I will never be the person that uploads videos every day. Or every week.
Chances are, you'll be lucky if you get monthly videos from me. I like YouTube and the fun that it provides, but I can't think of it like a task that I have to mark off of my calendar or the fun will be sucked away faster than a rocket takes off. The same thing goes for this blog.
I'm not posting and creating videos to show off my products or online classes, and there is nothing wrong with doing that. For me, art is a hobby. I'm not saying it will always be this way, but it is for the time being.
That doesn't mean that I can't make creating videos easier. A new camera mount is being shipped to me, as are a couple of lights, and I think that will make creating videos easier which will directly correlate to how many videos you all will see. Fingers crossed that everything works the way I'm hoping and that the past few sentences I've written will be moot.
With all that being said, you should mosey on over to YouTube right now and check out the long overdue video that I just uploaded. CLICK HERE TO SEE IT.
(Please like and subscribe if you like and want to subscribe.)
An exploration of art journal supplies and techniques from a guy that hates getting his hands dirty. Check out product reviews, creative challenges, my own creations, and much more. Note: I am not responsible for the sudden urge to go out and purchase materials that you see featured on my blog. Consider this your warning.
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Let's Play - January 2016
I don't know what took me so long, but I've recently discovered the awesomeness that is Carolyn Dube. I am in awe of how easily she speaks on camera in her YouTube videos, and her art skillz are the bomb. If you've been living under a rock in close proximity to mine (hence my 90's slang), you can find out more about her here.
I recently saw the video about her Let's Play challenge. It sounded like something to keep me creating even when I wasn't really feeling up to it, and it's a monthly thing so it isn't like I have to rush to get something done in the span of a few days. If you want to find out more about the challenge, click the colorful "Let's Play" button to the right of this post.
I have to admit that it was nice to just ease into the process of creating without getting too worked up about the finished product. That's one of the reasons I love art journaling, but lately it has seemed that the finished product had to be share-worthy or else it was a waste of time. That is so wrong on so many levels! This challenge was a great way to bring me back to my center, and the January theme of using something that would have been thrown away made it all the easier.
I selected a priority shipping envelope from my last order from istencils.com, and I cut the envelope so that I had one panel at almost 7 inches by 9 inches. I used a piece of the protective material that came with my PS4 (whatchamacallit?) and cut it up to avoid falling into the habit of just sticking it down in one piece and moving on. I even saved a mini candy bar wrapper and tried to use it in a way that I probably wouldn't have normally.
I used the FW Acrylic Inks to get some color down after I applied a thin layer of white gesso. See the Pinterest board below for a full list of the supplies I used.
This is the material that expensive electronics sometimes come wrapped in. It is soft to the touch and a thin material, perfect for the application of paint.
I applied a layer of Dina Wakley's black gesso before using white linen Dylusions paint with a couple of stencils. Some of the paint got underneath the stencil in a couple of places but I didn't sweat it.
I used a white paint pen and a black permanent marker to trace the triangles that I cut out, as well as to doodle all over the page. I did some light stamping with Memento's London Fog ink pad, so that the stamp isn't too pronounced.
On a whim, I used one of the crazy bird stamps and colored it in with spectrum noir markers. I used Elmer's glue-all to adhere the triangles and the bird to the envelope.
I decided to add a little pop of color using the Gelly Roll moonlight pen. It didn't stick in all of the areas and I just accepted it. In fact, it makes the outlines of the large triangles look more sketchy, which is the look I was aiming for.
This is the mini Hershey's wrapper. I just stuck it down instead of attempting to mold it into a special shape or cutting it into another triangle, and that makes it stand out on the page. In order to help it blend in better, I went over it with some of the FW acrylic inks to mute the brown color on the wrapper. Doodling over it made it fit better with the theme of the page, and I'm happy with how it turned out.
I enjoyed the process of creating this page - my first one in almost a month. It was nice to get back into the swing of things and just do some creating without focusing too much on the specifics. Of course, there are things about the page that I'm not overly thrilled with, but it isn't enough to worry about.
The finished product:
Thanks for checking out my creation. Join in on the fun and check out Carolyn Dube's channel and blog - you won't regret it.
Follow Travis's board Supplies - January Play Challenge on Pinterest.
I recently saw the video about her Let's Play challenge. It sounded like something to keep me creating even when I wasn't really feeling up to it, and it's a monthly thing so it isn't like I have to rush to get something done in the span of a few days. If you want to find out more about the challenge, click the colorful "Let's Play" button to the right of this post.
I have to admit that it was nice to just ease into the process of creating without getting too worked up about the finished product. That's one of the reasons I love art journaling, but lately it has seemed that the finished product had to be share-worthy or else it was a waste of time. That is so wrong on so many levels! This challenge was a great way to bring me back to my center, and the January theme of using something that would have been thrown away made it all the easier.
