This is my first season as a Creative Team member for
Get Messy Art Journal, and I'm so excited! The first three weeks have been amazing. I've learned so many new techniques, and I've enjoyed viewing other Messians' work as well. The participation level and overall enthusiasm is incredible!
The Season of Art 101 is all about going back to the basics, learning to play, and experimenting with new techniques. I decided to go tiny using 2.5 inch square watercolor paper. I never worked quite this small, but I'm loving the challenge. It's super fun making these mini art pieces, and at the end of the season I plan to make a tiny journal for them. This self-portrait piece may be my favorite from the first week. We were given a pop-up prompt to create a self-portrait inspired by security envelope patterns. I used two different patterns to accentuate my wild, natural hair and my lips. Then I cut out some tiny flowers to finish the look. A pink dotted pattern helps frame the whole piece.
The main theme for the first week was watercolor. Here, I tried the wet on wet technique with an inexpensive set of watercolors. I absolutely loved the result! The colors came out so soft and dreamy. After adding a few splatters, I cut this large watercolor sheet down to size. Just a few collage scraps complete the piece.
The second week was all about texture. For one piece I decided to experiment with puffy paint, and I love how it turned out. I cut the flower out from an old greeting card and glued it to one of the watercolor backgrounds I created the week before. Then, I drew some leaves with some clear crystal puffy paint. I love the three-dimensional aspect of this piece, and there's some serious shimmer happening from all the glitter.
The third week we explored acrylics. I enjoyed creating several different acrylic backgrounds. One included a faux marbling technique. After I did the technique, I instantly saw a flower shape. I knew exactly how I wanted to enhance the shape and bring it to life. First, I outlined the shape of the marbled paint with a black pen. Next, I defined the petal shapes. Then, I added a series of lines to the petals. I love how the pen reacted to the paint. Most of the ink pooled in the center, and I used the end of my paintbrush to add a bit of white afterwards.
In week three there was also an amazing tutorial about layers by
Pam Garrison. Building up layer upon layer was so much fun. I considered calling the piece done once I finished the random doodling, but I decided to see it through to the end. I used alphabet letter stencils to spell the word "create", and then I painted black around the outlines. I loved the outcome so much, I just had to try the technique again!
We're halfway through the season, but there's still so much creative inspiration to come. If you haven't joined Get Messy, now is the time! Say yes!
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Get Messy Art Journal is an art journaling program/community. We are a group of like minded art journalers who have come together under this art form to learn, share, practice our skills and push past our creative limits with hopes to inspire. Our community values consistent creating, encouragement and support, and trying new things. We would love to have you join us as a member of Get Messy Art Journal. Join Get Messy now!
