Hundertwasser influence

 

Been having fun playing with spraying backgrounds lately. Lots of spray acrylic paint colours over stencils and masks that were both found ojects and commercial stencils.

The hard part is trying to make some art on the top of the backgrounds. They already look like artworks and you don't know what to put on the top of them or even if you want to cover them up. But I know that you can't have a lovely complex artwork unless you let go a little and just work up the layers!

So I have shown you the stages of this page. I drew with black Pitt Artist pens and white Zigg pen, then coloured with Sharpies in red, yellow, blue and green.

Not sure if you recognise the influence for this piece ... it is Hundertwasser. The art journaling Yahoo Group "Blissfully Art Journaling" suggested the prompt to be influenced by Hundertwasser, and I rose to the challenge.

Enjoy and tell me about your recent art play!

Red Head

I had a lot of fun yesterday making art with some friends for a day. This art journal acrylic painting is the fruit of my pursuits!

Although I love mixed media, I realised when I went to describe this art page that it is actually pure acrylic paint. The background was done by laying objects on the page and spraying with watered down acrylic paint or liquid acrylic. Objects were also printed positively to use up the paint that was sprayed over them. Once the background dried more objects were layed down and sprayed over again. I tried this technique after doing Traci Bautista's Strathmore Art Workshop.

Then I used a pencil to draw a face over the top of the background and painted it in with acrylic paints.

Lots of fun! I was so pleased to finally use a background painting and paint something onto the top of it. I was never sure what to put on the top of these cool backgrounds. But I love the effect of the background texture coming through the foreground painting and giving it more interest.

I know I need to work on my face proportions a little more - I always make the eyes too big for the rest of the face. I also want to work on making the eyes on my faces more indistinct because they end up so clear and harsh looking - but practice makes perfect, so I will keep trying!

Keep making art guys!!!!

dark journal

These journal pages are in my "Dark Journal." This is an old repurposed ex-library book that I picked up in a library sale. The title of the book is "Cruelly Murdered" and it is about a grotesque murder that happened in England in 1860 and an investigation into who could have done it. The book is full of accounts, and photos and maps and plans, and I knew the minute I saw it at the library that it would be a perfect book to use as a "dark journal" for darker art journalling moments. I decided that I didn't really want darker and more personal art pages in my normal journals.

These pages are all mixed media with acrylic paint, collage, black Pitt artist pen, gesso, chalk pastel, souffle pens, sharpies. The eyes are my own drawing and painting.

frida round robin journal

This is the last Frida journal in this round-robin (sniff sniff) - I will miss Frida! I still have pages left in my journal that has come back to me, so I might add some more of my own pages to that book while I am still fascinated by her! I have learned so much about her from the reading I have done in research for the pages.


This journal is Lee's and I have decided to do a spread on Diego and Frida. I made Diego a frog and Frida a dove. The couple were referred to as the elephant and the dove, but Frida made references to Diego being like a frog. The quote on the left page is by Frida and it says "If you see him naked, you immediately think of the frog boy standing on his hind legs."


The background is acrylic paint, the frog and dove bodies are from the internet, as are the heads of Frida and Diego. I added stickers and rubons, and wrote and decorated with black Sharpie and black Pitt artist pens.

frida round robin journal

Still going on the Frida Round Robin. This is my entry in Tracy's Journal. Her theme is a visual diary or a secret diary.

I decided to do a page about Frida's Communist beliefs. The two excerpts are taken from her actual diaries.

The pages were painted with two shades of red acrylic paint. Then smudged with lack ink pad. The image of Frida is taken from a painting she did in honour of Leon Trotsky. I added the hammer and sickle with black pen. The flags are found images from the internet. I drew the line with black pen also. The images are outlined with graphite pencil.

Strathmore Online Workshop

I recently did a free online workshop offered by Strathmore. This workshop was done by Pam Carriker. I enjoyed the workshop and these are the three journal pages that I produced using her techniques.

We used printouts of our previous artwork and journal pages, altered the sizes and used them in new pages. We layered these images and patterns with colour and texture using charcoal, oil pastel, graphite, acrylic paint and more.

The end result was very different art to the original artwork the pages were made from. I enjoyed it immensely. Below is an image showing the progression of the pages over the four weeks. I forgot to scan week three on the angel page (-_-) sorry.

I was very pleased to do this workshop as it brought me back to my old love of layering and layering and layering!

frida round robin journal

This is my entry in Elena's journal with a theme of anything Frida.

The pages are layered scrapbooking papers, printed image of Frida, acrylic paint, pencil, gesso, stickers and other ephemera. The stick-on letters are really cool! They are puffy and cool colours.
I added texture with punchinella and stencils.

frida round robin journal

This is my entry in Elizabeth's journal with the theme "Self Portrait as Frida"

I kept these pages simple with mainly drawing.

