Art Journal

Speak Love – Art Journal

“In a mumble of hate speak LOVE” – by yours truly Nat Kalbach ;)

In the attempt to use more of my horded stuff, I used some older letter stickers, which I placed on top of the page and then sprayed over with black spray paint, then used my Manhattan stencil and sprayed over it with white spray paint.

Last I peeled off the stickers to reveal the masked off area as part of the mumble background.

For the Love sticker I used a red marker to go over to make it stand out a bit more.

Here are the supplies I used for the spread


Nat

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Be Kind – Art Journal

“In a world where you can be anything…Be Kind! ”

For this art journal spread I once again used some prints of my painting which featured the Liberty State Park train station.

I stamped some buildings in between as well as the Statue of liberty and colored the images in with acrylic paint.

The family was sketched with sumi ink. I like how this came together. I really love using parts of my paintings with the the stamped areas – still exploring this a bit more.

Here are some of the supplies I used


Nat

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On my way – Art Journal

I am on the task for a major studio redo and part of it is going through piles of stuff – so I am using finally some things up that I have had forever. Including some old calendars which had prints of my paintings from a while ago.

I sketched the lady and made her some city clothing with my Stroll stamps and collaged the prints. I also stamped some windows into the left building to tie it more together with the rest of the page. I also used some of my hoarded washi tape…I mean …how much washi tape can you store forever? – LOL

The whole studio redo is a long process because I have been traveling so much- but a plan has surfaced and right now before I move furniture and get new furniture, the first step is to purge and to get a grip on how my work flow actually looks like. I will keep you updated on the whole process …I ‘m on my way ;)

Here are some of the supplies I used for this spread


Nat

Comments (8)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Great page and words Nat.
    I too have tons of washi tape…why did I feel the need to save it???
    Crazy how we can be about supplies.
    Currently purging as well and much of the paper and embellies are going to the local elementary school where I work. The kids just love the items.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      right? LOL- I cannot believe the copious amount of stuff :) Love that you are giving some goodies to an elementary school – it is always wonderful if they can use some supplies!

      Reply

  • W Evelyn

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    Be sure and take before and after photos to see how much you accomplished.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Evelyn- I will – promised. As I am also looking for a new desk it is taking some time to change …on the one hand that is good as it provides the opportunity to be very thorough on the other it just doesn’t end

      Reply

  • Jean Goza

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    Really like this layout.

    A studio makeover can simultaneously be frustrating and invigorating. Have fun with it. It’s always an adventure!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Jean! Yeah – I hear you – it is quite an adventure- LOL. Let’s see where it leads

      Reply

  • Janene

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    I am envious of your spring cleaning/purge effort. I have way too much stuff and it’s actually inhibiting my ability to work in my space. I’m cheering you on and I will be watching to see how your space transforms into something new!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Janene! I know exactly what you mean about inhibiting the ability to the work- same here.

      Reply

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Painful Melancholy – Art Journal

Inspired by my trip to Japan I created this art journal spread. I used my new inkstone and inkstick to create some ink and sketch the woman as well as the markings.

I used my Embroidery stamps as well as the Stroll Around the Block stamps to create the pattern on the clothing and the rain in the background.

I painted the background with gesso and watercolor and the dress with a think layer of acrylic paint.

I like how this turned out. Here are some of the supplies I used.


Have a wonderful day!

Nat

Comments (2)

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The Future is Now – Art Journal

An art journal page that I created after the marches last month happened. I love that Art Journaling can be a way of taking note of current events in a visual way – and as you know I am not much of a writer in my art journal because a lot of my thoughts and feelings are conveyed by the colors, paints and techniques I am using.

I spray painted the background in blue and then sprayed in red through my Santiago Stencil – I flipped it over while the paint on top was still wet to get a reverse pattern.

Some obstructed notes with a gold gesso and a thick brush and then I filled in all the areas with patterns using a white signo pen.

It was a nice and meditative time to fill in the page with white little patterns, marks and doodles :)

Here is what I used for this spread:


Nat

Comments (2)

  • Deb

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    Striking composition. Love the colors and the addition of the gold gesso. Different look for you to using block printing instead of cursive. Overall great art journal pages! Agree how meditative mark making can be. Inspired to go do some! Thanks.
    Deb

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Deb! Yeah I rarely do use block printing but I actually like it …good reminder to use it more often :)

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Wherever you go… AJ

“Wherever you go becomes part of you somehow”

I believe that the short trip to Japan has definitely become a part of me somehow :)

I played with my new inkstick and inkstone for the sketch and marks and added a piece of a paper bag from a store.

