Pages 7/31/12

A few things I've been working on. Some altered images I paint, doodle and stamp on. I'll use those in journal spreads, like the one above. I'm also working on some pottery too, trying to build up my stock before the big show in November. It's hard getting back into clay after many months off, but I'm trying. ;-)

Pages 6/6/12

It's been a busy few weeks! I'm posting a few pics of what I've been working on in the evenings after work. Three of these are designs for a round robin journal swap I am in right now. A  couple of them aren't quite done yet. I'll post the finished pieces when they are done. The canvases are primed and ready for me to add a painting or collage. The top journal pages utilizes some of the lino block stamps I made a few months ago. It was fun to use them because they fit PERFECTLY in this journal.

That's about it! I'm so tired I don't have much more to say today! Enjoy the pics and ignore my boring words today. lol.

Pages 5/25/12

Here are a few journal pages I did in a friend's journal recently. Kind of cheeky. lol. They turned out pretty cool. I used a variety of paints, and pens as well as collage and other mixed media objects.

Pages 5/7/12

Detail of the right spread.

Detail of the left spread.

Here are a few altered book spreads I did over the weekend. Mixed media, painting and collage on an old yearbook. This book is BIG. I am a little overwhelmed working large and filling the space, but it's been fun. The scary baby one, yeah it's scary. lol. I was just really drawn to the weird image.

Pages 5/3/12

Not too much going on in the studio right now. I've posted a page I am working on in an old journal. I'm working on priming some pages in a brand new book. This is the boring part, right? I have a couple more pages to prime and then I'll stitch them all together. That's when the fun starts. ;-)

Pages 4/30/12

Self portrait collage for a swap I am in. Size is 4X6. The person hosting this swap is going to mount it on a 5X7 book. We also had to answer a bunch of questions about ourselves. I'll post what I get back if you guys are interested. ;-)

Pages 4/23/12

A couple more finished visual journal pages. Both for a round robin I am in. Not sure now, looking at the 'Secret' pages if I need to go back and do a bot more. Hmm. Some open spaces I think might need 'something'. I'll sit on it a night or two. ;-) The 'Secret Family Recipe' spread was inspired, believe it or not, by the label on a can of Bush's Baked Beans.

Pages 4/20/12

Been working on some round robin journal spreads this week. Top design is for the 'Malice in Wonderland' themed altered book. It's been fun messing around with a darker theme. Bottom is for an open themed journal. I've used those handy dandy carved lino stamps I did awhile ago and then painted the girl with a variety of acrylics, gel pen and pastels.

Pages 4/16/12

Here's a finished spread in my personal art visual journal. It's the last one to finish before I do the cover. Top image is closest to the true colors in the book. The second I included because I loved the colors the Hipstamatic photograph put on it. It really enhanced the blues.

Pages 4/12/12

Well, I finished the page last night. I used the cut up piece I showed you guys yesterday. I layered in a bunch of acrylic paints and pastels and then did a final batik like stencil over the top to give it a splash of bright yellow. What you think? A little strange looking, but I dig it.

Pages 4/11/12

This was a weird little picture that came out of altering a magazine image. Almost spooks me out. Well, wait ... yeah it spooks me out. I covered this with a wash of acrylic paint, and then went back in with portfolio pastels and more full strength acrylic paints.

I ran this through the Zyron so the back is sticky. Oh, and I cut it up into pieces to give it a little more drama. I'll pop it into a journal page tonight and post the results tomorrow. ;-) Or when I get around to it. Who am I kidding.

Pages 4/3/12

A couple visual journal pages for a round robin I am in. Bottom skeleton hand incorporates a stamp made by another artist for a stamp swap we were in. Ironically, it's her journal I am working in so I thought it would be cool to try and use her stamp. Top piece has a lyric from a Tori Amos song which worked nicely with the artwork.

Pages 3/20/12

Here are a couple journal pages I've been working on lately. These are actually within an altered book for a round robin I am in. What do you think? The theme of this altered book is Good Vs. Evil.

Pages 3/19/12

Another journal page I am working on. I started with a magazine photo and painted over it with acrylic paints. Then went back in with a white gel paint on top of the image. It was pretty fun almost completely covering the image with paint, then pulling back in the details.

Pages 3/5/12

Here are a few more pages of the journal I've been working on. Big fun. I'm enjoying working  on paper again.

Pages 09/15/11

Been working on my journal lately. Here are a few finished pages for you guys to look at. I love journaling. It really gives me total freedom to work less mainstream. It's art for myself, not anyone else.

Pages 02/21/09

I got pretty behind with my Traci Bautista workshop this week because of work. Today I buckled down and spent a bit of time going through the exercises. Most of the exercises were about spilling out your random thoughts using a variety of different mediums. I used Sharpie paint pens, gel pens, highlighters, markers, white out pens. I found it really fun to randomly write words and didn't stress out while doing them. I recommend trying something like this. Take out a blank sheet of paper and start randomly scribbling the thoughts in your head. Then mess around with different pans and see what happens. Try using a bunch of pens you'd normally not draw with, like a highlighter. Just when you think you are done, push it again and add more color or line work.

The painting above I started with a really dark blue background and swirled in some lighter blues. The exercise was to write with a white out pen. I also used gel pens and a sharpie pint pen for the blacks. This one is my ode to the blank page. ;-)