I selected a priority shipping envelope from my last order from istencils.com, and I cut the envelope so that I had one panel at almost 7 inches by 9 inches. I used a piece of the protective material that came with my PS4 (whatchamacallit?) and cut it up to avoid falling into the habit of just sticking it down in one piece and moving on. I even saved a mini candy bar wrapper and tried to use it in a way that I probably wouldn't have normally.
I used the FW Acrylic Inks to get some color down after I applied a thin layer of white gesso. See the Pinterest board below for a full list of the supplies I used.
This is the material that expensive electronics sometimes come wrapped in. It is soft to the touch and a thin material, perfect for the application of paint.
I applied a layer of Dina Wakley's black gesso before using white linen Dylusions paint with a couple of stencils. Some of the paint got underneath the stencil in a couple of places but I didn't sweat it.
I used a white paint pen and a black permanent marker to trace the triangles that I cut out, as well as to doodle all over the page. I did some light stamping with Memento's London Fog ink pad, so that the stamp isn't too pronounced.
On a whim, I used one of the crazy bird stamps and colored it in with spectrum noir markers. I used Elmer's glue-all to adhere the triangles and the bird to the envelope.
I decided to add a little pop of color using the Gelly Roll moonlight pen. It didn't stick in all of the areas and I just accepted it. In fact, it makes the outlines of the large triangles look more sketchy, which is the look I was aiming for.
This is the mini Hershey's wrapper. I just stuck it down instead of attempting to mold it into a special shape or cutting it into another triangle, and that makes it stand out on the page. In order to help it blend in better, I went over it with some of the FW acrylic inks to mute the brown color on the wrapper. Doodling over it made it fit better with the theme of the page, and I'm happy with how it turned out.
I enjoyed the process of creating this page - my first one in almost a month. It was nice to get back into the swing of things and just do some creating without focusing too much on the specifics. Of course, there are things about the page that I'm not overly thrilled with, but it isn't enough to worry about.
The finished product:
Thanks for checking out my creation. Join in on the fun and check out Carolyn Dube's channel and blog - you won't regret it.
Follow Travis's board Supplies - January Play Challenge on Pinterest.
Friday, January 8, 2016
Long Time No Art
I've been a little bit MIA over the past few months. Sorry about that.
The holidays were especially difficult this year because my mother passed away in September of 2015. Add that to my already depressed and anxious mood and you can imagine that I wasn't really up to doing much of anything.
I didn't feel like doing much in the way of art or any other type of creating, and I didn't use my art journal as a way to get out the feelings that I was holding inside. So, as a result, those feelings stayed inside and just compounded until I finally started to embrace my grief and work through it. I don't really cry except for the infrequent sad movie, but I had my fair share of it these last few months as you might expect.
I joined Creative JumpStart 2016 as a way to help get me focused on my art again, and I splurged and bought a couple of art supplies from my wish list - supplies that I've really wanted to use and knew would get me doing something. I'm feeling inspired again which is a wonderful feeling!
I spent the morning cleaning out some trash and will be doing some organizing of my art space later today in an effort to get back into the swing of things. Creative JumpStart has already exposed me to two artists that I was unfamiliar with, not to mention the numerous Jumpstarters that are producing amazing works of art with a variety of mediums. I can see why so many people return to the class/community/program year after year.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
Youtube: Stencil Haul
I just uploaded a video of my recent stencil purchases. Swing on by my channel and take a look. Make sure to like the video if you like it, and subscribe if you want to be subscribed.
GO NOW!
GO NOW!
A Couple of Quick Sketches
I've done a couple of sketches the last few days; I thought I'd share. They're not masterpieces by any means, but they were fun and occupied a little bit of my time, (read: they successfully distracted me from organizing) so, I'm counting them as useful works of art.
My attempt at a relaxed face. I used watercolor for the skin tone, lips, and hair. I still need to work on shading and I think I had problems because I wasn't patient enough to let the washes dry before I began putting down another layer. I still think it looks pretty good though, considering where I started.
This was an idea that popped into my head as I was listening to music. I still need to work on my penmanship and the border of the mirror is way off (can you even tell that it's a mirror?). The figure on the left is a superhero and the reflection in the mirror is a villain in jail. This one was colored in with colored pencils and I used a Pigma Micron .03 pen for the outlines.
*Scroll down to listen to the song that inspired me.
Thanks for taking a peek!
My attempt at a relaxed face. I used watercolor for the skin tone, lips, and hair. I still need to work on shading and I think I had problems because I wasn't patient enough to let the washes dry before I began putting down another layer. I still think it looks pretty good though, considering where I started.
This was an idea that popped into my head as I was listening to music. I still need to work on my penmanship and the border of the mirror is way off (can you even tell that it's a mirror?). The figure on the left is a superhero and the reflection in the mirror is a villain in jail. This one was colored in with colored pencils and I used a Pigma Micron .03 pen for the outlines.