Little bit of mixed media collage, but mainly fine tip felt pen. The patterns on the plaster cast on the second page are actually children's temporary tattoos!

frida round robin journal

I am involved in a journal round robin with a Frida Kahlo theme. This is my entry in Eileen's journal with the theme "inspired by Frida" - anything as long as Frida's influence is felt in it.

I decided to do a mixed media collage of things that make me think of Frida.
Mixed media collage, using ink stamp pad, fine tip felt pen, found images, objects and stickers.

frida round robin journal

This is my entry in Janet's journal with the theme "La Casa Azul" - anything you might find in Frida's blue house.

I know this looks a little formal ... but I wanted this to look realistic like a doll's house ... so I went with straight collage and a little mixed media decoration. Research to get an idea of the inside of her house was difficult because visitors to Cas Azul are not allowed to take photos inside the house. But then I found the Museo Frida Kahlo Virtual Tour. At first I was a little depressed that the blue was actually on the outside of her house not the inside. But on the virtual tour I found rooms with the blue around the bottom of the walls.

Now don't sue me for the in-authenticity of the rooms, this is not the furniture from Frida's house, it is my imagination. I had wanted the portraits to be actual photographs, but I couldn't find any actual photographs of Frida's mother's parents, so I went with the painted versions.

The pages are mixed media collage, using acrylic paint, gesso, fine tip felt pen, liquid pencil, and pencil.

frida round robin journal

This is a spread in one of the Frida Kahlo Round Robin books. It is Maxine's book and the theme is "The Day of The Dead"

Maxine's book is a collection of card and paper held together with two rings. I cut each of the skulls out in various sizes and decorated them with sharpies and sakura gel pens and black Pitt Artist pens. Frida is collaged on from an internet image, but with extra pieces of collage added to her skirt to make it fuller. I also painted over her skin and other areas with Sakura gel pens and outlined everything with black Pitt Artist pen.

frida round robin journal

This is a spread in one of the Frida Kahlo Round Robin books. It is Kate's book and the theme is Frida in San Francisco. I decided to go with her time in San Francisco in the 1930s.

Kate's book is yummy with thick watercolour paper, and it is a decent size to work in as well. I loved working in it. My layout is far from perfect, but time was of the essence, and I am still happy with the result.

It was soon after Frida and Diego's marriage, and Frida desperately wanted children. She lost a child because of her misshapen pelvis from the accident. She suffered much pain with her right leg, and met Dr Leo Eloesser who became a life long friend and medical advisor to her. She painted more as a hobby during this stay in San Francisco, keeping her husband company at his mural painting. She also fell in love with the little children in China Town.

It is mixed media collage with gesso, charcoal, pastels, stamps and ink, fine tip felt pen, Sakura gelly and souffle pens, and pencil. Especially loved playing with the gesso and blue pastel in the sky!

Right, now onto the next journal, the theme is Frida's Blue House. Can't wait to start on it... I am rearing to go!!!!

frida round robin journal

I am involved in a round robin journal project with ten other artists. The theme is Frida Kahlo. This is my journal that I decorated and did a spread and sent to Lee in Australia to do the next spread. Eventually I should get it back with mine and ten other artists take on the theme Frida that I will be able to keep. We each have started a journal so that we all have one to keep at the end.

I used a vintage children's book as my journal. I removed pages to make it the right size and gessoed the pages (MAN that took a ton of gesso and a lot of time!!!!)

The cover was painted with gold acrylic paint then red acrylic paint. I aged it with black and white ink pad. The pages are painted with acrylic paints, collaged with images and scrapbooking paper and decorated with stickers and stamps. LOTS of fun!

This was my spread to kick things off. It is inspired by Frida's description of where the notion of "Two Fridas" came from. She said that when she was young and feeling unhappy, she would go up to the window in their house (La Casa Azul - The Blue House) and look out. She would breathe on the glass of the window and draw a picture of a door onto it with her finger. She said she would then go out through the little door and run through the streets where she would go through the "O" in a store sign "Pinzon". This gate took her to an underworld where her imaginary friend was waiting for her, and the two would play. When she finished playing she would return home and go back through the little door. She would wipe off the door from the window and go about the rest of her day with a smile on her face!

I did the page with drawing, collage, acrylic paint and coloured pencil.

partner journal

I am involved in a partner journal with Wendy in Australia. These are the seventh set of layouts that I have done. These layouts are in my journal.

I have had trouble getting back into my art after the hectic Christmas and New Year break, so these are simple layouts.

The theme for these pages was hopes, dreams or aspirations for 2010 or beyond.

The background for the first page is scrapbooking paper, the nest and egg are collaged on, the background is smudged with gesso, the writing is in black Pitt Artist pen and white Signo pen.

The background of the second page was stamped with text, then painted over with acrylic and gesso. The daisies were collaged on, then I drew and wrote over the top. I love Ali Edwards' ideas on taking one little word as a theme for your year!

tea

I have had this page sitting half done for a long, long time!

I spread the background with blue acrylic paint that was left from another project. Then a while later I came across the image of the ladies having afternoon tea and stuck that on. Then while I was doodling one day I added the halo effect in lighter and darker blue around the image. Then it sat there... and I had no idea what to do with it!

