Doodling…
I’ve been creating fine pen doodles, sometimes known as zentangles, for years now and have sketchbooks full of them. When I started creating these, the originals were always black and white and if I added colour I did it digitally after I’d scanned the originals. I was very precious with those originals – too frightened to experiment in case I ruined them. But just recently I’ve started adding them into some of my mixed media work…
…and I’m quite pleased with how they’re turning out.
This one was created using a collage of book pages, followed by a watercolour wash and clear gesso glaze. The doodling came next. I don’t plan this, its totally spontaneous and I’m always surprised by the end result! Lastly I added some colour to the doodling using pitt pens and a bit of shading with a water soluble graphite stick.
Playing with Layers
I really enjoyed all the mixed media work I’ve been doing recently, so I decided to do some more playing with layers, both physical and digital.
This first image started out as a collage using a mixture of old papers, book pages, old paint stained tissues, and magazine clippings. This was followed by a liberal application of acrylic paint, stencilling, homemade stamps, washi tape, and more collage. The quotation made me smile, as it’s the kind of thing I say all the time!
This second image was inspired by some work I did at the weekend on the Person Centred Expressive Arts workshop that I attended run by Dinah Brown and Nuala Eden. It began life as a geometric abstract created using watercolour pencils. Although it was quite colourful, it looked a bit flat, so I gave it the mixed media treatment. I added acrylic paint, stencils, homemade stamps, paint markers and indian ink, then finished it off with some letter stamps and collaged letters.
Its been a while since I played with any digital layers, so this last image is a digital blend of two journal pages – a series of swirls drawn with watercolour pencils, and a page created to use up some leftover paint.
Only five days left before the start of 21 Secrets Fall 2015 – I’m really looking forward to working and learning with all the amazing teachers Connie has gathered together.