Art Tapas

Art Tapas – Bite Sized Tips for the Mixed Media Artist – Tip #1 Storage

I am starting a new Web-Video-Series called – Art Tapas – Bite Sized Tips for the Mixed Media Artist.

Art Tapas are short videos (1- 3 mins) that will give some practical tips or advice about anything that is related to tools, art supplies or processes and any Mixed Media or Hobby Artist might appreciate. Lots of times these reflect some mistakes that I made along my journey, so to speak, things that I learned the hard way and sometimes they are just some things that I would have loved to have known when I actually started in Mixed Media.

But without further ado – here is your first Art Tapas

How do you store your acrylic paints? For some this might be obvious but, let’s talk about it, shall we? :)

Art Tapas – Bite Sized Tips for the Mixed Media Artist – #1 Storage from Nathalie Kalbach on Vimeo.

I hope you enjoyed this Art Tapa –  and if you have questions that you would love to have answered in some of the Art Tapas videos- let me know and I might just cook one up for you to nibble on :)

Happy Creating !

Nat

Comments (10)

  • Lisa Flaherty

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    Love this concept of “Art Tapas”, Nat! Great tip! As artists we can appreciate form over function, but if our supplies cannot function we cannot create the form! ;)

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Lisa – yes – agreed – no form without function – great thinking!

      Reply

  • Joi@RR

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    Hehehehh – you left me laughing Nat with your clean and simple ending – you are such a delight. This was so interesting. I had no idea sunlight would dry up paints. Mine are fine but hubby has his setting right in front of a huge window… dear me. Wait until I show him your video!!!! Thanks bunches. j.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      LOL- Joi – hope this is not causing a mayor uproar at home ;) Have a gorgeous weekend!Nat

      Reply

  • Gunvor

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    Love the formate! And a great first tip. I don’t have a craft room or craft space so I store everything – including the acrylic paints – in my walk in craft storage. Never had a problem with paints drying up before they’re used up.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Perfect storage Gunvor! A walk in craft storage …that sounds like a dream :)

      Reply

  • Caroline Leplat

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    Hi Nat,
    This is a great concept! Love it. It’s a great first tip.

    Reply

  • Kathy P

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    Clean and simple for sure, Nat! And a great tip. I also found this out the hard way, and since storing my paints in an opaque plastic storage tub kept INSIDE my closet, no more dried up paints! Can’t wait to see what other tips you will have for us—-thank you for taking the time to share with us!!!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Kathy! That is a great idea too to store them in plastic tubs in a closet- that way you can get the whole thing out when painting. Have a wonderful day!

      Reply

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Australia ! Mixed Media Circus is coming to town

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Step right up for the World’s Grandest Largest Best Amusement Art Workshop coming to Artified in Victoria, Australia on 8-10th April 2016:

Mixed Media Circus: Art Journal Adventure!

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My friend Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and I will be co-teaching a Three-Day-Art-Journaling Workshop.

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Here is a little video about the workshop …our philosophy …and the circus you can expect ;)

Or download this pdf which tells you some details and the timetable about our class at Artified .

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We are super excited to come to Artified and teach the workshop -come and join us and sign up now!

 

Nat

Comments (7)

  • Julie

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    Are there any plans for you to come to South Australia?

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  • Jackie P Neal

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    I am so excited for the two of Nat!!
    Ever since you two did that collaboration together I wondered what would be next! I love that you two are both so individual but share so much in common and are both honest in your friendship- such a rare find! Congrats to you and Julie- wish I could be there “( ,but I will in spirit and look forward to reviews of your time there!! xo

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Jackie! Yes that collaboration clearly lead to this idea :) Thank you for your support!!! <3 have a wonderful day, nat

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    I wish that this was my circus and I would love to spend time with you two creative monkeys!

