For this page I decided to do the opposite of what I'd usually do, at least sorta. I generally start with pre-painted pages, but so far in my newest journal, I'm starting with white and going from there. I'm not intimidated by the white page!
Lately I've found that I end up not liking the backgrounds and that makes me not want to work on a page. While I do think it's good to test my mettle, if you well, for now, I'm going page by page to see what happens.
For this page, I glued the image of the girl from a catalog (free people, I think) on some layered graph paper, tissue paper, and an old book page. I added blue on the background with Portfolio oil pastels in three shades of blue.
I found the quote "Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. - sam keen" and thought it was perfect for the day I was having. I was sort of being productive, but mostly soaking up the AC and staying out of the heat.
I used a white Sharpie poster-paint marker to journal on the background. I started off with the uni-ball signo but for once, it didn't want to write! Usually, that sucker writes over everything, so now I know it doesn't like the watersoluble oil pastels!
I used a sakura gel pen to add the black lines between the text. That actually didn't work so well either, but I found that by doubling back and tracing the first line, I could get a good line. Plus, I like the kind of faded look of it.
Usually, I'd outline the girl in black, so today I decided to try white. It's kind of neat looking, but also weird. I messed up her eyes, so I drew in the sunglasses. She looks like a member of ZZ Top now, since the shading on her neck looks like a beard. Oh well. At least I tried something new!
I have been suffering from a toothache, so last night I decided to Journal It Out. I started with a circle in the middle, where I wrote about hating going to the dentist, then drew rings of neocolor II's around the circle in rainbow order. I used a wet finger to drag the color from the middle out to blend a little.
When it was dry, I went back in with my trust Sharpie poster-paint marker and added black circle outlines, more text, and doodles. Finished by using a white uni-ball signo gel pen to add accents.
I think it's funny that this page ended up all bright and cheery even though I'm writing about dentists being a little bit evil. Working on this page definitely took my mind off the pain for a while and gave my ibuprofen a chance to kick it. Will have to remember the power of journaling if I have issues again. (I'm sure I will since it takes about a million years for me to get in to see my dentist!)
i really like it,(she doesn't look like zz top). read over your steps about 4 times, but can't find what black pen you used to write the quote. did you use the white uniball to outline the girl & embellish the black quote? how does the white pen NOT smear on the magazine image? when you used the turquoise portfolio for the background, did you blend it with your fingers, or add water & paint it? did you seal it? & with what? i like portfolios, but they makes my opposite page smear with color marks.
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Excellent questions!
ReplyDeleteFor the quote: I started with a Sharpie poster-paint marker, but found it didn't want to write over the background (weird, since the white worked just fine! think it's almost out of paint?) So I ended up using a new marker: Staedtler Lumocolor 314. Just noticed it's refillable! Who knew?
Yes to using the uniball to outline girl and quote. The white pen WILL smear if you aren't careful, but once it's dry, it stays put. I just have learned to work carefully so I'm not smudging it with my hand as I write.
For the porfolios, what I have found that works for me is: I color a little onto the page dry then use wet fingers to blend. I just have a little cup of water near me and I dip my fingers in and blend. Sometimes I use a brush, but I really like using my hands! :)
I didn't seal them. I haven't have a problem with smearing, but I'm thinking that it might be because I blended them with water with my fingers, so they aren't as creamy anymore.
I wonder, too, if the paper makes a difference? I'm using hot press watercolor paper (Fabriano Artistico, I'm hooked on the stuff). It really absorbs the color and I'm guessing that a less absorbent paper might not give the same results?
I'm right with you on the whole dentist thing. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon. (I poromised myself I'd go visit the dentist this summer...haven't called yet, but maybe you'll inspire me). I love how you did this girl's white lines for the hair and outlines. Great quote. ~kathy
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