Blog: Art Journal

I Hope Your Lips Are All Smiles Today – Art Journal

“What words are spoken between us in the unnamed language that sparks into existence at the precise moment our lips stop being lips and start being smiles?” Tyler Knott Gregson

I recently discovered Tyler Knott Gregson and his poem is just so beautiful I  had to use it in my art journal. Check him out – he has an instagram account where he posts daily his inspirational poems and his book

Wildly into the Dark: Typewriter Poems and the Rattlings of a Curious Mind is on pre-sale now and I cannot wait to hold it in my hands. 

The background was just a bit of play with color and the Santiago Foam Stamp- but I loved the background and I decided- this is it. You know…you can do that too right ? LOL- don’t forget you are the boss of your own Art Journal – so background – foreground – who cares. For the journaling I used a Striper Brush – basically a brush with super long hair – which you can use to create long lines. I used it with acrylic ink and practiced a bit to alternate the the pressure onto the brush while moving it, to create a variation in the thickness of the line. I like this –  it was a good exercise and I really like how the journaling in between came out :)

Here are some of the supplies I used for this spread- some links are affiliate links:


I hope your lips are all smiles today :)

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Sue Clarke

    |

    Nat, I like the words and sometimes simple is better. I try to laugh as much as possible and smiling usually comes natural to me when I look into another person’s face. Have a cheery day creating.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Awe- I love that Sue! Smiling people always make me happy :) Have a cheery day as well!

      Reply

  • Jean Goza

    |

    Nice layout. Especially like the yellow peeking through the blue. Thanks for sharing info on Tyler Knott Gregson. A beautiful quote. I will definitely look at more of his work.

    Happy day to you!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      thank you Jean – yeah I think you will like his work – I also love how he writes and types on paper pieces he finds. Happy Day to you too <3

      Reply

Leave a comment

Resist – Art Journal Spread

Some of my thoughts on how sometimes women are told to behave in a certain way and be a good girl and how this actually never really resonated with me :)

The background was painted in a very bright orange and purple and layered the Santiago Stencil on top and sprayed with a blue spray paint over it. I applied some light yellow and white gesso in a think layer here and there to tone it down.

I stamped with the Grannies and Running  Stamps and archival ink for some marks. Next I picked up the orange again stamping with the Santiago Foam Stamp on top of some areas.

I used a pencil for the journaling.

Here are some of the supplies I used- some links are affiliate links:



Have an amazing day my friends!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sherry Canino

    |

    Beautiful art journal spread and message ❤❤❤

    Reply

Leave a comment

Taking a deep Breath – Art Journal Spread

“I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart. I AM I AM I AM” – Sylvia Plath

I love this quote so much – it made me somehow happy and silly pink ;)

For this spread I wanted to play with visual juxtaposition a bit:

For the background I added to some areas a wash with watercolors in a grey tone and pink. I love how the watercolor has a soft look, while the later applied acrylic paint is more textured.

I used different stamps and stencils- mainly my Kassel stencil with some left over paint from a different spread on top dabbed onto the page, as well as the Manhattan Stencil through which I applied some pink paint with a cosmetic sponge.

I stamped with the Versailles Foam Stamps here and there to give it a bit of  a feminine touch – also to break with the very linear and geometric patterns of the Kassel and Manhattan stencil.

I added some marks with the Satin Doll and Running  Stamps and Archival Ink. I added also some hand made marks – I always love the play with “perfectly” repeating marks and handmade marks.

To make sure the journaling doesn’t get lost in the background I applied some Unbleached Titanium acrylic paint with my finger – big enough to write with the Fude pen on top.

I really like how this page turned out – I think I will play a bit more with this concept.

Here is a list of the supplies I used – some links are affliliate links


Have a gorgeous day !!!

Nat

Comments (6)

  • Sherry Canino

    |

    I love it !!! And the quote ❤❤❤

    Reply

  • sherri scott

    |

    Nat, nice girly, gilrly page with all that texture and pink

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      LOL- yeah isn’t it ;) Have a wonderful weekend Sherri!

      Reply

  • Torsa Saha

    |

    Stunning!! Can’t wait to meet you ?

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Thank you so much Torsa! Looking forward meeting you too! :)

      Reply

Leave a comment

Impossible to Forget – Art Journal Spread

“I will not be another flower, picked for my beauty and left to die. I will be wild, difficult to find and impossible to forget!” – Erin Van Vuren

I loved the quote when I found it – and I had to include it in my art journal.

The background was a VERY purple background – LOL- so I toned it down a bit by using some Baltic Blue Acrylic Paint and gesso over some of the areas. I used my Manhattan positive and negative Foam Stamp set as well as the Manhattan Border Foam stamp for a pattern. To break the very linear pattern up a bit I used the Grannies Rubber Stamp.

I painted over a magazine image that I had saved , using acrylic paints and some markers. That was fun. A different color scheme when usual for me but it is totally my cuppa tea :)

Here are some of the supplies I used – some of the links are affiliate links:



Have a beautiful day!

