PLAYING WITH A DECOART WATERCOLOR TECHNIQUE-AUTUMNAL ART JOURNAL PAGES

Happy Fall Y'all!

I'm back with a new Autumnal Art Journal Spread using images from a magazine, the fabulous DecoArt Media Line products, Andy Skinner's amazing stamps and lovely little grey board accent pieces from Tando Creative.  Working magazine images into your own original art work is not only challenging, it's also a lot of fun.

You can find some of the most beautiful pictures that can be used in your art pieces out of magazines and calendars!  Be sure to tear out and save those lovely treasures because you never know when you'll wish you had them.  I found an entire "Country" magazine full of gorgeous autumn pictures.  Those plus the colorful falling leaves in our area were my inspiration for these pages.

Here are the supplies you will need for this style of art journal pages:

• DecoArt Media White Gesso
• DecoArt Media Matte Medium
• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Cadmium Orange Hue
• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Diarylide Yellow
• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff
• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Primary Yellow
• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Burnt Umber
• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Paynes Grey
• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Viridian 
• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Yellow Green Light
• DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Metallic Gold
• DecoArt Media Crackle Glaze
• DecoArt Liquid Glass

• Andy Skinner Nature Stamp Set

• Book Plates
• Mini People

Miscellaneous Supplies

• Paint brushes
• Book for art journal spread
• Magazine or calendar images
• Acrylic block for stamping
• Permanent Brown and Black Ink
• Sponge or something to dab paint onto surface
• Computer generated verse
• Permanent Black Ink Pen
• Autumn leaves
• Heat tool
• 1/4" Double Sided Adhesive Tape

Time to get into creative mode!

Begin by painting DecoArt Media White Gesso over the surface of your art journal pages.  These pages happen to be in a paper children's book that I have been altering into an art journal.  Heat set or let air dry. You can go heavy or light on the gesso; depending on the opaqueness of the background you desire.

Cut our your magazine images and secure them to the pages using DecoArt Media Matte Medium.  Matte Medium works as a transparent glue and sealer.  Apply the Matte Medium to the page surface lay the image in place.  Brayer or smooth out the air bubbles then brush over the image with Matte Medium to seal it.  This way, when you add paint to or around the images, they are protected and excess paint can easily be wiped away.

Here are the pages at this point.  They look strange but now the magic begins to happen as you bring everything together using DecoArt Media paints.

Choose colors that will blend and compliment the magazine images. Water down the paints to produce almost a watercolor effect. Brush the paint on and wipe away any excess.  Heat set.  Continue this process until you achieve the look you want.  The first layer was done using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Cadmium Orange Hue.

Next I brushed on the almost watercolor effect to the background using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Diarylide Yellow.  Also use a small brush and touch the leaves with the watery acrylic colors to further enhance them. You can do this since you've sealed the paper with DecoArt Matte Medium.

Here are the pages at this stage.  I also added some green on the pages using DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Viridian and Yellow Green Light in the leaves of the trees and along the ground on the left page to create balance.

Andy Skinner's Nature Stamp Set is amazing! At least for me, it's THE PERFECT set to add all sorts of detail to these pages.  From it's rustic wooden fence to the geese flying south, the stamped images really add so much to these pages!  

I began with this fence piece.  I inked the stamp first with a dark brown permanent ink and then tapped the stamp with permament black ink.  I used an acrylic block to ensure a good image.  I stamped to the left and overlapped that fence pole every time I stamped the fence image across the art journal spread.

Just look at the depth something that simple adds to this piece!!  LOVE IT!

Now to add more autumnal folliage to the background.  I stamped this beautiful tree using a dark brown permanent ink.

Next, use a small brush, water down the acrylic paints again and then lightly blot and brush colors that are complimentary to the leaves on the magazine image.  I also love how some of the original text from the children's book is showing through! 

Time to finish the background to compliment the ground on the opposite page.  Using DecoArt's Media Fluid Acrylics Titan Buff, Primary Yellow and Burnt Umber, I blotted color onto the surface using a sponge and then a small almost dry brush to create the streaks.  

Using yet another of Andy's beautiful stamps from this set, I stamped the old barn into the background then lightly painted over it. Again, with an almost watercolor paint, they translucency of the paints gives a bit of color but allows all of the detail from the stamp to show through.  

Here are the pages at this point.  Notice the geese flying south for the winter?  They were also added using permanent black ink and yes, they are also in this Andy Skinner stamp set!  The tree, the barn, the fence and the geese ... all used on these pages and I love what they add to the scene!

A large bookplate from Tando was painted with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Metallic Gold followed by a healthy coating of DecoArt Media Crackle Glaze.  Let the Crackle Glaze and ALL DecoArt Media Crackle products air dry to achieve the truly beautiful crackle effect!

I rubbed over the crackled book plate with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Paynes Grey and wiped away the excess.  I painted the two mini people using the Paynes Grey and glued them in place using DecoArt Liquid Glass.

Next, I glued some real leaves from my yard randomly around the perimeter of the pages using DecoArt Media Matte Medium.  First to glue them in place and then I brushed over them to seal them. 

As I was watching the autumn leaves gently floating to the ground one day, it struck me how similiar we are to the leaves.  In a philosophical moment for this art journal spread, I created this poem, computer generated the verse to fit the page, printed it out, cut it apart and glued it in place using double sided tape.  I highlighted the edges of the leaves and the poem using a permanent black ink pen.

Here is a closeup of the left page.

Here is a closeup of the right page.  I also added a black swipe of DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics Paynes Grey around the perimeter of the art journal pages to "frame" them and draw everything together.

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out these pages.  I hope that you've learned something new about a product or a technique. Even if you're not a fabulous sketch artist, you can incorporate beautiful images into your art journal pages using magazine images!  It's so easy to blend them into your pages and make them work perfectly!

May you all have a blessed holiday season!

About the Artist:  Candy Colwell

Blog: http://candycreates.blogspot.com

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