Art Journal

Be The Flower …Not The Gardener

NatKalbach_BeFlower01

is something a dear friend said many many years ago to me and I have tried to follow this advice in certain fields of my live and also told other’s to follow it ;) It is good to be the flower sometimes ;)

 

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I created the background by using spray paints and then dry brushing them after they had already dried a tiny bit. I love the effect. The flowers itself come from some drawings on watercolor paper which I had done a couple months ago and then colored in with the Liquitex Paint Markers. I do love how you can blend them and create also a nice texture with them. I cut the flowers out and collaged them onto the background.

 

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You see you can use other art work or projects and include them in your art journal.

nSupplies



Hope you are the flower today :)

Have a great one

 

Nat

Comments (2)

  • stephanie

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    Nice work. Good quote. Did you use the paddle brush on the spray paint?

    Reply

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So When? or …In my Art Journal today

NatKalbach_IfNotNow01

I used this before in a canvas- but I do love it so much- I wanted to use it again.

NatKalbach_IfNotNow02

 

The texture comes from the masking tape underneath – I just scraped the paint over it to reveal the texture and then used a brush to add some orange marks here and there into the still wet paint.

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The heart is a cut out from a deli paper mono print and I created the big black splots by using my beloved Liquitex splatter tool with black acrylic ink.

Here is the supply list for you:

nSupplies



have a wonderful day!!

 

Nat

Comments (3)

  • stephanie

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    the texture is awesome!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    I am so drawn to that texture and was happy to read that you used masking tape to get it. I have some masking tape. Creative play here I come.

    Reply

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Listen or…Anything Can Be

NatKalbach_Listen01

I used this Shel Silverstein Poem- which I really love:

Listen to the mustn’ts child,

listen to the don’ts

listen to the shouldn’ts ,

the impossibles, the won’ts.

Listen to the never haves

then listen close to me

Anything can happen child,

ANYTHING can be

NatKalbach_Listen02

I created with backgrounds by just using Liquitex spray paints over some gesso textured pages and also through the cut out page. Easy and fun.

Do you have a favorite poem?

hugs

 

 

Nat

Comments (4)

  • KimMJ

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    That is such a beautiful page! I LOVE that poem. I had forgotten all it until now.

    I recently started making backgrounds in 2 art journals but have been at loss at what to start with. A poem is a great starting point. Time to crack open my favorite Alan Ginsberg or Walt Whitman and get going. Thanks for sharing and for all of the inspiration. :)

    Reply

  • Joan vMetz

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    I love this poem…. I do so enjoy how you’ve taken this poem and done this page! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  • Tracy

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    I’d never read this poem until today, but I love the message. Your did a great job combining the colors and using the cut-out

    Reply

  • muriel

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    This is one of my favourite poems. And I am a lover of Shel Silverstein. I often use his poems to teach English to my pupils. I love how you used your cut out.

    Reply

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Every Artist … or in my Art Journal today

NatKalbachEveryARtist01

 

For this page I was going for the colors – I love these colors together. On top just some stenciling – I love it – not every page has to be super complicated and full of different techniques.

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The sgraffito texture is my favorite here- scratching through the layers and then using the back of the painting knife again to cover up parts.

nSupplies




What are you up to today?

hugs

 

Nat

Comments (3)

  • Laura Strack

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    Love your sgraffito texture. I’d love to learn this technique!! I’m getting ready to take mini vaca and I will get to visit with 2 of my sisters. Can’t wait to have some crafty girl time, you know therapy!

    Reply

  • susan salyer

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    making journal pages with stamps..so many stamps I never use
    hugs
    susan s

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Well I’m taking my dog to a dog island but your question might have been about crafting so for that I sprayed some inks for backgrounds in my art journal. I’ve been stuck on blue, orange and wine.

    Reply

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She Became Dangerous or … In my Art Journal today

NatKalbachDangerous01

“Like any artist without an art form she became dangerous”

 

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In this background I played with different brushstrokes and I do really like how it worked out. I also stamped with white to lighten up the page a bit again.