Nat

Leave a comment

Kind Heart – Fierce Mind – Brave Spirit

Pretty much how I want to feel right now with everything!

This spread started out as a demo page at my workshops in San Jose in January . I actually showed how to use spray paints with stencils and we used some Montana water based spray which I really fell in love with. They have a matte finish – and the look is so different from the look of the more shiny glossy finish of my Liquitex Spray paints. Plus…they come in those mini spray cans! I am still debating if I should buy those…because I do have…enough …spray paint…but ….you know ;)

I used the Versailles Stencil on the left and the Buenos Aires Stencil on the right. I added some of the background color and added it with my finger to the middle top, smoothing it out and bringing both sides together by journaling over that part.

This page makes me happy – happy memory from the process of making it and my awesome students , happy colors and good message :)

Here are some of the supplies I used for this spread – some links are affiliate links



Wishing you a wonderful day!

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Julie B

    |

    Thank you for the inspiration to integrate two very different pages into one whole piece (God only knows how many of those pages i have; now i just need to carve out some time). I love this page…it makes me very happy two and brings back fond memories of your visit. Thank you, thank you!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      So glad you like it Julie! Go get your time :) Even if it is only 10 minutes a day- I am always surprised how much you can actually do in just 10 minutes ….the downside is …many paint splatters on clothes that are not meant for painting “oh ….I am dressed for going out but hey…only 10 minutes and I should not get paint on my clothes” yeah – sure ;)

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

    |

    You can never have enough paint as it gets used up…just saying. Enjoy your day Nat.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

      |

      Hehehe- I know ;) I bought it …ahem ;) Enjoy your day too Sue and have a wonderful weekend!

      Reply

Leave a comment

Creative Ice Breaker – Morning Art Journal Play Video #7

In the mornings I play in my art journal to get myself into the creative groove and break the ice – so to speak- and get ready to paint. I recorded and fast forwarded my morning ritual for this video – and hope you enjoy it. Take it as what it is – a morning art journal play- not a tutorial.

Here are the supplies I have used in my Creative Ice Breaker video above – some links are affiliate links.



I hope you enjoyed the little glimpse into my morning warm up play! Have a wonderful and creative day!

Nat

Comments (4)

  • stephanie

    |

    Great video! A good way to get warmed up

    Reply

  • Sherry Canino

    |

    What a great video I loved watching you create in your art journal and I love those stamps !!!

    Reply

Leave a comment

Golden Gate – Art Journal Page

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

Emma Lazarus

Lady Liberty is right at my front door …well I used to see her until last year from my studio window- but now a tall new building is blocking the way. I love to take the bike in the summer and go out to Liberty State Park and enjoy a view of her. What a wonderful symbol she is.

It was freeing and good to create this page springing from a crazy mash up of added paints, patterns, texture and colors. I thought that was fitting for this page.

Here are some of the supplies I used – some are affiliate links:


Nat

Comments (2)

  • Torsa Saha

    |

    Wow!! Stunningly beautiful!!

    Reply

Leave a comment

Look for Stars – Art Journal Spread

“When it rains, look for rainbows, when it’s dark, look for stars.”

The color scheme I used for this spread was actually inspired by a student using it in one of my classes at The InkPad a couple months ago. I so loved the mixture of ochre, blue and purple that I made a mental note to play with this some time. And there it is :)

I painted the background blue and then layered the Santiago 9×12 Stencil on top using yellow oxide spray paint . I layered the Stencil again on some of the areas – some on the previous stenciled areas, some slightly off and used some light purple paint which I stippled with cosmetic brush through the stencil here and there.

I used the Santiago Tile Foam Stamp which has the same pattern but in a smaller scale with purple acrylic paint and stamped on top of some tags. I love how the different scales of the same pattern- but also the different quality and texture of applications play with each other and tie the design together. I love Foam Stamps also for the texture the stamped image reveals when using a smaller amount of paint.

Here are the supplies I used for this spread – some links are affiliate links


I hope your day is filled with rainbows and stars today!

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Torsa Saha

    |

    Brilliant!! Love this page ??

    Reply

Leave a comment

Do Things Different – Art Journal Spread

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got” attributed to many- including Albert Einstein. Regardless who said this…smart ! A good reminder to change things up once in a while!

I saturated the background with different colors of acrylic spray paints and used the back of a brush to scratch some marks into it. I layered the Santa Fe 9×12 Stencil on top and sprayed over it with black spray paint. As you can see some of the areas – on the right bottom – are a little bit blurred- that is because I did not wait until the background was totally dried …- I am so impatient sometimes. But, I am ok with this. This page was a 10 minute affair and it made me happy to just do something creative that morning that was followed by loads of paper- and computerwork. 

I tore a manilla shipping tag and added the journaling with my fountain pen. Anyone else still loves to write with a fountain pen, besides me? I just love the feel of a fountain pen.

I like how the black pops the pattern off the colorful background. This spread makes me long for some traveling in the South West, yummie food and summer :)

Here are the supplies I used for this super quick art journal spread- some links are affiliate links:


Wishing you a fantastic day!

Nat

Leave a comment