Day 23--30 Day Coloring Challenge

Just a little coloring

Today's page is yet another page from my Art Journal. This was a last minute project since I was struggling with something to do. I was flipping through my quote books and this quote spoke to me. I did a simple color wash on the page and let it dry.

Next, I searched through my stencil stash to find something that resembled a sun shape. I knew that I had some larger mandala stencils and stumbled across this one. I outlined the partial mandala in black .03 Micron pen. After letting it dry, I filled in the shapes with Copic markers. I added crosshatching with red and orange gelli roll pens. To take off some of the sheen, I used Ranger Distress Oxide inks in Orange, Pink and Amber (or Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, and Fossilized Amber)--see N.B. below.

I added the quote using a newly discovered letter guide (and I now realized why it was hidden for so long). I should have just inked in the quote myself. I found some stickers that were applicable but they had disturbingly white backgrounds so I used the same distressed inks to make them blend more with the page.

Finished page

While I am not totally 100% happy with the result, it is respectable. The beautiful thing about an art journal is that you can always append, fix, change at a later point. I might gesso over parts and start again. Or I might tint some tissue paper and cover the quote and try again.

N.B. I hate the cuteness/girly level of color designations in the crafting world. I understand that most of the crafters are women but there isn't a need to cater to this audience. Pick color names that truly reflect the color. Variations of pink are fine (hot pink, coral, etc). But "worn lipstick" just doesn't reflect the real color. Plus when I demonstrate, I just can't let the words "worn lipstick" tumble from my lips. I always use the base color designation much to the chagrin of my students. We always get a big laugh out of it and by the time I get to the end of the demonstration we have made some really funny name designations as we try and outdo each other.

During my last class, we came up with "CSI New Orleans stabbed to death three hours ago deep purple dried blood red."