Friday 23 September 2016

Art Journal Joy:Mini Art Journal Challenge Week 3

This week was all about color in my mini art journal. I am still obsessed with abstract paintings.I can't get enough of playing with color and line and balance to create a piece that works. It's like a puzzle - trying to find a way to fit everything together so that the picture makes sense. It is addictive. Once I get started, I don't want to stop.

The only drawback is drying time. I use Dina Wakley Media Heavy Body Paints which are thicker. Think of paint the consistency of mayonnaise. I usually paint with my fingers and put the paint on quite thick.  I like having all that texture on my page but it does take a while to dry. Everything has to be nice and dry before I can add my pen marks. If not, my Signo White Gel Pen  reacts with the paint and the color changes from white and my black Fude Ball pen won't write on wet paint.

So, here's a look at the pages I made during week 3.

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This is one of my favourite pages from this week. It's colorful and detailed and flowery - my favorite things!

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September 23_6

I left this page more open with fewer pen marks on purpose. It feels like it needs more detail but I'm leaving it as it is. I like the strong vertical lines in this one.

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September 23_8

The next day, I filled in almost all the space.

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September 23_10

You can see here that Magenta and Blackberry Violet paints weren't quite dry and the Signo White Gel pen reacted with the paint. It turns the ink from white to pinky/purply.

September 23_11

Then I opted for a monochromatic blue page. I don't love this page. It feels bland after all the previous colorful pages. That's ok. Not every page can be my favourite.

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September 23_14

This page is another page that I don't love. I decided to try adding triangles but it just don't work out. I used my fingers but I probably should have used a brush to paint the triangle shape. I was annoyed that the triangle didn't have a point at the top. I do like the combination of blues and greens though and I love the pen work on the circles.

September 23_15

September 23_16This orange was a failed attempt at a color combination. The nice thing about using gesso and acrylic paint is that I can change my mind and remove paint or pen marks with a baby wipe. However, I couldn't get that orange out of the crease. I guess I left it there too long and it wouldn't come out when I changed my mind.


September 23_17

Another week of art journal pages and I couldn't be happier with the progress I'm making. Last week, I wrote about pushing through the creative resistance - the thing that makes it hard to keep going with a daily practice. This week is easier than last week but still takes work and commitment - even now. Looking back at my pages makes me happy. Yup, even the pages I don't love make me happy. I have learned so much and have enjoyed myself. Art journaling is not a chore for me. It's a joy. That makes all the work worthwhile.

I have one more week left in my mini art journal and then it's on to the next challenge. I have some ideas but I'm really not sure what I'll pick. If you want to see my daily progress, you can find me posting these pages and other creative endeavours on Instagram. My handle there is @cathiereed.
Thanks for stopping by!

Cathie

ps: You can see the first week of my art journal pages here.


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