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Watercolor Landscape Paint Along
Today’s project is a watercolor landscape paint along using gouache. I love using landscapes in my art journal pages. Creating landscapes is great practice for understanding how different art mediums work together. For this watercolor paint along we will be using colored pencils, acrylic paint, gouache, and ink to make a dynamic mixed media art journal page. What is Gouache? If you have never used gouache in a project, it is an opaque watercolor medium. It has similar pigments and binders as watercolor paints, but includes a white filler, such as chalk, which makes these paints opaque. Gouache provides a different result than watercolor. The opaque nature of the paint…
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Monochromatic Art Journal Project
Have you ever tried using a color wheel when designing an art journal layout? This week we will be learning how to create a monochromatic art journal project and talk about the color theory behind this concept. What Does Monochromatic Mean? Monochromatic means “containing or using only one color.” When applying this to an artistic application, it is choosing one color as the basis of our project. It can be challenging only using one color in a project, but by understanding how color values work, we can create a very dynamic layout using only one color. What are Color Values? Color values refers to the lightness or darkness…
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Valentines Art Journal Page
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, so today I will be sharing a Valentines art journal page using watercolor. Valentine’s Day can be an interesting holiday, but for many of us, it can bring some mixed feelings. Some of us really enjoy the celebration of love and connection. But Valentine’s Day can also have feelings of pressure to have the perfect experience or life. Instead of focusing on Valentine’s Day specifically in this journal page, we will be discussing the topic of love. Thinking About Love When we think about love, what is love truly about? Love can sometimes feel like the forced display of affection on Valentine’s Day…
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Altering Paper on a Journal Page
Have you ever had paper that you wanted to use in an art journaling project but were uncertain how to add it to your page? In this week’s project, we will be altering paper on a journal page. We will be focusing on two different ways that you can use a piece of paper on one journal page. For this week’s project I wanted to share with you one of my new favorite paper lines by Wild Whisper Designs called Carefree. I love this paper because it is so bright and cheery. In my city, we are experiencing a typical Canadian winter. With the snow and gray days, I often…
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Mixed Media Art Journal Project “Grow”
Do you ever struggle with bringing different mixed media products together on a page? In this week’s tutorial I will be demonstrating how to do so in this mixed media art journal project “Grow”. In this project we will be using watercolor, Brusho Crystal Colours and pastes through stencils to make a colorful and dynamic art journal page. The Intention I usually start every art journal project with an intention for the project. Sometimes, it is something as simple as trying out a new art product or image. Other times it is a thought, word, or idea to work through as I create. Sometimes it is hard to know where…
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How to use Pan Pastels
Today I wanted to show you how to use Pan Pastels. Pan Pastels are a new addition to my mixed media work, and I have enjoyed using them to enhance my art. If you have never heard of Pan Pastels, these are a fun and versatile medium. So what are Pan Pastels? Pan Pastels are a soft, highly pigmented pastel that is in a pan form. These are not oil based but instead have a chalk-like feel. One of the benefits of using pan pastels is that you can apply color quickly and easily. They blend well, are highly pigmented and are created to produce very little dust. I enjoy…
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Art Journal Page Using Distress Embossing Glazes
Today I want to share with an art journal page using Distress Embossing Glazes and pastes called “In the Darkness.” Over the last few weeks, I have been processing the events in the United States with the death of George Floyd. It has brought up some strong emotions for me. Social justice is important to me, and to see what is happening in the US is breaking my heart. I Believe I do not want to talk about politics, but I do feel that I should say something about what has happened. I believe that every life is precious and valuable. I believe that we need to love mercy and…
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4 Ideas for Using Gelli Printing in Your Projects
Today I want to share with you 4 ideas for using Gelli printing in your projects. Last week I wrote an article and provided tutorials about how to make Gelli prints. As a follow up to those tutorials, I want to give you some practical ideas for using Gelli printing in your projects. Creative Ways to use Gelli Prints It is not always easy finding creative ways to use Gelli prints in your projects. When I first started Gelli printing, I would end up with a stack of great prints that I had no idea how to use in other projects. I generally just pasted them onto journal pages and…
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How to Make Gelli Prints
Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite art techniques, how to make gelli prints. Gelli printing was a technique I used to struggle with until I took a class from a professional artist. She showed me that Gelli printing can not only be easy but also fun and relaxing. Gelli printing is my go to art activity when I want some creative self-care, especially in the moments where I’m not feeling very creative. What is Gelli Printing? What is Gelli printing? It is a type of monoprinting which is a form of printmaking that has lines or images that can only be made once. It differs…
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Inspiration Over Manipulation Art Journal Project
The idea of inspiration over manipulation has been on my mind this week and I wanted to share this art journal project with you. The concept of inspiration over manipulation is something I learned from the book Start with Why by Simon Sinek which I did a book review on last week. I really like the concept of inspiration over manipulation. It’s about how we can make the choice to live our lives in a way that allows us to inspire others over manipulating others. I think it’s a great reminder to live authentically and in a way that shows respect for others and for their values and beliefs. The…
The Art of Self-Care
