Combining Acrylics with Watercolors in Art Journaling
This summer has been sunny and warm in Finland. It has been great to spend time outdoors, gardening! Our garden is still work in progress. I think about it constantly. And it shows here in this art journal page, as well as the hot summer days!
I love the combination of acrylics and watercolors. They make a great background. Start with the acrylics, leave some unpainted areas and the add watercolor to them.
I continued by adding some handdrawn papers and wrote: “For someone this would be only a house and a garden but for us it’s the whole world.”
Coming up in Espoo, Finland: art journaling courses by Peony and Parakeet (in Finnish). The first evening (19th September) is about creating pages about landscapes and places!
Illustration Basics
When looking at skillfull illustrations, I often remind myself:
It is all about the …
* * *
Just basic shapes and some doodling makes it all look much more complicated and creative than it really is.
Using Hand Decorated Papers in Scrapbook Pages
“The golden door is open” says this page. I feel like I have entered the new level of scrapbooking when I have increased the amount of handmade elements, especially hand decorated papers.
I wonder why store-bought papers are so popular. Using my own papers is so inspiring. Here’s “Empty Scenes”.
In this page I have used odd leftover letter stickers to create patterned background area in the bottom of the page. Did not cost anything but with some gesso and acrylics they got a new look.
With hand decorated papers I have begun to pick themes that I never did before. Like this one about Sibelius’s Finlandia hymn, my aunt and being a Finn.
Homemade Happiness
This is my new fabric pattern called “Homemade”. The happiness really starts from home and appreciating everything you already have.
A stool that I am proud of
Our house is filled with little items that me or my husband have made. This year they have been especially important for me. Maybe because the winter has been so long and dark, with very few sunny days.
This stool is one of the little suns of our home. It has been made by my skillful husband. Every time I see it, I observe it’s brilliant structure and feel proud for his accomplishment.
Smash book continues
I have continued filling my Smash book with art journaling.
I do not mind the pages with preprinted assignments. They challenge me to get creative. Here I have expressed how I often see the images or colors when using my other senses.
Good Distractions
The world is sometimes too full of visual distractions for me! But they can be beneficial too. The yellow that I see when entering our home really makes me forget most of my worries.
I made a page about it and created a fantasy image of a house. It was so fun to make. What I love about art journaling is that everything can be taken as lightly or seriously as I want.
Recommend: Journal Fodder
I have bought a new art journal. It’s Dylusions journal with super thick pages. And I have also bought a new book: Journal Fodder. It is a great and detailed book about art journaling. The book includes techniques, prompts, ideas and is well structured. I love the combination of creativity and systemacy of it. See more information at the website of the authors: Journal Fodder Junkies Needless to say: will be spending a lot of time with art journaling this spring!