Thursday, 10 March 2016

The Bluebells


This time I worked with a cleanish white page.  When I say cleanish I mean there was a little staining from other pages at the edges.

I worked with permanent or alcohol pens, Sharpies, Promarkers etc.  The poem was written by Emily Bronte and the full poem is below.

One the whole page was drawn and the poem added, I felt that the words didn't show up that greatly so I decided to put some white back onto the page by using a correction pen.  This adds some dimension to the overall look I feel especially adding a few highlights to the bluebells.


The Bluebell is the sweetest flower
That waves in summer air:
Its blossoms have the mightiest power
To soothe my spirit's care.

There is a spell in purple heath
Too wildly, sadly dear;
The violet has a fragrant breath,
But fragrance will not cheer,

The trees are bare, the sun is cold,
And seldom, seldom seen;
The heavens have lost their zone of gold,
And earth her robe of green.

And ice upon the glancing stream
Has cast its sombre shade;
And distant hills and valleys seem
In frozen mist arrayed.

The Bluebell cannot charm me now,
The heath has lost its bloom;
The violets in the glen below,
They yield no sweet perfume.

But, though I mourn the sweet Bluebell,
'Tis better far away;
I know how fast my tears would swell
To see it smile to-day.

For, oh! when chill the sunbeams fall
Adown that dreary sky,
And gild yon dank and darkened wall
With transient brilliancy;

How do I weep, how do I pine
For the time of flowers to come,
And turn me from that fading shine,
To mourn the fields of home!

Perhaps in days gone by, bluebells used to bloom in summer.  So strange how our seasons have changed.  I'm not sure we really have defined seasons anymore.


Wednesday, 9 March 2016

Let your hair down


I've been struggling with the black sugar paper pages I put in my journal.  It's finding pens, crayons, inks and paints that will cover the blackness successfully.

With this page I used good quality crayons.  Here I have used a combination of the student coloured pencils from Specialist Crafts and Derwent crayons.  Both have a good coverage and are lovely and soft to use.  The top part of the page is an envelope inner which has been marbled lightly marbled, although I feel it hasn't really shown in the image  The lettering and swirls were completed using permanent pens.

I think the woman looks a little intense and slightly Fae.

Tuesday, 8 March 2016

Seeds of Change


This page started with a random used page found in my scrap box it had some olive green ink smeared in the middle and some random circles drawn on it by someone at one of my workshops.  I don't like waste and I thought it would be a good starting point to develop a page.

Materials used:  A window envelope, a strip of decorative paper, a flower cut from some wallpaper, turquoise ink, gel and highlight pens and the typewriter.

The journal page represents how change can come about from the simplest of ideas.

Monday, 7 March 2016

Permission to Fly


I really enjoyed putting this page together as it was a gradual process and a mish-mash of various papers, stickers and stamps.

Materials used include a gold foil from a chocolate bar, crepe paper, book paper, map paper, butterfly stickers and rubber stamp.  Handwritten and stamped words and a spray of brush ink.

Saturday, 27 February 2016

Art Journalling with a Key theme

I have a lovely collection of large keys on my window sill in my lounge.  I acquired them from a car boot and was very please to give them house room.  They have been coated with a thick black paint so I guess most people would have passed them by, but I thought they had some presence.

My journal is a mix of different papers including brown paper, I love a challenge although it is rather difficult to work with thinner paper.

This page has evolved over a period of time.  First I added torn strips of masking tape in readiness for when I wanted to use the page.  I love using excess paint of my brush on other pages in my journal. I'd been using gold one day and like the idea of creating a shimmer on the brown paper. After sketching the keys using my waterbased wash pens I ripped off the masking tape which also tore away some of the key images.  I just went over them and this gave them a two-tone effect. I then wrote over the whole surface using a pink metallic gel pen.  I love the way the writing looks pink then silver in some places.


Friday, 26 February 2016

Make a Wish


Just the gesture of this vintage lady gave me the idea for this page.  I thought her headdress looked like a dandelion clock.

Thursday, 25 February 2016

I give myself permission to play


A great way to get yourself started.  I used the phrase, "I give myself permission to play".  One of the group suggested that this journal page had the feel of "Three Acre Wood" in the Winnie the Pooh Stories.