A Look Back – This time I’m looking at one of my favorite mixed media supplies – Acrylic Spray Paint. I particularly love how you can layer and apply a veil of color with it, and it is so perfect with using stencils too. Below are 5 ways to experiment with Acrylic Spray Paint in this Look Back.
A Look Back is a blog series to show you some projects and posts that you may have missed – sometimes going WAY back in the archive. I think it will be fun to revisit a few ideas that we haven’t seen for a while. I’m excited to see how a little look back might inspire something new in the future :)
First up we are going back (way back) to 2013 and this post about some of my essential supplies – as you can see I have been a fan of acrylic spray paint for a long time now :) I list a bunch of ways I loved using it back then – many of which I still do!
From 2016 you can watch this Creative Ice Breaker video and see me in action with my Lily Wallpaper Stencil and some white liquitex spray paint. I love how spray paint can make a super crisp design or a soft focus one with a stencil.
Next up is this post from 2017 where I use Montana spray paint for the first time – a favorite brand of water-based spray paints with a cool matte finish. Here I use my popular Versailles stencil:
In this post from 2017 I show how to layer up 3 different stencils with spray paint and make it work. Here I get nice results from using my Mesa Verde, Granada, and Santa Fe stencils that all work well together.
Finally, here is a post from 2019 when I was doing the Stencilfied Challenge. It’s a really nice example of what look you can get from blending just a couple colors of spray paint with one single stencil – in this case my Buenos Aires stencil. This is one of my favorite ways to use acrylic spray paints for a background.
I hope you enjoyed this look back and maybe it inspired you to give something new a try :)
“Everybody wants change but nobody wants to change. Be the change!” A good message I think when you feel powerless – you CAN make a difference and be the change!
I used acrylic paint and acrylic markers here for my building scene and background. I had fun focusing on some of the patterns in the architecture.
I added paint splatters to bring everything together.
Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have a gorgeous art journal spread from Nicole Watson that will have you singing your song too! In addition to my Early Bird rubber stamp, my Valley Road stencil, a seminal poem by Maya Angelou, and an array of ephemera, Nicole was inspired by this month’s theme: Sing Your Song – Everybody has their own voice, their own groove, their own one-of-a-kind personality. What is something unique about YOU that you are proud of? Don’t be shy, Sing YOUR Song!
Layers or ephemera grunge, handwriting/text, stabilo pencils and gesso often fill my journal pages. These are just some of the tools that I use to sing my song. When Nat introduced this month’s theme to us, I didn’t know what song I would sing with these tools. However, as the events of the world have unfolded in these past few weeks, I haven’t been able to get the words of Maya Angelou’s poem “Caged Bird” out of my head so, I used this poem as inspiration for my page.
Here is a video showing my process:
After gessoing my pages, I layered them with ephemera from music books and handwritten notebooks using matte medium. Then, I scrunched up some pattern tissue and added it to my pages as well. I really like how effortlessly pattern tissue adds texture to pages. To push back some of the strong black lines on the tissue and unite all the elements, I spread some watered-down gesso different placed on the ephemera.
Next, I grabbed a charcoal pencil to sketch in a bird cage. Using a charcoal pencil allows me to easily erase sketchy marks I don’t like (as you’ll see in the video!) and the charcoal also adds to the grunge on the page. When I was finished with the sketch, I grabbed my stabilo all to trace the lines and then activated it with water. I also used my graphite stabilo to add sketchy lines to the cage and the other page.
Then, I added some color using acrylic paint with my paintbrush and with Nat’s Valley Road stencil.
Since I didn’t want the stenciled images to stand out as the top layer, I used paint, stabilo, and gesso to push them back a bit. I added a few more touches here and there with splatters and some additional blue paint to the bird cage.
I knew I wanted to add part of the poem to my page, so I typed an excerpt from it with my typewriter.
I also wanted a large focal point word and thought about stickers, but wanted a more vintage look. I hunted around my studio and dug in boxes for a “sing” flashcard I just knew I had…which I couldn’t find! So, I dug through all my flashcards and found “fly” instead. If you don’t have old flashcards, you can use large letter stickers or type something on your computer in a larger font and use paint to grunge up. After adding some paint spatters to the flashcard, I layered the text on the flashcard and felt something needed to draw more attention to that area, so I sketched some circles down the page.