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    • nathalie-kalbach

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      hahaha- Sue, we would love to spend time with you too – yours creative monkeys ;)

      Reply

  • Joi@RR

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    Hehehhehe – love that circus poster – you both look like such great athletic performers!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BEST of all – the picture of the two of you together – it’s sooooo sweet. But hey…. lets not forget the FABULOUS video… dear me…. it totally makes me want to hop a plane and come!! What a GREAT GREAT INSPIRING video. So happy, so free, so fun, so encouraging – LOVE it. In fact… going to watch it again – SMILING Big. I know it will be a WONDERFUL time for all that come. Hugs to you both. j.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      LOL- thanks Joi! We are very excited about this and cannot wait!

      Reply

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Pratt Fall Mixed Media Classes are up – Come and join me!!!

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So excited about my new Fall Classes at Pratt School of Continuing and Professional Studies. With each new catalogue the Mixed Media section is growing and I love that it gets such a wonderful school for Mixed Media! Registration is open now! Here are my class details for the fall:

Art Journaling 101 – Sunday, September  27, 2015

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Mixed Media Collage – Sunday, October 18, 2015

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Mixed Media Printmaking – Sunday, December 13, 2015

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I hope I will see you there!!! It is going to be loads of fun!

 

Nat

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Water Tower Fun

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A couple weeks ago I stumbled upon these cardboard water towers on an instagram feed by Boundless Brooklyn. They come blank, are made out of 100% recycled material and you can paint and decorate them as you wish. I was super excited as I love those iconic water towers around NYC and Jersey City. I ordered them right away and 12 hours later I had them in my hand. Nice flat envelopes with scored chipboard pieces and glue dots inside, easy to assemble.

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I had ordered two different sizes – The Medium Water Tower comes in 10 3/4” H x 5”  . I spray painted the chipboard using my Elephant and What’s The Point Stencil and added the text on the water tower roof. 

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while adding layers to the chipboard I made sure that I would move the folds so that the cardboard would not become stiff. It was really easy peasy and the whole design made it to simple to put together in a very short time once it was painted.

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For the small water tower which comes in 5 1/4″ H x 2 5/8″ W x 2 5/8″ D,  I used Spray Paint and marbled it on the background by spraying wet in wet and then moving the pieces around. Then I added parts of the Batik and the Lilly Stencil with some acrylic paint.

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I sealed off the water towers with some Pouring Medium which gives them a nice shiny glass finish. You can take of the top and put some small stuff in there. Loved this. I have one more water tower and a billboard sign to play with – cannot wait for it.

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What would you do with these water towers- ideas?

Here is a list of supplies.

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Nat

Comments (8)

  • Stampendous Stamps

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    OH MY, Nathalie, these are just adorable… I think they might be a MUST BUY item! And it looks so real and perfect on your balcony! Finally, the act of spray painting them for that graffiti thrill without the crime is just perfect! What a terrific project!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Awe- thank you! LOL- love your analogy of graffiti thrill without doing something illegal- I would probably though not do it because I am not the right person to climb up high ;)

      Reply

  • Boundless Brooklyn

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    Thanks so much for the amazing writeup and support, Nathalie. The towers looks incredible, and they’re all so different. Especially love the supplies’ list; makes it so much easier to see what’s needed to make this magic.

    By the way, the elephant tower is beyond cool!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you so much :) Looking forward to play more if your products in the future!

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    LOVE that quote and love LOVE love the water towers as well.
    I would use them as centerpieces for tables for an event.
    Names could go on them such as “friends”, “family”, “bride’s side”, etc…
    They are such fun!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      What a great idea to have them as centerpieces for an event- Love that Sue!!!

      Reply

  • Heidi

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    Nathalie ~ These are the coolest! I love what you have done with them & I love the idea of the water towers!

    Reply

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Europe Workshop Tour- Part 8 – De Craftorij Workshops in The Netherlands

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After a couple days of relaxing, Birgit and I went down from the North of The Netherlands to Ede to teach at the De Cratorij Retreat. We had such a great time. We taught the same workshops as in Finland – a Mono printing Class together on saturday and then each of us an art journaling class on sunday.