I had to use it- although I am not quite sure what it depicts. I flicked some gold with a brush and added the journaling with a fude pen.

Here are some of the supplies I used for this Art Journal page:


Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Love the use of the store bag…I do that often from vacations.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Love that you do that too ! Sometimes the bag is a better treasure than the content- LOL

      Reply

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The Wild and Tame – Art Journal

“The Wild and the Tame wrestle in me, neither win, neither want to.” Tyler Knott Gregson

Love this poem – so true!

I used some of my old calendar pages with my prints as collage material – and then stamped with some of my buildings stamps. I am trying to make an effort to use more of the stuff I have been collecting for some time …what is the point to wait for the “perfect” moment- just make it the perfect moment and get some space back- LOL

I love how the prints of my painting blend in with the Stroll stamps. The yellow stripe on the bottom is washi tape – I just thought I needed to pick up the yellow of the painting again and I love the effect. Since it is washi tape with really low and bad adhesive I applied some Gel Medium underneath to make sure it sticks.

I added some Viarco Graphite for color inside the buildings- I love using those- the colors are just o beautiful.

Here are some of the supplies I used for this spread


Nat

Comments (4)

  • Sue Clarke

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    I have started to give any craft supply away that I haven’t used in over 3 years. That includes some of the “saving for the perfect” project items. Silly when I think about it. My washi tape does not stick in my art journal (over paint) so thanks for the suggestion of the gel medium.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      I hear you :) It is funny how we are all little magpies collecting shiny objects – but here is to using them :)

      Reply

  • Janene

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    I know what you mean about using/using up stuff you already have. I was thrilled to use up 2 glue sticks over the weekend. It’s the little things that make all the difference in my life. :-)

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Wow- Janene, that is a lot of glue sticks you used up!!! Go Go Go!!!!

      Reply

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Home is Where you Launch – Art Journal

“But home isn’t where you land, home is where you launch!” (from An American Marriage by Tayari Jones) Even though I love living in the States and call it my home and I do not see myself going back to Germany and even though I do feel more like a European than being German…I guess home is still a city in Germany called Hamburg :) I think this is a feeling I share with a lot of immigrants and when I read this quote it really resonated with me and I knew I had to use it for an art journal spread.

I used one of my drypoint prints with the lady as a collage element – you can read more about the drypoint etching class I took here.

I stamped and layered my Stroll Through the Hood and Stroll Around the Block stamps and then colored them in with watercolor.

I painted the top of the background with golden gesso – and I really love how the gold and the watercolor play together.

Here are some of the supplies I used for the spread:


Nat

Comments (4)

  • Janene

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    I understand what you’re saying. I grew up in Southern California and still consider it my “home” even though I haven’t lived there in over 40 years (and I’ve lived in a couple of other places in between then and where I live now). When I visit California, I’m flooded with good memories of my early life there. But my new home is fantastic in an entirely different way. Kinda like the difference between chocolate and vanilla – both are delicious, but I’d never mistake one flavor for the other!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      I love your comparison with the flavors – that is beautifully put! thank you for sharing Janene!

      Reply

    • Donna B.

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      I feel the same way. I’d never thought about it before, but I also have strong feelings about the place where I grew up. In my case, I don’t even know anyone who lives back in my old home town or the surrounding area anymore, but if I were to go back there, I suspect it would still feel like my home.

      Reply

      • nathalie-kalbach

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        Thank you for sharing Donna- I totally understand what you mean about that it would be different but still feel like home.

        Reply

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Born To Sparkle ! Art Journal

Well….this was a failed attempt of trying out some foil that I had laying around forever. I applied some gel medium through my Art Deco Wallpaper Stencil and then burnished the foil on top. I was way too impatient and took off the foil too early so it didn’t apply everywhere and after a short disapproving snort I decided it wasn’t too bad – I like the sparkly mess ;)

For me creating is problem solving and if you decide there is no problem- problem solved ;) That doesn’t work always of course- LOL- but in this case it did ;)

Here are some of the supplies I used for the spread


Have a sparkling day :)

Nat

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