Art Journaling with Paper Napkins and Acrylic Ink

There’s nothing quite like playing around in an Art Journal. I hope you’ve tried it by now. This is the fifth week that we’ve been exploring the various pages in the Dina Wakley Media Journal. This page is the first canvas page in the book. I really like the surface although it shrank quite a lot in the width – even more than the burlap page we worked on a couple of weeks ago. It’s certainly not a problem, just something to be aware of.

I spread White Gesso with a scraper over the page surface several hours before beginning the LIVE stream so it was fully dry. I chose several floral napkins that I collaged onto the page with USA ArtQuest PPA Matte. This is a unique glue that remains flexible and interestingly is not sticky when it’s wet, so it’s a great glue for use with delicate papers like napkins. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it.

Once the collage layer was dry, I used Acrylic Ink and a dropper to draw big fantasy flowers. The hardest one is the first one! After that, it’s a really fun technique. Before the ink dries, I absorbed any excess with sheets of good Toilet Paper. (Yes, you read that correctly – Toilet Paper!) 🙂 I learned about doing this from Carla Sonheim. If you haven’t taken any of her classes, I highly recommend them, too!

Later, I added color to the flowers with various Silks Acrylic Glazes – a product I had in my supplies. They are little pots of luminescent goodness that add color without totally covering the layers below. They’re quite fun to play with and I’d forgotten all about them! I find that creating in my Art Journal encourages me to get reacquainted with supplies I’ve neglected. Do you have that experience? Let me know in the comment section below the post.

I decided that the background was too bright, so I added some Payne’s Gray Inktense pencil as well as some Golden Fluid Acrylic in Zinc White. A little Cobalt Archival Ink around the edges and it’s time to call it finished. If I don’t decide it’s completed, I’ll mess around with it forever!

Join me next week for another episode of Drama-free Friday LIVE on YouTube at 2pm Eastern. I can’t wait to chat with you as we figure out what to do next!

Remember to Get Creative today! It’s Easy!

Barb

PS – Become a member of HowToGetCreative.com for tons more creative arts classes! Our next VIP Live class is Saturday, February 8. Join us!!