Hi Everyone,

I am still in my "colouring-in phase" and am thoroughly enjoying Monique Day-Wilde's new Colouring-In books.

I love to use all kinds of different art mediums in my colouring-in books, it is a great way to explore and experiment different products.  I find Dede Willingham a great inspiration for using colouring-in books in a whole new way.  

Today's project is from Country Daydreams by Monique Day-Wilde.

I used a wash of Dina Wakley Heavy-body Acrylic Paint (Night) to cover the background. Mixing it with water will thin out the paint so that the stars and other details are still visible, this will also create a uneven mottled effect.

I used a Derwent Waterbrush to pick up colours from Gelato sticks to add a light watercolour wash to the images.  You can use any watercolour paint or acrylic wash for this step.

I coloured in my images with Derwent Coloursoft pencils.  I always use the same technique to colour all my images - from the shadows to the highlights.  Monique already added shading to her images, so this takes the guessing out of where the light source is coming from.   With each lighter shade I add more colour towards the highlight and then blend all the colours with white (you can also use a colourless blender).  I have done a couple of courses from Kit and Clowder - a great resource for colouring in workshops 

Add the background details with a white Posca Paint Markers, this pens are filled with acrylic paint and writes easily over most surfaces.

Colour in the white stars with yellow and add a halo around each star.

Add extra details and a border with Posca Paint Markers.

I just love Monique Day-Wilde's new Colouring-In books - Town Daydreams and Country Daydreams.  The images are beautifully drawn with enough open spaces to add your own doodles.  
I used Koh-i-Noor Polycolor pencils (oil based) to colour this page from Town Daydreams.

Instructions:

Use colours 18 Light Blue, 52 Azure Blue & 15 Ice Blue  to colour each block.  Start with 18 (dark blue) in the corners and blend with lighter blues (52 & 15) to a white highlight.  I also used white to blend the colours.

Use 34 Blue Grey to add shading around each house - this will create depth.  It will bring the houses to the foreground.

Add 24 Pea Green over the background and blend out towards the highlight that will now change to a Turquoise colour.

Use the shading that Monique has already added to the houses to add colour from the darkerst to the lightest. (64 Burnt Ochre, 29 Light Ochre & 41 Banana Yellow).  Most of the times I use three colours - dark, medium and light and blend together with the lightest colour or sometimes white.

Now colour in the roofs (47 Scarlet Red, 30 Red Brown & 9 Apricot Orange) and the rest of the features (32 Natural Sienna, 65 Medium Terracotta &30 Red Brown).  The windows was done with 39 Silver and blended with 1 White.

I used Posca Paint pens PC1-MR in white and black to add the border around the page and other details & doodles.

Hi Everyone,

I am still enjoying my small 150x150mm art journal.  This journals will be available in the shop by the end of the week.  It is stitch bound with a plain chipboard cover so that you can decorate it.  It contains 48 pages of slightly textured Modigliani 200 gsm Mixed Media paper. 

WONDER Art Journal Page

Prepare the pages with white Gesso (let dry) and apply Gelatos in warm colours to the background.  Spread Gelatos with a baby wipe (wet wipe).

Use a wet wipe to remove some of the colour from background through a stencil. (Stencil-Art Starry Night A5 Stencil).

Mix white Gesso and water and apply to the background with a cosmetic wedge - this will lighten the background. 

Cut a picture from a Colouring-in book and glue onto your page with Matte Gel Medium.  

Apply the Gel Medium over the image and use a old credit card or your fingers to remove any air bubbles. Complete the the image with a pencil so that it is spread out over the whole background.

Paint the images with Gesso to create a whole and draw in the lines with a black Posca Paint Marker. (Make sure that the Gesso is completely dry otherwise you will ruin your marker). 

Use Derwent Watercolour and Intense pencils to colour in the images.   Apply a layer of pencil and activate with a wet paint brush (or a waterbrush) and Liquitex Matte Medium.  

