Art Journaling – Mono-printing with Canvas Paper

Hey! Great News!! We’ve extended the Mandala Madness Inspiration Cards sale! Coupon Code Vday2020 for 25% off – good until 12:01am February 29, 2020. I guess you could say that my misfortune is all good for YOU. 😉 I was out sick all last week, so I’m celebrating a return to feeling good by continuing the sale. Hurry so you don’t miss this opportunity to buy 1 or multiple decks of these beautiful and inspirational cards. Do it right now before you forget. 🙂

One of my very favorite artists is Seth Apter whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in person several times. Not only is Seth an amazing artist, he is one of the nicest and most genuine people I’ve ever encountered. If you have the chance to attend one of his classes, don’t walk . . . RUN to sign up!! He has authored a couple of books as well as several DVD and digital workshops and I can personally suggest The Mixed-Media Artist – art tips, tricks, secrets and dreams from over 40 amazing artists. It’s a great reference filled with a wide variety of techniques and is sure to inspire you, no matter what kind of creative arts you enjoy.

A great way to achieve texture on a substrate (fancy name for the background) is to use a single sheet from a Canvas Pad. (Thanks to Seth, this is one of my favorite techniques for creating an Art Journal page background.) These Canvas sheets come in a pad like mixed-media or watercolor paper, but they are actually individual sheets of primed canvas that are perfect for oil and acrylic painting. First, I painted a very rough under layer of Black Gesso on the page. Next, I used a bristle brush from a hardware store to roughly scrub on some paint which I printed right onto the Art Journal page in my Dina Wakley Media Journal. The layers of paint are very thin which means that they dry very quickly. I repeated this process with several different colors of paint. (If I had begun with White Gesso rather than Black, the effect would have been much lighter.)

All of the images that create the collage are from old calendars that I’ve saved for a few years. I love this artist – Lowell Herrero – because he captures a cat’s personality so perfectly. I cut out various images and created a fun, fantasy collage. It covers quite a bit of the background, but I’m happy with the way it turned out. This page reminds me of so many things I love – books, cats, flowers, texture, color, being careful about my words as they have such power and most importantly – the necessity of taking time to recharge my mental and emotional batteries.

Let me know if you try this way of mono-printing and how you like it. Just remember to use a cheap bristle brush and thin layers of color and above all, have fun!

Be sure to join me each Drama-free Friday at 2pm Eastern. See you next week in the LIVE show?

Remember to Get Creative today! It’s Easy!

Barb

PS – Also, remember we extended the special sale – 25% off of every Mandala Madness Inspiration Cards deck! Now is the time to stock up so you can stay inspired and have your own sets of Mandala Madness Cards to use and enjoy. Did you know that each box includes 48 unique cards – every Mandalas created by me – just for YOU? Enter the code Vday2020 when you check out and we’ll get them to you as soon as possible! Sale ends February 29, 2020 at 12:01am.