How to Use Watercolor Backgrounds in an Art Journal
September 2, 2022/
In last week’s tutorial we created beautiful watercolor backgrounds using stencils. But how can we effectively use these watercolor pages in an art journal? It’s always fun to try a new technique, but the real question is how do we apply it to our projects?
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What to do with Watercolor Stenciled Papers
So what can we do with these beautiful watercolor stenciled papers? They can be used as backgrounds in cards or on art journal pages. They can also be cut into images or used in collage to make focal images for our art journal projects.
Using Watercolor Backgrounds in the Art Journal
When using watercolor backgrounds in an art journal, what type of page are you making? Do you want the stenciled background to be the main image, or do you want it to be a subtle background layer? Do you want a more solid background, or something with more pattern? As each piece of stenciled watercolor paper is unique, the pattern itself can influence the page that you make.
Brave Enough to Try Art Journal Page
For this art journal page I used the watercolor paper I made using the Fanfare stencil by Rebecca Baer using M.Graham & Co. Cobalt Blue watercolor, Holbein Artists Quinacridone Magenta watercolor, and Holbein Cadmium Deep Red watercolor.
I had created this watercolor background in my art journal last week using my Dylusions Journal. It makes a perfect surface for doodling and painting as the paper is very smooth. If your stencil doesn’t cover the whole page, an easy fix is to add other layers of paint or stencils to hide the edges of the stencil lines.
Creating a Border
Because the focal image for this page is a quote, a border was the best choice for hiding the stencil lines. Using a Tim Holtz Ideology Ruler, add a 1/2 inch border around the edge of the page with a pencil. I love the Tim Holtz ruler as the vertical and horizontal markers makes creating straight edges so easy!
Use your favorite color of paint with a ½ inch flat paint brush to paint the border. I chose Golden Interference Gold (Fine) Fluid acrylic paint because I love the color and how easily it applies to the surface. I find that adding two coats of paint creates an even and vivid border for the project. Make sure that the paint is fully dry by using a heat tool or setting it aside to dry.
Adding The Quote
The inspiration for this page was this quote:
You’ll never do a whole lot unless you’re brave enough to try.
Dolly Parton
With every page, I often start with a thought, a quote or technique. Recently I’ve been thinking about being brave and being willing to try new things.
As summer is coming to a close, this might be a great time to think about the next few months and how you might like to finish off your year.
As I’ve been thinking about fall, I want to try new things, share more of myself, and see what may come of it. This is why I love this quote from Dolly Parton. It is the challenge to try and not to worry so much about failure.
It’s not always easy to try, it can be overwhelming and challenging. But it’s important for us to try new things, both in creativity and in our lives. Trying is about giving ourselves permission to do something we’ve never done before.
But it’s important that we don’t judge the outcome and instead to see our efforts as the accomplishment. Instead of judging something as perfect or a failure, we must change our perspective to see everything as a learning experience.
I’ve been putting myself in a lot of uncomfortable situations lately, because I want to grow and see what might happen. What’s been so surprising is how many times I thought people might say no, and instead they’ve said yes!
I’ve been so glad to try, even though it’s been scary. I’ve met some amazing people and been given some incredible opportunities. I’m going to keep trying to see what other incredible things might happen this year!
Add Die Cut Images to the Art Journal Page
You can use your own writing or die cut images for this step. Using the Brother Scan N Cut and Brother Canvas Workspace I typed out my letters and welded them together to cut them out. It took only a few minutes to create a beautiful quote for my page.
Add the die cut images to the art journal page using Art Glitter Glue. This glue will dry clear, so even if you end up with glue on your project, it won’t be noticeable.
Add Quote and Journaling
As I love using several fonts for my quotes, I also wrote in block letters using the Sakura Pen-Touch Gold paint pen. I made the letters several pen widths thick to make them stand out on the page.
The question I wanted to journal about was:
What things am I going to try this fall that will require bravery?
Following the design of the watercolor stenciled paper, I added my journaling to the page.
Creating Shadows and Contrast
To add contrast to the page and help the letters to stand out, add a drop shadow with a black pen. When you do this, it will make the quote look more cohesive and will help ground the die cuts in the project.
I assumed that light was coming from the upper left-hand corner of the page. Based off this, I added my shadows to the bottom and right-hand side of each letter. You can see by adding in the shadow, it gives the lettering dimension and adds contrast to this journal page.
Add Drawing and Doodling
As the final touch for this page, using a black Uni Posca Marker with a 0.7mm nib tip, add a black border to the inside border of the page. Then add your favorite doodling to the border.
There are all sorts of doodling patterns that you can use which can be found online. For this project I chose a very simple pattern. Add lines diagonally across the page but make sure to add a slight curve. By curving the lines this creates playfulness, hides inconsistencies, and doesn’t require lines to be perfectly spaced. Add curved lines in the other direction to create a diamond shape on the page.
This could be the completed page for you, but you can also add more detailed lines. I started alternating with horizontal lines in one diamond and vertical lines in the next diamond. By having these patterns alternate, this creates a beautiful pattern that’s easy to make.
You might find creating the horizontal lines more challenging than the vertical lines. I tend to flip and angle my book so I’m always creating vertical lines. By nature, when drawing horizontal lines, our hand wants to move in an arc. By flipping the orientation, you’ll find it easier to always create vertical lines. I know I’m steadier with vertical lines over horizontal lines.
Any Questions?
Any questions about how to use watercolor backgrounds in an art journal? This was meant to be a simple idea on how you can use beautiful watercolor stenciled backgrounds in your projects. I hope that you’ll give this idea a try and find ways of using the beautiful papers you’ve made your journal.
Are you going to try something new this fall? I would love to hear how you’re stepping out and being brave in your life! Please leave a comment below and I’d love to start a conversation with you!