I dipped my paintbrush in the Matte Medium to blend the pencil.  This will ensure that the watercolour pencils do not blend with the next layer.  This is quite time consuming but all the layers create a lot of depth.

Apply Ranger Texure Paste with a palette knife through the Stencil-Art Angie's Journaling Words 2 A5 Stencil and leave to dry.  Ranger's Texture Paste can be dried with a Heat Tool.  

Use the blue Derwent Metallic Pencil to add colour to the bottom of the letters.  I wanted to create an ombre effect and applied some white Intense pencil to the top of the letters as well.

Use a black Posca Paint Marker to outline each letter and all the images.  Add shading with a brown pencil and activate with water and matte medium. 

Add details to the images with a white Posca Paint Marker.  I just love my Posca Paint Markers - it writes over anything and are available in different nibs sizes and colours.

Add glitter to the angel wings with the clear Wink of Stella Brush pen. 

Add more details with Ranger Liquid Pearls.

 

Hi Everyone,

I plan to stock small art journals in the shop and have been testing some paper.  It has been such fun working in this smaller journal (150x150mm), especially as time is always in short supply!  This smaller journal also fits nicely in my handbag and does not take up so much space on my desk, making it much easier to create on the go!

Be Authentic Art Journal Page

Products used:
Dylusions Ink Sprays - London Blue, Funky Fuchsia & Lemon Zest.
Pentel Aquash Medium Point Waterbrushes.
Stencil-Art Stencils - Birds-in-a-Row, Flowers Mixed & Angie's Journaling Words 2.
Posca Paint Pens - assorted colours.
Koh-i-Noor Polycolor pencils.

Fill Pentel Aquash Waterbrushes with Dylusions Ink Sprays - this will make it much easier to control than using the spray bottles.

Use a paintbrush to apply water to the background.

Add the Dylusions Ink to the background.

Move the Dylusions Ink with a wet paintbrush.

Use a damp paintbrush to add "texture" to the dry background - this can also be done by removing colour with a wetwipe and a stencil.  Clean the paintbrush on a paper towel to remove build-up of ink.

Make sure the background is dry before adding the doodles with the black Posca Paint pen and stencils.

Colour in the images with Polycolor pencils - these pencils are oil-based and are very easy to layer and blend.

Add accents to the flowers and birds with Posca Paint Pens.

Use the white Polycolor pencil to soften the colours in the background.

Use  Angie's Journaling Words 2 Stencil to add the title and colour-in with Posca Paint Pens.

Hi Everyone,

I have been trying out different colouring-in pencils lately and have been enjoying the Koh-i-Noor Polycolor pencils especially.  These pencils are oil-based that makes application and blending so easy.  

I used grey graphite paper to trace a colouring-in image onto a A4 Canvas Panel. The image I used is from the Colouring Book - Simple Blessings by Karla Dornacher. I bought this colouring-in book as a PDF downloadable file from her Etsy Shop

I used a Pigma Micron pen to outline the image in black. I will not ever use a Micron pen again to draw on Canvas as the rough texture ruined my pen.  The Posca paint Pens are a much better option.

I sprayed the canvas with lots of water and start sprinkling Brusho Crystals until I was satisfied with the background. I tried to use more earthy colours on the bottom; blue, yellow and red in the sky an green on the leaves.

I painted all the areas that I wanted to colour-in with Dina Wakley Clear Gesso to smooth the roughness of the Canvas.  I coloured in the image with Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Pencils and used the Derwent Blender Pens to create a smooth application. 

I used the Posca Paint Pens in Black and White to add the borders and doodles. I was so pleased with the end result!

Hi Everyone,

Water colour mediums have always been a challenge for me.  I like lots of layers and permanent mediums is just so much easier to work with.  I have decided to challenge myself to use more water soluble mediums, and thus I have been "playing" with my Distress Markers.  

