artistic endeavors

It’s been a little while since I’ve shared anything that wasn’t stamping related, mostly because I haven’t been producing that much that wasn’t stamping related but I wanted to pop in and share a few things today. First up is a working example I’m doing for my 8th grade advanced art kids on portrait drawing. I took their photographs and printed them in black and white for them and now they are drawing from the photos. It’s a very challenging project and I always save it to be their final and the kids always do really well. My example is from a photograph I took of Evey. (This photograph is nothing short of horrendous [not Evey the photo of the picture] so please excuse the graininess and the over contrasted tones.)

I’ve been a little obsessed with art journals lately and I’ve been reading and watching videos and just absorbing everything I can. Well now it’s time to do something with all of that. I bought a journal Monday and it’s now that I’ve started it’s not the best choice in journal but it’s working for now. I like to use wet media and the paper is too thin for that but oh, well. I didn’t want a spiral bound book. I’m left handed and I general have a hatred for all things spiral bound so I opted for a Moleskin knock off. I just bit the bullet and ordered a Moleskin watercolor sketchbook today. Hopefully when that gets here I’ll be able to switch over quickly and have two. One for dry and one for wet. 🙂 I thought I’d share a couple of pages I’ve started but not finished this week.

This is the first page in my journal. It’s made so far with liquid watercolor sprayed using a mini mister with handcut butterflies and flowers used as masks, a little black multiliner and black acrylic paint.

This page is a little brighter than anything I’ve ever made and definitely a different style but for me that was the point. Something has happened for me recently, a lightbulb moment if you will, that has pushed me to shake off the shell of fear that keeps me from creating like I want to. I have always had an intense desire for approval and a horrible fear of being noticed while desperately wanting to be noticed at the same time. I have no idea if that makes sense. It’s one of the reasons blogging holds such an appeal for me. I can hide behind my creations, let them shine, while I stand back, but while I do that I hold myself back from creating and using my talents to their full potential. It’s time to shake that off. To truly be the most that I can. This page is the start of trying to express that. It’s a shaky start. It was an uncomfortable page to start. That drawing at the top of my post, that’s what I typically allow others to see because it’s what I know I’m skilled at. This page here is not. But hopefully soon, this exploration will help me grow into other types of finished artworks.

The second page is a further extension of the first. The colors are very similar and were started on the same day.

I don’t know if it shows through but something about this page already seems to feel a bit like I’m throwing off some of my hesitance to jump into this journal head first. I like the direction it’s going. It combines stamping… something I’m growing more comfortable with, with something I’m not… paint.

And here is the last page. A definite departure from anything I’ve ever made and so far it is by far my favorite.

This one started with sprayed watercolor like the others but in much more muted Earthy tones. I over layed that with white acrylic paint and more stamping. I love the direction this is going.

None of these are finished so you will definitely see them again soon. Is anyone else out their into art journals or getting started on one? Do you have any favorite sources of inspiration?