 

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It fascinates me how many different looking backgrounds you can create with just acrylic paint – my favorite medium ever!

nSupplies



Have a beautiful day

Nat

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Nat

Comments (2)

  • Myra Caballero

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    I like how vibrant & dynamic the line work in the lady looks against the textured background. Very nice work!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    I admire the texture and the combination of colors.

    Reply

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Melvin was outraged or…The Whatevers

the WHATEVERS 2 A

Are you ready for the last photo of the Second Round of Whatevers? If you missed what the Whatevers is all about (basically they are photos that my friends and I found on flea markets etc. and that we give a new life and story) or want to see all the past photos and takes…check it out here. It was a fun ride the last two years and I thank my girls for a good time and storytelling fun.

Click here to see what Cat, Vicki,  Martha and Cuchy made out of the photo and which story they tell.

Here is my take on this month’s photo:

NatKalbach_MoonBoy01

“Melvin was outraged. Hasn’t Mom called him “my little moon boy all the time? Why did she put an identical moon costume on his little baby brother? Not fair!!!”

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The background was created with Dylusions Spraypaint, Liquitex Spraypaint, the Arabesque Stencil and then painted over here and there, stamped and then painted over again here and there.

NatKalbach_MoonBoy03

 

Here is the photo of this month’s Whatever, in case you want to play along.

JULY 2014

 

Thank you to all of you who played along with us once in a while- it was so much fun to see what you came up with- as much as it was to see what the other girls in our Whatever Girls came up with. I will miss my fun bunch- but we all are getting busier and busier and so The Whatevers have to come to an end :)

Have a gorgeous day- here is the supply list

nSupplies



Have a beautiful day!

Hugs

 

Nat

Comments (5)

  • Martha Richardson

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    Perfect story…maybe he should buy MOON PIES for his brother instead of wearing the costume! Nathalie it has been such a pleasure working with you for the past 5 years, your encouragement made me better at what I do. You are a gifted artist…I love where this new ART is taking you. Hopefully we will work together soon or at least maybe I’ll be in one of your classes! xoxoxo

    Reply

  • cuchy

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    ohhhh “The Prince Dethroned” love it!!
    Thank you so much hon, for this year of stories and awesome projects.
    Loves, Cuchy

    Reply

  • Vicki Chrisman

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    “Moon Boy” … lol… I love it! Thanks Nat.. for letting me be a part of this amazing fun project!! I love you!

    Reply

  • jenirae

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    Wondering why the photos only load partially! I even tried from Cat’s site.I have really enjoyed these!

    Reply

  • Cat

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    Haven’t we all had those feelings one time or other, LOL. Love the bright colors and story. Going to miss this each month!

    Reply

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Do What Makes You Happy … or In My Art Journal

NatKalbachDWMH01

Here is one of my pages of the Art Journal I showed you in my Flip-Thru Video recently. As promised I will show some pages in more detail.

NatKalbachDWMH02

I painted the background with a light grey acrylic paint and then started layering up some stencils, stamps and templates with different colors – going from light to darker colors.

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I used a cosmetic sponge to apply acrylic paint through the Elephant March stencil but to have a better contrast of the elephant versus the busy background I also traced the stencil after the paint dried with a black pen. In the blanket I used different acrylic marker colors and blended them over the stencil with my finger.

I applied the chipboard letters with Gel Medium – since this is the best way to make sure they stick and stay. A fun and colorful page – made me happy ;)

nSupplies



Thanks for coming by and have a wonderful sunny day!

Nat

Comments (3)

  • Amante del Papel

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    THis elefant is absolutely amazing!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    My plan is to do much that makes me happy today as I’m 50 today!
    One friend is taking me out to lunch and my family is taking me out to dinner. The weather is perfect and life is good. I do so love these words and plan to do a page in my art journal using them. Now why didn’t I think of going back over the stencil with marker after the paint have dried.

    Reply

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Perfect Is Boring or… In My Art Journal

NatKalbach_PerfectBoring01

Don’t you agree?

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I did a newspaper image transfer with Gloss Medium & Varnish and then played with black and white acrylic paint – stippling the white onto the black surface which makes it almost look bluish. I wrote the title with a Bamboo Nip Pen- I have mine forever and love using it with paint medium to handwrite title. Here I used acrylic ink.

