The Art Journal of 2014: First Page

During last weeks I have read more about a zillion techniques, among them Art Journaling. Still a lot to learn... But as older people say here in Finland: You never get ready (in life that is). Maybe it's only for good, to know you aren't supposed to become all knowing?

Well for this year I've "challenged" myself to fill a book in kind of an-art-journal-way.
So far I've realised that I really should start more pages because otherwise I'll never finish! ;-) Putting them together along the year should be fun too.

At the moment there's one page quite ready and another I plan to continue soon...

Last but not least: A blog that I found today that relates to this subject and of course, is very inspiring: Peony and Parakeet!

A Postcard for the Faces theme

Hi!
After a short pause I'm taking part again to Sunday Postcard Art -challenge.
The current challenge is Faces. I think it's a fun subject because an artist can use only few lines and still capture person's character...

Here's my card, in 6 x 4 inches:

I think I name it "Bow Ties Are Cool". I didn't plan to make a fan art piece of Doctor Who, but the face just appeared on while painting with watercolours. :) That helped to design the surrounding area with stamps collected from various places.

Thanks for visiting!

Mixed Technique Drawing - Metallic Details

I think I finally did something worth framing - this is almost finished so it's safe say it out loud. ;)

As a part of home decoration project I have gone through my drawings and paintings. Most of the finished pieces are soon 10 years old! I'm sad to admit but they don't inspire me as they used to. And I find more mistakes from them... Maybe you know the feeling?

Well it was obviously time to get something new and fresh done! I'm really interested of mixed techniques right now, but have only little experience of it. With this work I wanted to push myself to that direction.

As a subject I chose Tribal Fusion Belly Dance as it also inspires my imagination right now.

Oh and I'm taking part to Paint Party Friday with this piece. :)

I found out that the stamping inks go well together with watercolour pens. And the water based inks are a lot of fun with wet paper!

Some textures in the picture are made with stamps as well as some details (such as keys and dragonfly). I think I really got a better hold of metallic gel pens I have.

Here are some details:

Going to take a small break from this before I frame it. Maybe that will help to find anything worth fixing.

Thanks for visiting! Hope you have a very inspiring New Year!

Time to Relax and Enjoy Winter Hobbies

This weekend I got a head start by one day, which I really needed. I've tried some new stuff both in baking and crafting. :-) Both are nice ways to spend time indoors. We have had some chilly wind here is Southern Finland few days.

The new thing I've interested in is quilling. I saw some photos of beautiful quilled decorations a week ago. Last Wednesday I happened to find a tool for quilling from sale!

My first work is a snowflake, a pattern taken from here. Thanks :)

Since I used copy paper the outcome wasn't good for window decoration. Instead I made a card out of it.

This certainly needs more practise! What I also intend to practise is making gingerbread dough.

They look fine but could have more spices. :) I love to use those old moulds that I got from my mother.

There was one success in my weekend - muffins! I filled these with (frozen) strawberries and white chocolate crush. Yum! First time I also used baking soda instead of baking powder. And yes - there is a difference in size.

I still have some baking and gift shopping to do, so I have a good reason to go out today to admire the falling snow. :)

Take care and enjoy the season! x

More Sketches of a Fairy Painting

Hello again! Last October was quite a stressful month in work so I've rested a lot and let blogging wait. Now was as good time as any to break the silence.

The only craft project I worked on was a painting for a Finnish drawing competition. I hope I have a chance to win some quality drawing products. ;-) I actually sketched a lot for it. Here's two pretty advanced sketches - one that is in my art journal, the other on a single sheet.

As you might guess I started with acrylic colours. It required a gesso-based background paper. I really wanted to work little details more. and enjoy some drawing, so I changed the medium.

This one is less dramatic but more interesting on details. I added some of them with oil pastels and watersoluble metallic pens. This paper is 200 g/m2 and recommended for mixed media but it couldn't absorb all the water. In nature the background colour actually looks as dull as in here. I'm glad I tested it so I knew the final work would require more heavier stuff.

I think I'll show the final work later. I'm not sure when I hear how the competition went, but I tell as soon as I can. :-)

Art Journal Tryouts

After last months intensive face painting & drawing I decided to take few days break from artist stuff.

But I have to confess that the break did not last long. ;) I have been trying out some new stuff on my art journal...
The gesso based pages are not made for watercolours but the effect looks fun!
The upper one has a thick gesso base and the lower a thin layer.

And I'm also preparing for Halloween-time... :)

29 Faces: the remaining ones

Time to publish the last faces of 29 Faces challenge. This month has gone more quickly than I thought. I've enjoyed the challenge very much! It gave me a reason to explore what I can do, more self-confidence and many interesting blogs to visit (also in future)! Big thanks to Ayala Art blog for making everything possible!

In this last post I show some experimental faces and present even the ones I don't like. But it's now or never to go for all the crazy ideas. :)

The process was unlike anything I normally do. I started with acrylic colours. First I spread two colours on a large plastic cover, and before they dried pressed a paper on top and lifted it quickly. Although I tried to create something that would look like a face, it went quite badly. In my second attempt I used only one colour. I spread a thick layer of it as evenly as possible and drew lines in wet ink before pressing a paper into it. That went more like I wanted - not a total mess.

#23: From the first attempt. Because it didn't look like a face, I painted the black and grey areas afterwards with liquid ink. Still, this just doesn't look good.

#24: Second attempt. The frail lines I drew with the wrong end of a paintbrush.

#25: Number 24 quickly redone with my cheap image editing program. Normally I use the program just for turning images straight... :)

#26: Another one from the second patch. Painted the lines with paintbrush and fingers.
Afterwards lifting the paper I saw the ink blots. Didn't mean to make her cry, sigh...

#27: The last one from the second patch. Tried to leave some areas unsharp.

 #28:Continued the #27 with acrylics that I thinned down with water. I really like how the undertone and texture are dimly visible. Even though the area of mouth looks odd this seems better than the original.

#29: Finally I present an experiment of another kind, one that cheers me up! I mixed up two medium, oil pastels and watercolours. I also spread the pastels with some linseed oil. (I think she looks a bit like Lena Headey, the actor of Cersei Lannister in GoT.)

Thank you for all who have been visiting and commenting! You have made my day more than once and been very supportive! I hope I'll see you around. :)