To add the bird, I stamped Nat’s Early Bird stamp on a loose sheet of watercolor paper and also an old notebook page sheet (the same one I typed on). I didn’t know which one would look better, so I painted them both. I decided I liked how the white watercolor paper helped the bird pop a bit more. After securing the bird to the page, I also added some flicks of the fuchsia and orange paint to the pages to carry the bird color across them.
Often my art journal pages capture memories and moments in time. Before I began this spread, I paged through my journal a bit reminiscing about where I was in life when I created some of the pages. They are how I sing my song not only with technique, but allow me to process and journal about life.
Thank you Nicole! Love your beautiful sombre palette and the powerful message here!
Give it a try: you can find all my Stencils and Rubber Stamps in my Online Shop and in addition to various pieces of ephemera, here are some of the other supplies Nicole used:
Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share? I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.
Today I’m happy to announce that Best of Creative JumpStart Vol. 2 is now on sale! This is the second bundle of mixed media lessons by some of our amazing CJS artist teachers, this bundle includes videos from Creative JumpStart 2016.
For just $9.99 you will receive access to download links for 12 inspiring Creative JumpStart lessons from 2016. Here are the stellar teachers and lessons in this bundle:
Nathalie Kalbach – CJS16 Kiefer – Texture Exploration on Canvas
Birgit Koopsen – CJS16 Basquiat – Heart vs. Head Portrait
Julie Fei-Fan Balzer – CJS16 Matisse – Watercolor Stick Portrait of a Lady
Michelle Ward – CJS16 Matisse – Stencils and Spray Paint
Catherine Scanlon – CJS16 Picasso – Floral Painting Inspired by Words
Jane LaFazio – CJS16 Kahlo – Watercolor Flowers Collage
Jodi Ohl – CJS16 Basquiat – Out of Your Head and On to The Canvas
Sign up HERE today for a nice bundle of technique and project lessons from the Creative JumpStart archive!
And if you haven’t yet, you may still sign up for Best of CJS Vol.1 with videos from 2014 and 2015. Stay tuned for more Best of CJS video bundles and enjoy Jumping with us again :)
Space Oddity – a hex shape that pulses with energy…
…and Far Out – your new favorite stamp for mark making or visual texture!
Also in there are 2 NEW sizes for my Midtown stamp set. This 4 piece set of buildings is my go to for a funky cityscape. The Midtown Set is now in a new size and I’m happy to also announce there is now a Midtown Mini set too!!! Super cute little buildings. Check it out below:
Both sizes are going to be a lot of fun to play with.
Hurry into the Online Shop and use the coupon code FOAM20 to save 20% off your foam stamp order. Sale ends tonight, June 14th at 11:59pm EST.
ArtFoamies are Back and I’m having a big sale in my Online Shop! All my foam stamps are 20% off now through June 14th at 11:59pm EST.
Just use the coupon code FOAM20 when you check out to save.
Besides using them in my Art Journal, I love artfoamies for all kinds of projects and with so many techniques. Check out some fun inspiration for how to use them here in my Foam Stamplifier challenge.
Here are some of my favorite foam stamps:
I love my Batik foam stamps (shown here using acrylic paint) – don’t forget you can stamp the back side for a solid block of color too! These are nice for fabric projects like clothing or kitchen linens.
Foam stamps look pretty awesome used with embossing powder – here’s my Park Blvd positive and negative set. Great for cards or maybe even a paper garland.
Foam stamps and watercolor paint? You bet! This is some hot pink with my Mid Century Squared foam stamp. Pretty juicy.
Here I pressed my Jazzed, Far Out, and Groovy foam stamps into paper clay with Moonlight Duo ink for some sweet decorative bowls.
Head over to the Online Shop and get stamping on some fun Summer projects of your own. Hurry hurry, stock is limited and the sale ends June 14th at 11:59pm.
“It’s never too late to listen and learn!” – such a great thing to keep in mind as we strive for better days ahead.
It felt good to just play with stamps and stencils in my art journal while listening to podcasts. Here I used my Buenos Aires stencil and my Mini Motifs and Fanfare rubber stamps. I worked with spray paint and Moonlight Duo ink pads to build us some yummy layers.