NatKalbach_PerfectBoring03

And some mark making. I love this – it was a great outside the box play for me, which I often do in my art journals but I totally loved the background and I think you might have noticed I applied this to my “On The Flip Side” Canvas.

Here are the supplies I used:

nSupplies



Have a gorgeous day!

Nat

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Nat

Comments (6)

  • Tracy

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    Perfect is indeed boring! I really like the markings in white, made me think of a barcode or music equalizer. Very cool!

    Reply

  • Andrene

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    Really beautiful page. The transfer is perfect and I love the b&w background with those really cool marks…hmmm? On The Flip Side is one of my favorites of yours for 2014!

    Reply

  • Myra Caballero

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    Yes, perfect is boring! Perfect lacks personality & character. I really like what you achieved with your journal. The textures & layers give it a lot of movement. The white markings remind me of a music equalizer or a pulse. Very interesting! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  • Amante del Papel

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    Wow this is so beautiful!!!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    This page stood out when I watched the flip through and I love the black and white…it really catches my eye and then pushes me back to the lady on the left. Different for you and stunning as well.

    Reply

  • nanou49

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    i love your work with bamboo pen
    gorgeous background!

    Reply

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On My Mind Art Journal Flip Thru

I finished this art journal filled with quotes and things on my mind in a very short period of time. I thought I would film a little flip thru it .

If you do not like the music, just mute it and play your own ;)

On my Mind ArtJournal Flip Through from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

 

I will show some of the pages in the next couple weeks in detail and also explain how I made them. Hope you like this little flip thru

Have a gorgeous day

Nat

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Nat

Comments (17)

  • Kim T

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    I’m new to your site, via Julie Balzer … so glad I signed up, this is AMAZING, loved everything and agree with others, the music was perfect and the journal … so inspiring, beautiful, edgy and I want to learn how to do that! Many thanks … !

    Reply

  • anadeisabel

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    Dear Nat, thanks a lot for this video. So marvellous pages. Looking forward to a more detailed approach to the how to… Regards,

    Reply

  • JoAnn

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    Loved it, including the music. Great way to start the day. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  • Milagros

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    It’s fabulous, beautiful!!! thanks Nath for this video. Hughs

    Reply

  • Carol

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    This was fabulous and the music was perfect. All of the quotes were great too and the images!…. I could go on and on. Do you have a video showing how you make your journals?

    Reply

  • Jennifer Palmer

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    Wow Nat
    That was so good I don’t need a chocolate fix today lol
    You really are amazing in your art
    Thanks for the flip thru
    Jenny from Tassie

    Reply

  • Gunvor

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    Thanks for sharing your art journal! The pages are absolutely fabulous!

    Reply

  • Laura

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    I really enjoyed this flip through and admire both you and your work.
    Also, I have a craving for marshmallows on skewers after one of the pages! :)

    Reply

  • Joan von Metzinger

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    Natalie, your journal was really uplifting for me!! You have done amazing work and are an inspiration to us that are amateurs learning to better… Thank you for what you offer us in your blog and sharing on a regular basis. Xxoo

    Reply

  • MaggieM

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    Such a cool journal, Nat! I love all of the colors…loved the page with the lady sitting in the innertube with “you decide”, just terrific! Thanks so much for sharing your amazing creativity:) Hugs, Maggie

    Reply

  • jenirae

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    I LOVE your journal. It really made me smile and I feel inspired! Thank you!

    Reply

  • Amante del Papel

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    is absolutely amazing!

    Reply

  • Barbara Albrecht

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    Loved the flip-thru! Thanks for taking time to show us your journal. Can’t wait to see/hear how you created your spreads.

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Nat, I did not like the flipthrough, I LOVED it!
    Watched while I had my morning cereal…perfect music for it.
    The “time” page and the “not trying to be perfect” page caught my eye a great deal. Thanks so much for sharing this with your fans.

    Reply

  • Laura Strack

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    So very cool! Thanks Nat! How did you get those photos down?! I know it wasn’t just a bunch of fussy cutting! Lol. Looking forward to your commentary :)

    Reply

  • Kathy P

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    So very awesome! I just love your style….had to watch twice and know I will go back for more! Thank you for sharing these amazing ideas with us through your journal!

    Reply

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