"Dare to be DiFfeRent" Art Journal Page with Distress Markers

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. I am working in my Strathmore Visual Journal with Bristol Smooth paper and as always protect the rest of my journal by placing a sheet of wax paper behind the page I will be working on.
2. Randomly add colour with Distress Markers and the Distress Marker Spritzer to the page.  It worked best for me when I placed the brush nib of the markers just over the edge of the Spritzer tool. Remember the ink will blow from the spritzer and not the marker.
3. As the ink in the Distress Markers are water-soluble I seal it with Liquitex Matte Medium.  I prefer to use a brayer to lightly apply the Matte Medium, a brush will move and blend the colour too much.
4. Make an absorbent ground by mixing 3 parts of Liquitex white Gesso with 1 part Liquitex Modeling Paste and apply as smooth and thinly as possible with a palette knife. 
5. After making sure that the absorbent ground is dry, lightly sand it to get rid of the uneven and rough parts. This will help to preserve the brush nibs of your makers.  You don’t need to do this if you are using pencils.
6. Use the Vases 3 stencils and draw 5 vases on the background with the fine nib of the Distress Markers. I started drawing the vases with the same colour, but changed by mind and erased it with a damp cloth.
7. Colour directly with Distress Markers on the flowers and stem stamps from the Flower Garden stamp set by Tim Holtz and stamp quickly before the ink dries.  If this happens, just spritz it lightly with water to activate the ink.
8. If you want to change the placement or colours you stamped, just erase it with a damp cloth.
9. Start adding colour to the images by dragging the outlined colours into the centre with a water brush and add more ink as necessary.
10. Try not to layer different colours over wet ink as it is water based and will always reactivate when liquid is added to it.  Also be careful not to use too much water to blend as water will make the ink run all over the page.
11. Decide from which direction the light is coming from, this will determine your shading and highlights.  This is especially important as light reflects from shiny surfaces, in this instance the glass vases. I have decided that my light source is from the right, therefore I my vases will be darker on the left side.
12. I create darker areas by colouring directly with the marker and blending it with my water brush and then picking up ink from an acrylic block with a water brush for the lighter areas.
13. Wipe the water brush on a dry paper towel to clean it when using different colours.
14. Use a dry paint brush to blend out a colour without adding water, this will only soften the colour and not lighten it as when adding water.  Sometimes is also easier to lay down a different colour by picking up the ink from an acrylic block with a dry brush.  For bold, dark strokes of colour using the marker directly.
15. If you would like to change anything in the image, like lengthening the one flower stem, use a damp foam brush to remove some of the colour and use the marker to lengthen it.
16. Add the water line to the vases.  The stems of the flowers will be distorted and enlarged by the water and the vases will look darker where it is filled with water.  Also add some of the colour of the vase over the stem to create the effect that the stem is inside the vase.
17. Add reflections of light shining through the vases and casting shadows behind it – this shadows will be coloured as the vases are transparent.
18. Start adding colour to the flowers by dragging the ink lines from the stamp with the water brush.  Be careful to not drag the water brush over the lines, otherwise it will turn into one ink blot.  You need to keep the detail of each leaf of the flowers.
19. Create depth by making sure that the flower stems are correctly placed – in front and behind certain areas of the vase.
20. Keep on adding layers of colours to the flower, and try not to add more colour over wet areas as this will just blend the colours without creating depth.  It is easier to move around the page and work on dry areas only.
21. Keep on adding colour to the vases to create dimension and depth and use the Picket Fence Distress Marker to add highlights.  This marker goes on clear and dries opaque
22. Use a light wash of Frayed Burlap to create shadows on the left side of the flowers and stems.  If you add to much colour, add water and blot it with a dry paper towel.  I changed over to a paint brush as the water brush was dispensing too much water and was starting to bleed into my images.  I just picked up some water that I spritzed on my acrylic block to blend the frayed burlap to create subtle shading.
23. Write your quote directly on the page with Black Soot and Hickory Smoke and remember if you make a mistake you can simply wipe it off and start again.  Use the fine or brush nib depending on the size of your letters. Use Picket Fence to add highlight to the letters.
24. Use the fine nib to add final details to the flowers.
25. Lastly add the date.

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