Understanding layers: why I hide collage below layers of paint

For a long time, I simply did not understand the importance of building up layers in art journals. I looked at mixed media artists with astonishment. Why would they do that, I’d wonder, as they put down beautiful scrapbook paper on the page, only to hide it under gesso and layers of paint. Or I’d watch in utter fascination as they laid down beautiful doodles and stamps and stencils, and then again hid it under layers and layers of paint.

But why? Those looked like complete paintings too!Continue reading→

Harness the power of water: 5 fun painting techniques

Over the last few days, we’ve talked about brushes and collage, creating abstract art and examining art deco patterns to gain some inspiration for our art journal pages. Today, let’s look at some fun ways to add paint to paper.

5 fun painting techniques

Drips: This is one of my favorite things to do. Use some watered down acrylics or acrylic ink, stand the journal upright, and watch the paint drip down the page. Take a look at the super short video below to see this technique in action.Continue reading→

#PocketFullOfArt: A daily art challenge with a twist

Challenges seem to have become a thing around here – after the Mindful Break and Kindle Thy Spark, this is my most ambitious yet – a daily art challenge! But first:

Why a daily art challenge?

Because my one small regret from last year is that I did not make enough time for art, especially in the second half of the year. Moving to a self-hosted blog and all the tiny little tweaks I had to make to it ate up a lot of my time and attention. Setting up an online Tarot reading business took up another chunk of energy. And then there was all the time I spent dreaming about blogging and fun new ideas – like the two Instagram challenges mentioned above. No wonder that my art table felt a bit neglected!  Continue reading→

Beat stress with art: intuitive painting

When I wrote about adult coloring books last month, it generated a lot of interesting comments and discussions. Chief among them was the argument that coloring is a fun, easy and quick way to beat the stress.

My argument is that the best way to beat the stress is with art.

Well, what if I told you that over a period of about a month, maybe even less, you could have a painted canvas ready to hang on your wall? You need no prior art background, you don’t really need to know how to draw, and all it will take is 5-10 minutes a day. The set-up and clean up is also super easy and very quick.

Painting this canvas will also help you to be mindful, it will help you to beat the stress while creating a piece of original art, and maybe even help you to experience a bit of art therapy.

Sounds interesting?Continue reading→