Happy 4th

These are two layouts I finished yesterday. I also made a process video of the second layout and hope to share that soon. The journaling has always been the hardest part for me but when I flip through older layouts, I find that the journaling is what I’m drawn to.
Products used: Cut files by Wilna Furstenberg, ephemera by Prima, Faber-Castell Gelatos, Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Watercolors, stencils by Jane Davenport and Tim Holtz, Pentel Touch, Staedtler Pigment Pen, and Silhouette Portrait.
Working on finishing up the Artventure course by Wilna Furstenberg and loving these beautiful florals she designed. I’m using the Silhouette Portrait to cut them.
My kids have been busy with summer activities so I haven’t had much time to do anything really. Both the girls have left the world of dance. One moved on to Poms and the other to swim – although swim is only for the summer. I haven’t decided if I’ll be putting her in anything in the fall and winter. She isn’t too enthusiastic about physical activities, except for maybe running, but even that I don’t think she takes very seriously. I’m still looking for a voice coach for her because she’s very passionate about singing but I just can’t seem to find anyone in the area.
With the “no time” I have, I’ve somehow managed to finish four layouts I’ve tried to finish since March. These layouts are from a year-long course I’ve been taking online by Wilna Furstenberg who is an amazing artist. I’m actually taking two of her online classes: Art to Heart and Artventure. Art to Heart focuses on the self following scriptures from the bible and Artventure focuses on family. I’ve learned so much from these courses. I’ve learned not to be afraid to mix different types of media and it’s been very fun and stress relieving, except for the journaling part. I always have a hard time journaling. I find that strange because I love to write. The mind is so mysterious.
Here are the latest layouts. As mentioned, they were started in March and I completed them earlier this week.
Here are close ups.
On a side note, I purchased a couple of different coloring media: Derwent Watersoluble Pencils and Caran D’ache Neocolor II Watersoluble Pastels. I’ve been watching YouTube videos on these two products and comparing them to Prima Marketing and a few other brands with similar items. I chose to go with these two because they’ve been in the market longer and I wanted to get a feel for them before trying the newer brands.
I’m taking a free class through Jane Davenport. I believe these are sample classes to get a feel for her products and her art style. I’m liking it and find it fun and inspirational to practice my drawings using different techniques. I have a few items of Jane’s but didn’t purchase any facial stamps or inks. I have quite a few brands of inks around the study, plus, I bought a really nice set of Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Watercolors a few months back with a 60% discount coupon at Michael’s that I really should start using. Also, instead of using Jane’s calligraphy pen, which I do have, I decided to use the Tombow Calligraphy thick liner pen. I tested the two and Jane’s pen smears under water while Tombow’s didn’t. I think I was supposed to go with the smeared look but I just didn’t want that look for now.
I used a gift card my sister got me for my birthday + points on Amazon and got some Copic markers. This was my first time trying out Copics so I’m excited to continue using them. The portrait was pencil sketched a couple of days ago while waiting for my daughters at the dance studio. Yesterday, I felt really sick from a cold I must have caught from my youngest daughter so I laid in bed and took it slow while my husband helped with the girls (he was off work). Today, I colored with the Copics and watercolor by Jane Davenport. I also used a calligraphy pen to trace and the white Paint Over Marker to highlight. Both also by Jane Davenport. Also, I used a reference by kazanstevalexey on Instagram. My portrait doesn’t look anything like his photo but I just wanted to point it out that I didn’t freehand the portrait.
Sometimes I like to sketch starting with the nose. This was one of them. Most the time I start with the eyes but for some reason I was itching to get the nose right first.
Two birthday’s ago my husband surprised me with a beautiful leather covered unlined journal. It was so beautiful that I was afraid to mark in it, but last week, I made the plunge and created my first mixed-media art journal page! I used gesso, matte medium, gauche, acrylics, hard pastels, and ink pens.
I’m enjoying the Color Theory class by Wilna Furstenberg. I’m learning so much about painting and colors and how they work together. I knew how to match up colors and such before but I didn’t know how to really work with the colors to achieve a certain look which I think I have a better understanding of now.
This layout called for warm colors and brush strokes.
I finally was able to put my Tim Holtz paper distresser to good use as you can see in the last photo where I took a close-up. I also learned how to create a sticker look with the Silhouette Portrait using the Offset. Wilna provides a very good tutorial in her class but she also has the tutorial on her blog. It took a few tries and frustrations to finally get it to work correctly. The whimsical leaves die cuts were from Wilna, the dots were from a FB swap, the acrylic paints are Reeves, and the paper with the white cameras and the paper I’ve distressed are by American Crafts.
I used a rolling pin and bubble wrap to create the stamps. The acrylic paint brand I used is Reeves. They were a little on the darker side so I mixed a little bit of white in. The journaling flower is from an ephemera set from awhile ago so I don’t know the brand. The die cuts are from Wilna Furstenberg, the wood veneers and fawn badge are from Studio Calico.
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