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Thank you so much to Liquitex for supplying all the acrylic media for my Europe Workshop tour! That was amazing!

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Lia brought a lot of her store supplies to the hotel and it was pretty thrilling to see all those stamps and stencils of mine at one place – wowsers.

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so many stunning pages in the mono printing class

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and messy hands ;)

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this is our Saturday group

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we had a delicious dinner – and of course our table was the loudest!

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with Birgit – miss her already!

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we had mother and daughters spending a creative day together

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and friends coming all the way from Belgium

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we had a lot of fun as you can see

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and I loved seeing so many familiar faces too -it always makes me super happy to see students again – sometimes years later

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and here is Moreg and my sweet friend Marsha- which do not have a picture with – Hey Marsha, how did we forget this?

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Such a positive and wonderful group of girls – thank you all for coming!

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and then it was sadly time to pack the supplies up…and ooopsss – I guess I got some nice presents – Dutch Hagelslag with minions. Hagelslag are sprinkles that are eaten on sandwiches in The Netherlands. Thank you Helen and Sonja- they make me think of you every time I see the package and we are very excited here every time a minion falls out :)

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Thank you Lia for having us – you were a terrific host and we had a wonderful time with you! I cannot wait to see you in January at CHA in Anaheim!

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And thanks again to our gorgeous students- You ROCK!!!

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That was it from the Europe Tour. The next morning we got up in the middle of the night, drove to Amsterdam and I flew home. But traveling was not quite over yet- stay tuned ;)

Nat

Comments (10)

  • Paulien

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    It was SUPER !!!

    Reply

  • Joi@RR

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    You know what strikes me the most about seeing all your European Tour pictures Nat????? The fact that people all over the world “create” in the same way… doing the same things… smiling and forgetting their cares – loving one another. That probably seems like a strange thing for me to say but when you hear about all the challenges in this world every day – it’s just so refreshing to see how you went all over Europe and spread joy and love and paint! I love your art – you know how much I do. But I also love that you are such a wonderful Ambassador/Mentor/Teacher that can hold hands and love us all – worldwide… sharing, caring and giving across the world… what a great legacy Nat. I so admire you. Big hugs and big thanks…j.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Joi – I love love love what you wrote here!!!! I would love to share this comment – it is so true! we are all create the same things, love the same things, care about the same things and want to forget the challenges in the world! Isn’t that a beautiful thing ! Thank you Joi for making my morning with this reminder!

      Reply

  • Morag

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    It was a great weekend and a whole lot of fun meeting you and Birgit!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      It was wonderful to meet you Morag! Hope I will see you soon again!

      Reply

  • Marie-Anne Raeman

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    I enjoyed every minute of it, thank you for the wonderfull reportage of a great weekend

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Marie-Anne- thank you for coming all the way from Belgium- it was so good to see you again!!!!

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Birgit has such a nice smile that her personality jumps right off the post page to tell me that she’s friendly and full of mischief.
    The photo at the dinner table and the group class photo are so wonderful. Thanks for sharing your adventures with your loyal fans Nat!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Sue – yep- you got it for Birgit – super friendly and full of mischief ;) Good mischief. Hopefully one day I will meet you too and we will smile a big smile at the camera :)

      Reply

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Europe Workshop Tour- Part 5 – Matka Luovuuteen Workshops in Turku, Finland

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After a 2 hour drive from Helsinki we arrived in Turku at our new home and workshop location on the former ferry: Bore. See the picture above? That is around midnight and the darkest it gets two weeks before midsummer in this area of Finland. Around 3 am the sun was fully up again. Pretty insane and hard to adjust to :) But we managed.

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Nothing boring about Bore :) This was our fun little cabin – we loved it – very cozy. And then we started our workshops on Saturday- first up Birgit’s and my joined Double Mono Class.

