Art Journaling Prompt: Collage & Mixed Media

An art journaling prompt for you today, using collage & mixed media.

I used collage to kick start this sketch book entry, scrap book papers, and some images printed on my ink jet printer at home.

Sometimes all you need is a few prompts to get you started on some new pages in your sketch book or art journal. Follow this art journaling recipe along as closely or as loosely as you like!

You will need:

-scrapbook papers
-printed images
-mod podge
-acrylic paints
-matt medium
-coloured pencils

Head over to The Graphics Fairy to find some copyright-free print-quality images that interest you and print a few out at sizes that will work well in your sketch book. I was quite drawn to the bird images. I had to shrink the images as they are quite large which is great to know for other projects :)

Take some decorative/ scrap book papers, cut some smaller pieces and start sticking them in with mod podge (pva glue also works, but I like the archival qualities of using mod podge).

Once you have some decorative paper stuck in, start filling in the blank pages with acrylic paint. Feel free to mix in some matt medium to make the paint washy or just to make your paint go further.

I like to stick to using matt medium so that I can draw over the top of the paint with coloured pencils.

Cut you ink jet prints out and glue them in place, covering the whole reverse side of the images with mod podge. I always put glue on the reverse side of the piece I'm sticking down, rather than the sketchbook.  It helps to avoid the piece you're sticking down wrinkling.

Once firmly stuck (I give them a few minutes- go make a cuppa) paint over them to seal the ink with some matt medium. When you're sealing, work lightly and only one stroke over each section of the image to prevent the printer ink shifting.You can do a second coat if needed once the first coat is dry to make sure it's totally sealed. This seals the printer ink so you can work over the top with paints etc without the ink smudging. (As ink jet ink is not waterproof when dry, but laser copies are.)

Once everything is dry again (use a hair dryer to speed things up), use some coloured pencils on top. Draw shapes, patterns, scribble a bit, and/ or add some hand drawn type. Just doddle and have some fun.

Then take out the acrylic paints + matt medium again. Mix colours close to your background colours and paint around the white bits, if there are any, around your cut outs.

You can also add some more interest with paint by adding some spots and detail into any shapes or patterns that you decided to draw.

I added some more detail with my coloured pencils. I thought those black birds needed some more contrast so I added some black pencil to them to make them stand out.

Dilute some acrylic paint with medium and add some washes over certain areas. If you're unsure about mixing colours, keep it simple by only mixing a couple of colours together to avoid muddiness, and that will help to keep your colours fresh. 

You can keep going and adding more patterns, washes or detail with your paints or coloured pencils, or else if you are happy with how it looks you can stop there. 

So there you go, an art journalling recipe for you to try! See what you can come up with!

Jules :)

Gobbling Up Goodness..

..With my eyes! Books that look so good I could eat them!

I have been doing a fair bit of research lately on Children's Picture Books. And I love this area of illustration so much that I am just awe struck when I come across beautiful new books. It's a tricky area of illustration to crack into, which is why I feel truly blessed that I've been there before.

I have just ordered Oddfellow's Orphanage by the extremely talented Emily Winfield Martin. This is not a picture book but junior fiction, which has come out at the right time for my Miss 6 1/2 to read. She is becoming a regular book worm at night reading by the light of her bedside table lamp. This one's for her. She tells me "Mum, you like 'weird' don't you?" Yes, my love, I do. And she's following in her mother's footsteps. She's very creative and already sees things from an artists' perspective.

I love illustrations that are textured and have depth through they way they are rendered, such as with these two books. Oh, I'm sure "The Little Gardener" will be the next one that pops up on my credit card statement! Both published by Flying Eye Books. (Some really awesome books published there.)

And Elsa Mora has illustrated The Water And The Wild. (Also junior fiction.) I've been following this artist ever since way back when she first opened her Etsy shop. Lovely to see some of her work gracing this book cover.

Another of my favourite artists has illustrated her first book Sonya's Chickens. Her illustrations are so beautiful to look at. She has the right balance of elements that come together to make stunning pictures. This might just have to be ordered at the same time as "The Little Gardener"! 

So after feasting my eyes on lots of delicious new books as part of some inspiration for illustration work; I just had to share. 

Now I'll leave you with an image of a painting I was working on during last nights Art Jam session. Untitled as yet.

Catch you soon :)