DLP #13

March Theme
Making Your Mark (Doodles & Mark Making)
March 28
Art Challenge:  Make a Custom Element
Journal Prompt:  "Ride the energy of your own unique spirit." - Gabrielle Roth

I've had this page done for a couple weeks, but procrastinated getting it put on the site.  Finally!

Started by spraying the page with Dylusions ink spray (Pure Sunshine & Postbox Red).  Spritzed with water to blend a bit.  Let it dry, then sprayed water through a Tim Holtz layering stencil.  Flipped the stencil over to make a negative on a different spot of the paper.  

Found an old hand carved lino block and tried spraying Dylusions ink spray (turquoise) on the block and then rubbing paper over it.  Looked okay on my scratch paper, so did it on the actual journal page. Actually, made a ton of images with this.  The ink spray goes a long way, and when it's not covering completely you can just spritz with water and keep stamping.

Added the quote on yellow tinted vellum strips and placed around the figure.

Here's a close up:

DLP #12

March Theme
Making Your Mark (Doodles & Mark Making)
March 21
Art Challenge:  As a Focal Point
Journal Prompt:  Coming into Focus

For this challenge, I decided to focus on my drawing skills (which desperately need practice).  I went to a mirror and sketched out my eye and then my hand around my eye.  With this amazing tutorial, the eye turned out way better than I expected.

The hand is a little wonky.
Then I colored it in with watercolors.

I had several thoughts at this point.  I wanted everything but the eye to be out of focus and I thought about putting vellum or deli paper on top in strips or like layers of an onion.  Decided on vellum strips and added a famous zen quote from Dogen.

I kind of like how in the above photo, the fibers from another page look like part of her hair or even her eyebrow.

DLP Week 11

March Theme
Making Your Mark (Doodles & Mark Making)
March 14
Art Challenge:  Borders
Journal Prompt:  "Borderline feels like I'm going to lose my mind."

I'd seen this journal page on Pinterest and loved how she did the frame,  so decided to try something like that for this challenge.  Started off with a watercolor wash background.  I was hoping it would look similar to the backgrounds used in class photos.  Painted black gesso around the edges in an oval at first, then I tried to make it look like an old fashioned frame.  Still not happy with that, I played until it was an odd shape.  Stamped the handcarved saying and image in the middle.  This is a self-portrait in a way-- I did this carving based on an MRI image of my brain. This is also the carving that I've been using as a head template for previous pages.  Finally used a silver Pitt pen to do some doodles on the gesso.

DLP Week 10

March Theme
Making Your Mark (Doodles & Mark Making)
March 7
Art Challenge:  As A Layer Element
Journal Prompt:  Surviving the Elements

Started this page off with a layer of white gesso in which I scratched the words "I will survive."  Let that dry, and then painted red and yellow acrylic paint over it and wiped off the excess.

Found an electron microscope photo of the MERS virus and a cell from an old Science News magazine.  The colors and theme fit, so decided to add that in the corner.   Also clipped a piece of netting from a bag of oranges and glued that on.  I had done some funky circles in black by the virus photo, but didn't like it, so dry brushed some black gesso over top.

Looked through my stash of stuff and found a stamped image of a sun (borrowed stamp, so I don't know the company) and a stamped image of one of my first carvings.  Added those to the mix.

DLP #9

February Theme: Layers you will love
February 28 Art Challenge: At least five layers
Prompt: Give me a high five

For this challenge, I was inspired by this page from Lynn Whipple that I found in Lynne Perella's book Artists' Journals & Sketchbooks.

Started with a watercolor wash background and then added an old film strip and a background sticker of  bugs from an old sheet of Rocky Mountain postage stamps.  Did some paint splatters with black, brown, and white acrylic paint.

The red blotches came off of my fingers when I colored this sticky-back canvas tracing of my hand.

I tried spritzing paint on this too and doing some designs with a sharpie, but the marks all bled. Used some white paint later which worked better.   Also glued on a small strip of wire mesh to the hand.

Traced around the hand with white paint and black marker. Added some other white dots converging on a point off-page.  Decided to add a stenciled tag scrap.  On the back of the tag, I wrote five things I thought I was good at.  I also wrote in five things other people think I'm good at (that I have a hard time admitting).  Added a slip of paper behind the film strip that on which I stamped the words "I can." and added a wine foil with a hand.