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It was the first time that we taught a class together and that means we did really teach it together and it was loads of fun. I think it also showed the students that there is many ways to approach certain results and techniques and to use materials and supplies. We worked well together, which partly comes because we know each other so well and trust each other :)

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Our students were awesome- although they shocked us the first minutes when we heard several “Oho”‘ and “Oy”s and we thought something is not right or they dislike the results …but to our relieve we learned that this means “WOW” in Finland- puhhhh, they really got us ;) .

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It was special to have the workshop on the ship and also sleep on the ship. In between we went out to snap some fresh air and by saying fresh air- I mean fresh air- it was COLD!

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Below our wonderful organizers Minna and Elina with us.

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We also had a big surprise on board on the first day- we got serenaded. Too funny- after the singing in Madrid one of the Finnish girls actually commented and said “Don’t expect that in Finland” HA – wrong ;) And man they were good!

We first thought that Elina had organized that but she swears it was a bachelor party walking around and singing and having a good time. Oh well – we will believe her ;)

 

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On the second day Birgit and I taught each an Art Journal class separately. So many wonderful and colorful art journal spreads – FUN.

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BTW – look at cute Riikka with her self sewn Marimekko Dress- I WANTTTTT! – and her art journal spread- love it too. But the dress- sigh!

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I had so much fun with all the girls- after a whole weekend together you bond and have all kinds of insider jokes and we laughed a lot.

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Kiitos Finland – it was amazing and I hope I will see you again some time!!! Thank you Minna and Elina for having us.

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Next up will be The Netherlands …you thought you are done with the Europe Tour? Nahhh nahhh – LOL

Have a wonderful day ;)

Nat

Comments (8)

  • Gayle

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    Absolutely delightful to read, see and hear! All the best in next stage of your trip. So very inspiring.

    Reply

  • Cheryl Johnson

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    Looks like everyone had a wonderful time. How fun to sleep and make art on a ship! I really like how everyone was serenaded while playing with paint and stencils. Makes me wish I were there. I love all the photos of people’s work.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Glad you liked the post Cheryl! I also always love how students make the techniques and materials their own in the classes.

      Reply

  • Lena Holmström

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    It was so amazing weekend. Thank you Nathalien and Birgit. I had so much fun, so i hope to see you again. Hugs// Lena

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      thank you so much for coming Lena- it was wonderful to meet you!!! hugs back! Nat

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Looks like great fun and I so love the designs in those art journals.
    How fun to be sung to while on board.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeah that was fun with the singing -wouldn’ t be as nice though if I would sing ;)

      Reply

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Europe Workshop Tour- Part 2 – ArtMesa Workshops in Madrid

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What a fun time we had at our Art Mesa Mixed Media Workshops in Madrid. We had students coming from all over Spain – Madrid, Barcelona, Salamanca, Malaga, Valencia etc. We had a fantastic group of students and it was so good to see so many familiar faces again too! As always my sweet friend Cuchy rocked the organization, translated my workshop and held her own workshop – what a trooper and amazing friend she is !!!

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And …as a special surprise the girls started singing during the workshop – FUN

Hope you didn’t get too dizzy from the video – LOL -I could have warned you …but then…where is the fun ;) ?

Thank you Spain!!! It was awesome! Until the next Art Mesa ;)

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Next up will be a short trip to Germany :)

Nat

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Blogging in Color Hop with Stampendous & Faber-Castell – Part I

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Stampendous and Faber-Castell® Design Memory Craft have teamed up for a Blog Hop and the Faber-Castell® Design Memory Craft Design Team and some are playing with my Stampendous stamps and some yummie Faber-Castell Products – Wait until you see the colorful inspiration they have for you this week! We are all Blogging in Color!

I got to play with some Gelatos – and for today’s post I created an Art Journal Page.

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Using the Kaffee Klatsch Stamp Set and the Fiesta Stamp Set Stencil and Soft Body Acrylic Paints I stamped and stenciled several images onto the blank page.

