of these pictures for inspirations because it's kind of sad to send so many pictures away.

Journal pages

I've had a devil of a time posting the past week but I've been taking my journal to work. I started a new job a couple of weeks ago and I'm adjusting to the schedule. Still looking for the perfect shoes so I can manage the 5 miles plus I get in at work. I have an hour for lunch and it's a great time to journal.

Using scraps

Hooray for finally using up all these scraps.  Dried roses that I glued to a piece of white paper (4 years ago), cut up sample cups (similar to cupcake baking cups) watercolor paper scraps cut into letters, tissue from a shopping trip, old photos,vellum paper, metal tape and tracing paper.

The Sketchbook Project

           I signed up to work in a book for The Sketchbook Project for 2012. If you haven't heard of it you basically buy a book from the organizers, work in it and then send it back to the group organizers.  Once your book is checked in they are all send on a 12 city tour for the public to view.  I've known about this project for a few years and signed up for a book 2 years ago but it was near the end of the sign up right before the holidays and my sketching skills were not up a level I wanted to present to the world.  Luckily I know about it in the beginning of the sign up phase so I can take my time and get it done.  The best thing about a small book is that it is easy to carry around and I can't  wait to start on it next week.  The pages are made with 20lbs drawing paper which is comparable to copy paper and I'm debating gluing pages together or painting them with some sort of ground so I don't have to worry about bleed through.  Daniel Smith makes a new watercolor ground that I wasn't sure how I could use but it's rather tempting for a project like this. 

        I like to re-use packaging so I decorated the envelope and covered it with tape and contact paper to use as a storage case for the book. Plus the tape keeps it a bit protected from the elements.  If it's still in good shape when I finish the book I'll use it again to mail the book back.  I love brown paper but it has a way of attracting dirt. You really have to wipe your hands before you touch it or you get greasy(sunblock, moisturizer or lotion) fingerprint stains that will never come out.  

I picked up a set of atyouSpica pens (and yes that is the name of the pens) and I am in Love with them. I have been stalking them for six months at the art shop around the corner and I finally had a 40% off coupon to use them on because full price they run $30 (YIKES).  The pens come in two color combinations and I chose set B.  They are glitter pens and the ink has a transparent quality (4 of the colors are opaque) to it and  work well over other media.You can see a little bit of the glitter in the shot below.  Magical.

 The Sketchbook Project Website 

Vitamin D Journal

 I have a small bad habit of making a journal and not finishing the last pages.  Last year I vowed to finish them off and I didn't get very far so I'm jumping back in.  I've dove back into the Vitamin D journal and since I only like half of the work in it I'm trying new things.

I updated the front page with PanPastel artist pastels. I like rubbing the color on with my fingers but I don't like having to apply fixative so it's a trade off.  My local art store carries all the colors now so I may buy a few more.The sets come with make up type applicators and I have a few of those that I got on sale a few years ago. You could simply make your own set with the $1 make up wedges and eye shadow applicators.  I love how they made the containers so you can make your own stacks as each of the containers can be connected  by simply discarding the lid.
http://www.panpastel.com/colors.html

Watercolors, Neocolor II,photos,color copy,and pens.

Pressed flowers

 I grew up in a house with dried flowers and I taught myself different methods to press flowers when I was an adult.  I don't pick flowers but it is easy enough to find great looking flower heads on the ground in San Diego. Once this was pressed I sealed it to the page with a bit of liquid gloss medium.
 The trick is to press the flowers right away so they retain their color.  If you are in a hurry you can use the oven on the lowest setting.  I plan on pressing some of the lovely clover that is popping up all over the city.  With all the rain they are triple the size this year.  No luck finding a giant 4 leaf clover. 

Fabric Journal- off to a new home

Journal pages

Journal pages which include any idea that pops into my head.  A good warm up for my next journal that will have an actual theme.  I've had a few funny dreams lately that may work themselves my journal pages.

Paper dolls- Happy August

        I've made paper dolls before but I hit the jackpot formula this week and once I did one it was much easier to do the rest.  Basically I took a random full lengh photograph and cut that out for the proportions. In the photo the person was wearing billowy clothes so I'm not exactly sure why this worked out so well.   

       The second step is to make   a rough cut on watercolor paper and then draw in the features.  I just drew and erased until I got the feeling that I wanted from the doll.  The red headed girl is the daughter of a friend and she is going off to college in Iowa in a few weeks so I made her a few paper friends for her to hang around with.  It actually looks like her and I didn't have to draw it a million times but when I went to draw her sister I didn't quite get her face right.  I do need to work on mixing the watercolors so I can acheive more consistant results.   

      I use twinkling H2O and the browns are rather strange as most of them have a green base to them and do not do well for flesh tones.  I figured out that copper works well as a wash for light tones and piled on for deeper tones. 

They fit nicely in the pocket of my overalls so I can carry them around when I am running errands.

Paper dolls

I drew the mailbox a year ago and just let it sit on the page until this week when I pulled out my newest copic marker and colored it in.  I was happy that the blue B95 (Light Grayish Cobalt) actually looked like the color of a mailbox because as you may or may not know copic markers cost a mint so I buy them slowly.  In 2 years I have built my collection to 25 markers and it's a rather limited pallet.  I originally bought a few to write on photographs but when I tried it I hated the results.  When using copic markers on photos you have to work fast and avoid covering your own marks because it will puddle and make harsh lines. 

The second step was to add the stamped words and I have a love hate relationship with stamps too. I end up pressing too hard and getting stray marks where I don't want them but they are much faster than bubble writing so I may attempt it again.  The last step was colored pencils and I love Dewent Colorsoft and Drawing pencils.  I bought a 12 pencil set 3 years ago but lucked out this January when a large set of 36 that normally sells for $50 was on sale for $14 because it was a gift set.  I did figure out that you can blend them with copic markers or add a bit of water and get a nice smudge. 

Paper envelopes lined with mini photographs and hearts that were cut from labels.  I wanted something to seal the plain envelopes and kept adding the hearts.

The mailbox does have a story.  Last year when I went home to send some mail I realized they took out the mailbox that had been in our neighborhood for 50 years.  The Washington Post had a cover story about it the next day and mailboxes that aren't being used enough are being pulled to save money.  Of course it had a heart breaking story about an old couple who went to the mailbox every day for 20 years until the box was removed.

The opposite page is made with a scrap of linen , removable paper doll on water color paper, cloud is made from acrylic paint that I slid off a shiny surface (it comes out like a skin)  and flowers (color copied).

Journal pages

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