Focus on Gratitude

Tags

acrylic paint, art journal, Art Journal Every Day, Etsy, gratitude, Journal, Liquitex paint pens

Today I was pretty upset about the results of the election so I really focused on gratitude and making art.

This page layout is a different kind of grid based on some studio setup and getting my Etsy store launched. I really had fun selecting meaningful papers to arrange. In moving stuff around the studio I found some great painted papers, had my process painting class, and colored in some “store models” of my coloring pages.

I want to thank you guys for your generous comments on my bird selection question. I actually added tail marks to the bird in the bottom of the photo from yesterday’s post and put the spare bird in my art journal. The leaves are from an art therapy session. I’m very happy with my new therapist. I was interested in studying art therapy when I went to grad school to become a school psychologist, but went a different route. It is really interesting and exciting to be on the receiving end of art therapy. A technical note on this page is that I tried some pumice gel in the leaf background and it kind of became a mess. Probably not going to use it in an art journal again. But I did enjoy a new Liquitex set of supplies that I bought to check out their paint pen and how they work with other products. The spray paints really need good air circulation! Maybe I will save them for summer. But I like the pens and the color selection is interesting. Stay tuned for more experiments with these!

As you can see from the sticker in my art journal, I did vote. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to express my beliefs in the direction our country will go. This is not the first electoral disappointment I have been through and I know that there is going to be a lot of work for all of us who work for social justice. In the face of disappointment it is really helpful for me to focus on what I’m grateful for and I have so much. I still will worry, but this helped recharge my energy so I can do my part to keep our country great for people of color and others who are afraid of what the future will hold.

Building with Paper

Tags

altered art book, Altered books, art journal, cherries, cherries with pits, collage, Elsie de Wolfe, gratitude, hostess gift, Liquitex paint pens, painting, painting workbook, paper art, quotes, simple syrup, Watercolor pencils

I am back in my altered book journal and decided to document the process of this week’s entry as I’m experimenting for a larger piece. I started out with the back of a piece of watercolor paper from last week on the left hand page. I found this quote on the blog Hey It’s Frances To and it really struck a chord with me. I really like what she has done with her lettering portfolio, too. So when I saw that the Journal 52 prompt was Positive Change we had another week with synchronicity! Hooray! My lettering is a little half hazard as I have not been practicing it very much lately, but I do like how the page came out overall. While my vision problems continue, I am finding different things I can do to express my creativity and make my life interesting and hopefully add to the beauty in the world. The flowers were cut out from a scrap of leftover map that I like to use as a metaphor for my intentions for where I am headed. I used marker in the middle and blue watercolor pencil around the outside of each flower.

The right hand page started with a few slaps of the paint that I’m using in our unplanned bathroom remodel. The shade of green is called Peter Pan and my son just finished working as the music director for our children’s theater production of Peter Pan Jr. It was just another funny coincidence that we chose that color – not intentional. The latex wall paint was not adhering well to the page so I used a credit card to spread a little gesso on the page. I added some blue acrylic paint for my sky. My cityscape was inspired by a project in the book The Painting Workbook by Alena Hennessy (now listed in my Reference and Recommendations page.)

I liked how the blue didn’t really cover the top of the page and I really covered the bottom of the page with the green. I used a tip from the Painting Workbook and drew into the wet paint with a watercolor pencil, but it didn’t work very well. I don’t know if that was because it was latex wall paint instead of acrylic paint. I will try again another day. I really did like how the scratched out flowers went through to the original colors on the page. I tried a few different brands of watercolor pencils and the Inktense ones left a little color, but none of the other ones did.

I decided that I wanted to make an Art Deco building in my cityscape so I cut different papers into shapes that were Art Deco inspired and I painted them in colors that made me think of Art Deco. One of the techniques that I used that I was pretty happy with was putting the long thin strips down the center of the band-aid looking pieces to make “windows” on them at regular intervals. I recently got a set of 3 Liquitex paint markers and I am really loving them. They were great for adding details to my “building.” I played around with the different paper shapes until I came up with a building that I found interesting. I did some journaling with a white pen on the blue sky and glued everything in place. I painted the flowers with the orange Inktense watercolor pencil after experimenting with a few other media and I drew some leaves and grass with green markers. I learned a lot in the process of making this page and I hope this has been instructional for you too!

On a totally unrelated note…

I made a cherry simple syrup without pitting the cherries. We got 7 pounds of cherries from our CSA and that is a LOT of cherry pits. For the last pound or so I was looking for something to do that would not require removing the pits and I had a hard time finding anything. All the simple syrup recipes I found required pit removal. I decided to try it with them in and it worked beautifully. So here is my version:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

a bunch of cherries without stems but with pits

Simmer everything at a low heat for at least 10 minutes and then squish through a sieve. Keep the syrup in the fridge for as long as it lasts. It is fabulous in lemonade or iced tea. I don’t know what the shelf life is because mine doesn’t last more than 2 weeks. It also makes a lovely housewarming gift or summer party hostess gift.

I hope you have a delicious day!