Months later I was rifling through some stencils and suddenly thought of an idea for the rest of the page. I stencilled the flowers with white gesso and the stars with blue acrylic paint. Then I hunted for a quote about tea. I added the lettering by hand with white Uniball Signo pen and black Pitt Artist pen. Then added the spiral doodle with the same two pens. And there you are!

the time traveler's wife

I finished reading "The Time Traveler's Wife" (Audrey Niffenegger) a little while ago and then saw the trailer for the movie since. It was a great book that was very moving and I can't wait to see how they try to portray it in the movies. I'm sure it won't be the same as the book, but I am pleased to have read the book first.

I had to do a journal page or two after reading the book, and this was the results. There were so many wonderful moments and images and quotes in the book that I didn't know where to start. I decided these were the quotes that I wanted to remember Clare and Henry by.

Henry's page shows him time travelling and shows him falling to represent what a dangerous and helpless condition he has. His wings are because of the constant references to angels and Clare's art and they relate to the central themes of the book (you will have to read it to know any more!)

Clare's page shows her self portrait. The full page doesn't quite fit in my scanner, but she is actually floating. The floating and the quote reflect the flying theme again.

There is a printed page in the background for both pages with all the years from the book printed in different sizes and fonts. Then there is a layer of gesso and water soluble crayon. Then I drew the picture of Clare using pencil and posemaniacs for a model. I did Henry falling by cutting a stencil from an internet image and sponging with acrylic paint. I drew in the wings, then painted with silver acrylic, highlighted with red acrylic and black Pitt Artist pen and tiny touches of white Uniball Signo pen. The text was done on both pages by hand with black Pitt Artist pen and black Sharpie. The stenciled edge was done with punchinella scrap and acrylic paints and graphite stick.

I know that some people found the book slow, but it is a book that you have to feel the characters slowly, not have them thrown at you in an exciting, fast paced way. I thought that the author got the pace just right and I can't wait to read her next novel.

partner journal

I am involved in a partner journal with Wendy in New Zealand. These are the sixth set of layouts that I have done. These layouts are in Wendy's journal.

The theme for these pages was self portraits with commentaries.

In the first page the frame is scrapbooking paper cut to the correct dimensions. The centre is painted with silver acrylic paint. The image of me is a digital photograph altered in Photoshop Elements. The poem is "Mirror" by Sylvia Plath, and it has been written in with black Pitt Artist pen.

The second page is a simple drawing done on the white page with black Pitt Artist pen, and smudges of acrylic paint on the butterflies. The drawing is a younger me. The verse is taken from a poem by Vivienne Plumb.

illustration friday "frozen"

Illustration Friday entry for the prompt "frozen" - Yay!!!! I managed two weeks in a row!!


This is a mixed media collage in my little "52 prompts" inspiration journal. It is in under the prompt "weather and it is "snow".


The background started with smeared gesso and silver acrylic paint. Then strips of two shades of blue sellotape. You can't really see the effect of these first layers properly. The silver has scanned looking grey and the sellotape strips are actually a beautiful, glossy, transparent blue.


Then I collaged images of the girl and jewels from magazines. I folded the largest jewel image and snipped it like a snowflake. Then decorated with white Uniball Signo pen and black Pitt Artist pen.


I didn't use any blue paint, so the blue that you see is all done with the nifty sellotape that I bought.

This is a scan of the page before I added the collage elements and the decorations. It is the smeared gesso and silver acrylic paint with the two shades of blue sellotape over the top. The sellotape is ripped into strips.

The effect is much better if you are looking at the actual art in front of you. The sellotape is really shiny and it adds gloss to the coloured page and the blue colour intensifies wherever the blue is overlapped.

fruits

This is a scan of a drawing I did recently in pencil from an image in a book. Unfortunately I still haven't got the hang of scanning pencil drawings and getting them to come out looking right. It is a lot clearer in real life. I love drawing and I find that it really relaxes me. I disappear into another world when I am concentrating on the lines and spaces and time passes so quickly. If I do a long drawing session then I come out of it physically tired. Does drawing exhaust and relax you?


The book is fantastic inspiration and a fantastic source for people who like drawing fashion. The book is called "Fruits" by Phaidon. Here is the link to it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Fruits-Shoichi-Aoki/dp/0714840831/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255072696&sr=8-1

And here is a link to the exhibition:

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/exhibitions/fruits.asp

The Tokyo Street Style outfits are funky and crazy and fun to draw!!! Below is the page that I used as a model to draw from.

illustration friday "flying"

Illustration Friday entry for the prompt "flying"

Once again I haven't managed to post to this group for ages. Hope to get back on track again!

This is a mixed media collage. This journal page has torn pages underneath from a vintage book of boy's stories. Then I drew over that with watersoluble crayons and then over that with acrylic paints. Three collage elements from a magazine, white and black pens.