More practice

I love drawing faces, though I am a bit insecure when it comes to painting them. I really want to get past that and I realise the only way to that is to practice, practice practice. So that's what I've been doing. That and watching youtube video's of people drawing and painting faces.
It's really fun to see how everyone aproaches painting and drawing faces in a different manner. There is not one set way to draw a face. Some start with ovals, some with ovals and circels for the cranium and others start by just drawing the eyes and building the face around them. There are those that take a real mathematical approach and those that just fly by the seats of their pant (that is a correct expression I hope). Any which way, they all get to where they want to be.

I love that. I think I'm going to try all the different methods (or non methods) out there.

So today, when working in my art journal I used the method, start with the eyes and build the face from that. Which actualy came about because I collaged an eye, I found in a magazine, onto the page.

New beginnings

So I have a new assignment for my creative therapy, which is to just draw what makes me happy and not analyse what I'm drawing. I find this to be very difficult. How do you shut down the part of your brain that thinks about what you are doing and just do...? So I thought I could at least go for the part where I just draw and paint what makes me happy.

Years and years ago, I made a drawing of a picture that was taken of me when I was 24. I love that picture and what it represents. I also loved the drawing. So much so, that I was afraid to paint over it, as was the initial plan. Somehow some coffee got spilled over it and I put it away. Never looked at it since. Now I decided I would make a copy of it and just for fun, play with it in my art journal. So I did.

I even remembered to take some pictures of building the page along the way.

a thousand faces - art journal page

Last weekend was the Elf Fantasy Fair at castle Haarzuilens in the Netherlands. We went on saturday and even though I didn't make any clothes this time, I was completely wiped out at the end of the day.
It was a wonderfull day with lots of sunshine and beautiful people and I got to use my iPhone case altered book for the first time.

My husband made a nice steampunk backpack, but forgot to take it with him. I'm glad I'm not the only one who keeps forgetting things. =)

Last night when the peace was restored at our house I could finally sit down and do some doodling. I doodled a face, trying not to use an example, but just by using guidelines for face drawing I found online. Oddly enough, when using those guidelines, I find myself drawing faces that I would draw when I was a teen. I tried to steer away from this a little, but decided to use it as is in my art journal instead. This way I can, hopefully, see some progress when I start drawing more faces and get more practice.

And, maybe, find the style that suits me and, in general, is more me.

Background

Just a quick post today with my entry for the Simon says stamp and show challenge: background.
I had lots of fun doing this even though it didn't seem to come together just the way I wanted.
I even did another spread in my journal, which I like, but somehow just doesn't seem to be about the background. I guess, neither does this one, but I feel there is enough left of the background stamping to qualify =).

I started out with a page where I had tried my hand at image transfer using PVA glue over a gesso background. Not overly succesfull I might add. I had put the page aside because I didn't know what to do with it. 

Last night my daughter was playing with her art journal and mixed way to much pink paint, so I offered to use the left over paint in my book.

All that we see or seem - art journal page

My inspiration for this journal page was the challenge at Simon says stamp and show: backgrounds.  Well at least the start of this page, but then it got away from me and it became something completely different.

Which is ok, but I won't be entering it in the challenge, since it was all about stamped backgrounds. I did however start off with a stamped background =), but I'm afraid this is not very visible anymore.

It actually started with a reddish background made with soft pastels. Over this I had dabbed red pearlescent acrylic paint over a stencil, a home made diamond pattern. I then stamped floral stamps over it with plum archival ink.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep...

but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep...

This quote by Robert Frost was the last item I added to this art journal page. Which, funily enough, started out with me wanting to make a tree. From this lonesome tree on a page, a whole proces started, I love that about art journalling.

Before I started art journalling, when I wanted to make a painting, I needed a subject. Usually an example, a picture, something or other that I then would translate to the canvas. Now I can just come to the table, with either a thought, an idea or nothing at all and still express myself.

As I said, this page came about with me painting a tree. I painted the background black with acrylic paint and freehanded the tree with, fairly thick, brown acrylic paint. I overheated the tree, because, well, you gotta have bubbles.

Drippage and texture - art journal pages

I really love creating all kinds of texture in my art journalling. There is something soothing about a page you can feel as much as you can see it. I love taking my books and flip through them, sometimes just to feel the pages. I guess I'm a little peculiar that way.

Actually, I even think, next to making the pages, the flipping through the books is the biggest perk of having an art journal. I made many paintings over the years and I usualy create lots of texture in them. Don't get me wrong, I love making them, but when they are done, they are done. You hang them somewhere and that's it. Which is ok, they have their own merit, but for now I think I'll stick to my art journals for a while.

Next to the tactile nature of art journals, I love that they are small, all different, open to experimentation and a great way  to practice new techniques. I can just go in, do somthing when I feel inspired and move on when not. They are patient and there is no pressure. The beautiful thing is, I don't even have to like what I did. There are no mistakes in art journalling.

It's always nice though when something comes out that I do like.

The Nightingale

Over at Sandee & Amelie's Steampunk challenges, challenge No2 is about bringing fairytales into the steampunk world. I love fairytales and I love steampunk. I think the two go wonderfully together.

I immediately thought about a fairytale I loved hearing when I was a child, The Nightingale, by Hans Christian Anderson. I think it is inherently steampunk. Steampunk before steampunk.

And since it is a bird I will also enter it into the following challenge:

Simon says stamp and show challenge: Fly

I made the bird in my recently bought moleskine notebook for my art journalling. I bought it because I saw so many people using those. So I thought I would give it a go. I also bought some new pigment inks, a set with some wonderful colours. Obviously I wanted to try those as well. 

When in doubt, do it anyway - Art journal pages

Yesterday I watched several Donna Downey video's. Mostly inspiration wednesday video's. I was so inspired by her approach to art journalling, that I managed to start and finish not one, but two journal pages.

And in keeping with the quote on one of the pages, I will share them here with you.

Little book of inspiration

A while back I saw a video from a very inspirational lady in wich she challenged us to create a small key chain booklet, filled with inspirational words for someone. Now I wasn't going to enter the challenge, as I have never posted a video on YouTube before, let alone a video response. She did however allow the entrance to be sent in by email. It's the 1500 subbie and birthday challenge by CreaBoetiek.

The idea has been roaming in the back of my mind ever since. I love making books and booklets and the thought of making an inspirational booklet for someone was very appealing. So, yeah, I did, I made a little keychain booklet. In fact I made two, just in case the first one would go wrong.

In the above picture the keychain part hasn't been attached yet. I did remember to take pictures while making the booklet, so I'll post those first, in the end there will be some more pictures of the finished booklets.

Dreams - art journal page

Yesterday evening I realised I didn't do anything in my art journal during the day. So, in keeping with my resolution to do some art journalling every day, even if it is only 10 minutes, I took my art journal and flipped through it. I found a page that I didn't care for to much. That way, if I messed it up, it wouldn't matter.

I didn't want to spent to much time on it, because I do need to sleep every now and again. I looked through some things I had laying around. Picked a few prints, some flowers and embellishments I made for something else and never used and started my page.

As time goes by

I hope you all had a good easter weekend. We had a wonderfull time, with the sun coming out from behind the clouds. Spreading a little, much needed, light and warmth. All the birds in the garden decided it was finally spring and were whistling cheerfully. A perfect time to do some art journalling.

Art journal for the kids

Since my sister is coming over tomorow, with her kids. I thought I would make them an art journal/ smash book. Now I don't know about the boys, but I think my niece will love it. So I made some journals with random papers I had lying around. Some scrapbookpaper, some envelopes and some watercolour paper.