Blog: Art Journal

Embrace New Ideas – Art Journal

“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I am frightened of the old ones.” John Cage. A great quote and definitely a nice reminder to not get stuck in the same old same old.

There is a lot of little techniques going on in the background here – I used my Amsterdam stencil to make a negtive print with spray paint. Then a wash with gouache and acrylic paint on top. Next I used a Fan-fare rubber stamp with yelllow Moonlight Duo ink. And finally I finished with my Fairview Fan foam stamp and brayered on paint.

At the end I added a bit of scribble with a Stabilo All pencil.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Shilpa

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    Absolutely beautiful art journal spread, Nathalie. Awesome colors, layers, stamping. Very Inspiring!!

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Stories – Art Journal

“In the end we’ll all become stories.” – Margaret Atwood

I used Liquitex spray paints with my Art Deco Summit stencil for the background. I also found that my Fanfare rubber stamps fit nicely into that stencil pattern to give a little more detail to the pattern.

For the house I used a handmade stencil and then went back in with a fine tip Molotow marker for the sketchy lines and doodle marks etc.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

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One More Time – Art Journal

“She looked at her old life one more time, took a deep breath, and whispered I will never see you again.” This page was inspired by Jane LaFazio’s video for Creative JumpStart – boy oh boy I haven’t sketched in a long time either and that was really hard and and also a really fun challenge for me. Definitely time to do it more :) 

I loved sketching my watch that I wear almost every day in my studio. You notice so many details of something you wear everyday and maybe don’t even think about. I used a Derwent 2B sketching pencil and Daniel Smith watercolors for the watch, and a calligraphy pen for my journaling.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

Comments (1)

  • cathsheard

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    Wow, that’s a powerful quote – great layout.

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Silent Friends – Art Journal

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends!” – Martin Luther King Jr.  There are so many powerful quotes to choose from but this one really resonated with me today.

For this part I used collage papers from old prints of paintings of mine, and gouache paints.

To extend the cityscape, I used my Stroll Through the Hood 2 stamps and a skim of white gesso to pull everything together.

I used a Molotow marker for my quote.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

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Going Postal – Art Journal

“I breathe in, I go postal…when I am upset and someone tells me to take a deep breath”.  I was inspired by Marieke’s amazing lesson in CJS20 to make this art journal page and …am obviously making fun …or maybe not ;)

The round elements are deli paper printed circles with a gelli plate and my Art Deco Empire and Art Nouveau Wallpaper stencils as well as versafine inks.

The paint in between is goache and gesso. I added marks with a Stabilo pencil, stamped with my Small Circle Jumble rubber stamp set and drew the face with walnut ink.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Join us for Creative JumpStart 2020 and experience tons of creative inspiration from 31 different mixed media artists! Class has begun and there is no better time to sign up:

Nat

Comments (1)

  • cathsheard

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    Love it – the face has so much expression!

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Art is Hope – Art Journal

“Art is the highest form of hope.” – Gerhard Richter

I used a round Gelli plate and versafine ink pads. I stenciled on top with my Art Nouveau Wallpaper, Art Deco Fairview, and Art Deco Empire stencils, used deli paper on top, then printed onto my art journal. For some like the yellow ones for example I then added a solid yellow layer to the plate and then pressed the still wet surface of the before printed deli paper back on top and got then the pattern into the yellow – kind of going back and forth a bit.

I painted black gesso around it and used a white signo pen for the journaling.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

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Make a Mark – Art Journal

“There! I made a mark for myself!” There is a lot going on in this spread, including marks :)

I used acrylic ink in my background and a mix of black liquitex spray paint and acrlyic paint. Lots of layers and visual and actual texture… and mark-making with my new Tokyo stencil for the pattern.

Then I went in and traced the stencil with a white signo pen.

And then acrylic ink for my drawing.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

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Dare to Err – Art Journal

“Dare to err and to dream. Deep meaning often lies in childish play.” – Friedrich Schiller. I love this quote and it’s great motivation to just play when you are creating and see what magic may happen.

For my vibrant background I used Gouache, Gold Gesso, and White gesso.

Then I went in with my Art Nouveau Wallpaper and Art Deco Fairview stencils for some subtle pattern elements here and there.

For my mark making I used a fude pen and a white signo pen.

I put a light coating of white down before adding my quote and framed it with some more quirky mark making.

Here are some of the supplies I used:

Nat

Comments (1)

  • Sue Clarke

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    I love the colors and the message Nat.
    Happy New Year!

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Sparkle Year – Art Journal

This is your year to Sparkle! – I love all the possibilities that the new year brings, with maybe a fresh start and a burst of energy and enthusiasm.

For my background I used heavy body acrylic paints and white gesso, but also I used the Gold Gesso by Daniel Smith for some serious sparkle with my Art Nouveau Wallpaper and Art Deco Summit stencils.

 I hope you are ready to sparkle :)

Here are some supplies I used:

Nat

Comments (2)

  • whyducks

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    What a lovely spread, it looks very oriental. I almost expect to see a stork flying by on the pages, very pretty.

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  • jamcam2022

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    Love the effect of the gold – I too have Daniel Smith Gold Gesso but have not gotten the results you did – will give it another go. BTW, CJS2020 is phenomenal. Thank you for making it happen!

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