Journal52 Week 23 Prompt: Passion #Journal52 #ArtJournal #ArtJournaling

When I saw the word 'Passion' for this week's prompt, the phrase 'My Passion is Pale' popped into my head.  No telling why.  The workings of my brain are unfathomable, lol.

My wrist was aching, it was late, and I knew if I didn't do the page NOW, I wouldn't get it done for a while--so I went simple.  Again.  I think I should have called this my Simple journal.  It's been fun and refreshing and I've learned a lot from it.

So, I had an idea for my words, and wanted a simple style. All I needed to get started.  For those interested, I've written up my process and a little about the products I used.


Step 1:  I made a monoprint on a piece of clear vellum paper.

Clear vellum paper reminds you a little of wax paper.  It has a grayish, translucent surface that is slick.  Most media will stick to it, but drying times are often slower.

I had a piece that I'd used to pull a print from a gelli plate.  A gelli plate looks and feels a bit like a square of jello, but that wobbly surface is great for smearing paint onto, making marks and patterns into the paint, and then pressing paper into it and pulling it away.  You get cool designs and colors on your paper.  I have a stash of these prints that I use as whimsy dictates.

My print had been made a while back so I don't remember exactly how I did it, but I know I'd put a couple strips of self-adhesive paper drywall tape onto the gelli plate (the hole pattern), and brayered some yellow acrylic paint with a brayer that had a touch of some brownish-red paint on it.


Step 2: I glued the vellum into my journal using Polymer Medium (sort of a thin glue).  Later I discovered I hadn't done a very good job in spreading the medium.

Step 3: I colored areas of the page using Neocolor II water-soluble wax pastels.  I left much of the background color showing, and rubbed the Neocolor with my finger to thin and spread it around.

(Note the II in the title.  It's important, because Neocolor I's are NOT water-soluble).  These look like crayons, and you use them much the same way.  Then you use water to blend and spread them, although you can also just leave them dry, and blend with a sponge or your finger.


Step 4: I tore strips of the vellum from the page.  As I colored, I realized that some areas weren't sticking well.  As I considered my options, I decided that if I tore the vellum away where it hadn't stuck it would do two things.  I'd be able to add more Polymer Medium around the edges, and I would be adding some cool texture to the page.

I was too busy thinking things through to remember photography, but you can see the torn edges around the blue streaks on the page.  Besides the interest of the torn edges, the white of the paper beneath changed the intensity of the color adding some contrast as well.

This is why you should never disrepect mistakes!  They truly are opportunities to go beyond your original idea and often help you create something better than you planned.


Step 5: I colored the torn areas using beeswax.  Viva Decor's Inka Gold is a colored beeswax creme that adds translucent, shimmery color and also seals your work.  Although it's creamy, it doesn't spread to easily so you sort of dab and buff it on.  I colored the torn areas with Steel Blue, overlapping the vellum edges.  For balance, I added some of the color to other areas of the page.




Step 6:  I then used a water brush to blend my colors.  Even the Inka Gold will move and blend a little with water, though I wouldn't call it truly water-soluble.  The Neocolor II pastels are though, and I did quite a bit of blending at this point.


Step 7: I used a black Sharpie (of the original kind) to write my words, border pattern and, because the colors made me think of a cave wall, I added rock like shapes.  Both the Neocolor II and Inka Gold are waxy and will clog most pens and markers.  I chose the Sharpie because it will write over both, and because it is cheap.  It doesn't clog as easily, but can eventually.  I usually have one that I mark and use specifically for this kind of work.





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