After the images dried I went over with several colors out of the Gelatos Brights Color Kit.

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Using a wet brush I blended the colors together – dissolving the Gelatos. Where every I had used acrylic paint before- the paint resisted the Gelatos. I really love the bright creamy colors.

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I used the Fiesta Stamp Set Stencil again this time with the Gelatos and used my fingers get crisp details. I finished the page by stamping one of the Fiesta Set Images several times in white on top and then writing a quote with a marker on top. As long as the Gelatos are not too thickly on the background it is still easy to apply acrylic on top – but you want to be careful. I used a mixture of white ink and soft body paint in a fine liner to add the white writing on top.

 

I will be back on Friday with another Blog Hop Post – but until then – here are the supplies I used on this page

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Don’t forget to check out all the different projects from the Stampendous and Faber-Castell® Design Memory Craft Design Team this week – I heard there might be prizes involved ;)

Nat

Comments (32)

  • Dot

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    Hi Nat, I really like how you use the acrylic paints as a resist with the gelatos…I am just starting to play around with paints so this is wonderful inspiration! And I just looove the colours.
    Dot (Aus) x

    Reply

  • KathyP

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    Love this look…beautiful colors, great blending and layering!

    Reply

  • Linda Chidster

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    G O R G E O U S !!!
    LOVE this!!!
    TFS!!!

    Reply

  • Brenda Shreves

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    Nice ideas.Thanks.

    Reply

  • TracyM #6773

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    MAGICAL page Nathalie!!!
    LOVE the colours & design of your background, LOVE your sentiment too!!!

    Reply

  • Katie B.

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    I love all of your Stampendous Nstudio stamps! And your pages today are wonderful!! Thanks for sharing.

    Katie B. (USA)

    Reply

  • Regina Furman

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    Gorgeous project! I love the colors you chose, and all of the stamping and stenciling are beautiful highlights!

    Reply

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The Chunky Monkey Painting or … City Spring

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I started a new urban painting and wanted to change things up in how I start my paintings . So instead of the normal procedure I forced myself to do it a bit differently.

I was inspired by some sgraffito in paintings by Paul Klee and Jean Dubuffets – which I have just shown in my Post here. Here is how my painting looked for a couple days when I was undecided if I should leave it like this or not. I actually really liked it.

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I love taking photos of my work in progress to see in hindsight what I did and sometimes also …where I should have not taken the next step. As in this. Now that I look back …I almost ;) wish I would have just stopped. But I didn’t …a weird “this cannot be it” – feeling kicked in …and so I continued. And I went a bit overboard with it … kind of like when you hand me a jar of Ben and Jerry’s “Chunky Monkey” Ice Cream …nothings gonna stop me there either ;) although I know pretty much after two scoops that should be it.

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Pretty soon I realized that it is not going into the right direction, but then I just wanted to see how far I could push it and I painted a lot with palette knifes -which I usually only use for texture. That was cool.  And then I also got totally addicted to sketching with a mixture of Soft Body Paint and Ink (Titanium White and Carbon Black) filled into a Fineline bottle. I know now exactly the consistency of the mixture of those two paint media I need to make it work. I just loved the way the lines came out and the erased dimensional look.

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Do I regret going further although I am not loving the outcome? Nope …absolutely not. I learned a lot by doing this and I found some new things I definitely want to incorporate more into new paintings. I also learned that less is sometimes more and not boring …although overall more is more for me… I might just sulk and eat some Chunky Monkey now  ;)

I think it is important to do things in our creative process that we are not loving in order to stretch ourselves and learn . I really enjoyed the process and keeping track of this, so the time was not wasted.  And you know what …I can always make a new painting … maybe I even just gesso over this one …the texture underneath will probably already define the city skyline …what do you think? Now that makes me excited about this again … LOL – maybe it will be the continuing City Spring Canvas Saga.

Are you a less is more or more is more person? 



Nat

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