Monday, December 8, 2014

Painted Journal Pages

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been playing around with paint up in my art room over the past week or two.  I was re-reading through books like Daring Adventures in Paint by Mati Rose McDonough and Painted Pages by Sarah Ahearn Bellemare, and there was no way I could look through all those photos and techniques, and not pick up some painting tools of my own!
To get myself back into the painting "groove," I pulled out the tried and true tools for making colorful background pages in a journal that was not in the least intended for wet media:  a 5x7 notebook with thin brown kraft-paper by Paperchase.  First came the bubble wrap, with some scallops and swirls with a paintbrush:
On another page, I played around with a brayer and different colored craft paints, and then it got the bubble wrap treatment, too:
Then I used a fabric doily as a stencil for this page:
I scratched into my layered acrylic paints on the page, which is something I never thought I liked the look of, but I kind of do like it here:
I love making circles (maybe a little too much) with milk bottle lids:
And there is always the trusty outdated credit card for making straight lines and grid lines on the page:
After using a brayer to apply some paint layers to this page, I used one of my favorite stencils to create the top border:
And, of course, a page with sewing pattern scraps adhered with gel medium:
I decided to try a "poor man's gelli print" on a couple of pages by applying paint over a stencil onto a plastic placemat using a sponge applicator:
It's definitely not perfect, but it was fun to try.  (And it led me to put a Gelli plate on my last-minute Christmas wish list!)
Finally, I used that same sponge applicator to make some solid circles on a multi-layered background:
I may have gotten just a little too carried away, because all the paint build-up on my notebook's spiral binding is making it virtually impossible to get the book closed again, especially the thick cardboard cover!

Without a lot of coaxing, this is about as far as I can get it closed:
That's a task for another day; right now I need it open anyway!
Probably even prettier than the pages themselves are the palette papers I placed underneath my notebook to set out all my paint for brayering, dabbing, and mixing!
Initially, after watching some videos by Roben-Marie Smith and her Art to the 5th cohort, I thought I might use these pages as the basis for a Documented Life 2015 project.  Now I am thinking I would like to use them as the backgrounds for some drawings and paintings, and I'm gathering ideas for what those might look like in my sketchbook.
 
I'll keep you posted!
 
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Come back by soon, because I will be showing you a very cool painting effect using rubber cement, watercolors, and a black Sharpie fine-tip pen!


8 comments:

scrapwordsmom said...

I love the book by Matti Rose and Sarah is one of my faves (i need her book)!! I finally got a gelli plate Andrea and LOVE it!! So ask Santa for one:)

Happy you are joining us for Paint Happy!!!

Leslie

iHanna said...

Such yummy painted pages. I'd love to see a few of your drawing (or doodles are fun too) on these. I use my painted pages to make mini books sometimes.

Cappuccinoandartjournal.blogspot.com said...

I like those apges a whole lot -- and isn't playing with paint fun? Oh yes!!! you need a gelli block -- trust me. Hope Santa is listening....

Cappuccinoandartjournal.blogspot.com said...

that would be "pages".......

Jewels said...

Good to just "play"! I am also doing Documented Life 2015 (I was a lurker for this year's planner)....will see you online there! Jewels

Carin Winkelman said...

Aah, lovely! Nothing like getting your hands dirty from time to time and just do backgrounds. My favorite is the one with the circles. I actually had that same type book in my hand when I was in Amsterdam, but I did not buy it. This may sound like I had restraint, but to that I can only say bwahahahahaaa! (you should see all the stuff I DID buy!).

Patty Antle said...

Hi Andria! This is wonderful! I've never done anything like it. Your photos are great. I want to make a journal soon!

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