*Scroll down to listen to the song that inspired me.
Thanks for taking a peek!
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Happy Accidents
Don't you just love those moments when you choose a color you wouldn't normally pick, or a stencil that doesn't always appeal to you, only to find that the end result is your own version of artistic perfection? I'm not saying this happens to me very often because the truth is that it just doesn't. Every now and then the planets seem to align and your creations just seem to work, whether or not you'd get the same result if you tried it all over again.
I finally broke out my Gelli Arts Gelli Printing Plate and went to town with it. The images below are my top three pulls of the evening. Feel free to save the pictures and use them in your art and collage projects if you so wish.
This first one involves the use of a lettering stencil that I have never before used on my gelli plate. Since it was the first stencil I used, you can barely see it in most places. It helps build up a lot of great texture.
This next print is a lot darker than I intended to go. I used red for the bottom layer and added on a green and a blue. I like bright colors and have gotten into a habit of using bright, bold colors in my art journal. This is a welcome change.
I think this one is my favorite pull of the night. You can see some of the previous image's bottom layer which didn't completely come up, and on this pull it introduces a nice amount of red to contrast with the orange and yellow. The final layer, black, is what brings it all together.
I highly suggest that everyone get their hands on a gelli plate and experiment with all of the fun. It can be a relaxing, almost meditative process. Post a comment and let me know which is your favorite out of these three, and let me know if you have any questions.
NOTE: The images above were created using Journal Artista's (AKA Paula Phillips) "crusty bits" technique.
I finally broke out my Gelli Arts Gelli Printing Plate and went to town with it. The images below are my top three pulls of the evening. Feel free to save the pictures and use them in your art and collage projects if you so wish.
This first one involves the use of a lettering stencil that I have never before used on my gelli plate. Since it was the first stencil I used, you can barely see it in most places. It helps build up a lot of great texture.
This next print is a lot darker than I intended to go. I used red for the bottom layer and added on a green and a blue. I like bright colors and have gotten into a habit of using bright, bold colors in my art journal. This is a welcome change.
I think this one is my favorite pull of the night. You can see some of the previous image's bottom layer which didn't completely come up, and on this pull it introduces a nice amount of red to contrast with the orange and yellow. The final layer, black, is what brings it all together.
I highly suggest that everyone get their hands on a gelli plate and experiment with all of the fun. It can be a relaxing, almost meditative process. Post a comment and let me know which is your favorite out of these three, and let me know if you have any questions.
NOTE: The images above were created using Journal Artista's (AKA Paula Phillips) "crusty bits" technique.
Monday, November 9, 2015
Stencil Madness
I've recently come to the conclusion that my supply of stencils is greatly lacking. I'm intrigued by the idea of making my own stencils and have even experimented with using old packaging to create a couple of designs, but I knew I needed to put those ideas on the back burner for the time being. It is for this reason that I decided to procure some of the stencils already on the market.
There are a lot of good stencil manufacturers on the internet these days and I've been keeping a wish list for the past few months as I've tried to locate stencils that I can use over and over again without all of my creations becoming repetitive. I think I succeeded in finding some top notch stencils from a variety of creators.
A lot of my newly purchased stencils have been featured on live streams over on ustream.tv. Some of the ones I selected were specifically made for using the Gelli Arts Gelli Printing Plate, but that doesn't mean that they are only to be used for that purpose. Stencils are such a versatile tool that come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and they can be used with a variety of mediums.
I'm still waiting on a couple of my purchases to arrive in the mail. I'll post a haul video as soon as they are all in my hands and ready to be played with.
There are a lot of good stencil manufacturers on the internet these days and I've been keeping a wish list for the past few months as I've tried to locate stencils that I can use over and over again without all of my creations becoming repetitive. I think I succeeded in finding some top notch stencils from a variety of creators.
A lot of my newly purchased stencils have been featured on live streams over on ustream.tv. Some of the ones I selected were specifically made for using the Gelli Arts Gelli Printing Plate, but that doesn't mean that they are only to be used for that purpose. Stencils are such a versatile tool that come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and they can be used with a variety of mediums.
I'm still waiting on a couple of my purchases to arrive in the mail. I'll post a haul video as soon as they are all in my hands and ready to be played with.
***** COOL NEWS *****
One of my favorite ustreamers is Paula Phillips, AKA Journal Artista. Her live streams are how I've come to see many of the stencils on my wish list, and she uses a variety of them to get cool effects on her numerous projects. It was recently announced that she has become a new StencilGirl artist.
She has come out with 3 stencil designs so far and they are fantastic! I'm eagerly waiting for their arrival so I can start using them.
Check out the announcement and her stencils ASAP. You won't regret it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)