Art Journal Inside Cover

2010-04-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

I just love surprises, so I'm forever exploring and trying new things. And I thrive on heavy texture.

Here I started with a pink mix that one of my students had left over. I just applied a wash all over the gesso'd page. Then I found an unused dollop of gel medium on another student's palette. I used a palette knife to layer it on top of the pink page. I used the opportunity to demonstrate what a combing tool could do. I combed through the gel both horizontally and then vertically.

Hhhmmmm...now what? Let it dry until the next day and ponder what the heck am I going to do on top of that heavy texture?

While I was cleaning up the studio the next day, I began to collage some bits and pieces of vintage newspapers and other documents. Because the paper is so thin, Mod Podge was just fine. Then I got the idea to cut up some yellow paint chip cards. I glued those down with the Mod Podge. Later that day, I found that the paint chip cards had curled at the edges. The card stock was too heavy for the Podge.

However, this pleased me a great deal. Call me crazy. I back-filled the gap between the page and the curled cards with gel medium. So the little rectangles of colour literally float on the page!

The next thing I did was to drip some gesso here and there, leaving the journal standing up overnight to encourage long drips.

Today, as I walked past the studio on my way to the laundry room, I paused. I came to the journal and decided to cover the whole thing with a mix of Payne's Grey, Sepia and Sap Green. I just obliterated the whole page. Then I wiped the paint off where I felt I wanted colour to peek through.

The circles were added with gesso and while wet I dragged the combing tool through them horizontally.

First Pages...

2010-04-11T05:12:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to be participating in a collaborative art journal project with well-known Ottawa mixed media artist, Catherine Gutsche.
My name is Cheryl Poulin and I'm a mixed media artist and instructor also residing in Ottawa. I asked Catherine if she'd participate in this collaborative project and she didn't hesitate.

Our plan is to begin our own journals by arting up the front cover, inside cover and fisrt page of our identical watercolour journals. We'll then meet, chat and swap journals. We'll then paint 2 pages in each other's journals, meet again, sip coffee, chat and swap. We'll go on like this until all of the pages are filled with artwork and thoughts.

This is my journal cover so far. I've prepared the inside cover with gesso and a first layer of texture has been applied.

I'd love to run downstairs to the studio and paint all day. But outside chores beckon and I want to spend time with my hard-working hubby.

Today is my birthday. I'm 48 and life is great. The sun is blasting through my office window. Coffee in hand, cat on the desk beside me...everything is as it should be.

Stay tuned for the next installment of this collaborative art journal between 2 friends. It promises to be very entertaining and a feast for the eyes.

Collaborative Art Journals

Art Journal Inside Cover

First Pages...