Art Journal, Mixed media, Quotes

Café Girl – my September Mixed Media Journal Class

Over the past few years I’ve been creating simple sketches that I’ve come to call my café girls. They have been created on the run during vacations, during down time in cafés as I wait for my food and during those times when I’m waiting for something to happen. Simple sketches, with minimal supplies that have morphed into soulful girls with expressive faces that remind me of time and place.

I’d like to share my café girls in a mixed media journal class and you are invited! I find creating these girls are the perfect escape for an art fix, don’t worry if you can’t draw a face as I have a template you can use. Perhaps bring along some inspirational images from magazines and such as a basis for your girl.

Absolute beginners are very welcome but the more experienced are sure to find something to challenge in each class.

Supplies to bring:

  • If you already art journal – bring along your usual kit, if not check the requirements list for a guide on what to bring. You will need an approx. A4 sized journal to begin with – please check in store for details.
  • Collage papers – only a small amount is needed & I’ll have music paper for you to use
  • Stickers for a word/quote if you wish to add something to the page at the end
  • Watercolour pencils in dark brown, dark blue, black & dark grey (Paynes grey is perfect & a black Stabilo will be useful)
  • Extra watercolour pencils in a variety of colours for eyes, lips, cheeks if you have them
  • Acrylic paints in colours suitable for skin, hair & clothing. Appropriate colours for skin will be helpful but I’ll show you how to mix them. Lime green & magenta make a great skin colour!
  • Liquitex matt medium
  • Whtie gesso
  • Clear gesso (don’t buy specifically, in case you don’t need it, I will have some to share)
  • Fine white Sharpie paint pen
  • White gel pen
  • A selection of fine brushes – #4, #6 & #12 round brushes will work well.
  • Flat brush for matt medium
  • Something watersoluble to use for the background – watercolours, Scribble Sticks, Prima watersoluble pastels, Gelatos, watercolour powders will all work well.
  • Graphite paper or similar & biro if you wish to trace the image instead of drawing one
  • Pencil, prefer hard 2H or similar if you wish to sketch the girl
  • Rubber
  • Black permanent pen for doodling
  • Small spatula
  • Paint palette
  • Non–stick craft mat
  • Baby wipes
  • Paper towel
  • Container for water
  • Heat tool

Bella Paperie is located at Shop 33, 302 South Pine Road, Brendale. Phone 3205 5911 to book. Class runs 10am – 2pm, September 3 and costs $30 with some supplies provided.

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Art Journal Challenge, Darkroom Door, Mixed media, Quotes, Tutorials

Spread Your Wings…

Until you spread your wings,
you’ll never know how far you can fly.

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The last few months seem to have been full of activity in our house so I’ve been sharing bits & pieces on my Instagram feed. If you aren’t sure where to find me – look here. I’d love you to pop by and say hello.

Every year I start with great plans for participating in various challenges and online classes only to peter off after a few weeks/months. I decided to be a bit gentler on myself this year – I will intend to participate but if it doesn’t happen then all is good & I’ll go back to them if/when I can or feel like it.

Robyn Wood Purple Salt www.purplesalt.net

Today I’d like to share a page I did for week 12 of the LuLu Art Colour Me Positive challenge. I’ve loved watching this challenge group evolve and grow, there is currently over 2500 positive art journalers in the Facebook group – isn’t that fabulous? I am sure it will grow from strength to strength.

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This time around the extra journaling prompt was to add wings so that is where I started – butterfly wings and a corset from Darkroom Door stamps. Of course you can’t have a torso without a skirt of some kind, so I created a textured & collaged one using dictionary paper, handmade paper and a paper doyley. Layers of colour and texture gave it some form.

I wish I had photographed the background before I started but it was one of those pages that I use for scrapes of left over paint and spray. I’d kept them to greens and blues so that the page would match the opposite side. I added some stencilling and collage (Kaisercraft have some great collage papers!) before I started so that the page had an interesting base.

Wings - Robyn Wood - Purple Salt 2.jpg

The corset and wings were fun to layer with some pretty lace – it was well stuck down with gel medium! Once everything was stuck down and coloured with the new Ranger Distress Crayons, I painted just the wings with some clear crackle paste. I decided to experiment with colour a little and dripped Dylusions spray ink over the wings to give a mottled effect. It was so hard to just let it dry so I could check how well the effect worked.

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While that was drying I carefully added some gold touches with gold Texture paste – I love to smear this stuff around a page a little to give a swipe of gold.

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As a final step I added the quote, gradually thickening the lettering until I was happy with how it stood out from the background.

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A flutter of sequins finished off the page and added a nice touch of bling to the skirt.

Supplies:

  • Darkroom Door stamps – Collage Butterfly, Corsetry set
  • Stencil Girl stencils – Rembrant’s words, Honeycomb, Transform
  • Ranger Distress Crayons
  • Dina Wakley paints – Ocean, Lemon, Turquoise
  • Golden Gel Medium
  • Faber Castel – Whipped Spackle, Texture Luxe gold
  • Prima Crackle Paste – clear
  • Ranger Dylusions spray – Pink Bubblegum
  • Ranger Liquid Pearls
  • Kaisercraft paper
  • Black permanent pen
  • Sequins, lace, dictionary paper, handmade paper, paper doyley

Robyn Wood Purple Salt www.purplesalt.net

One tip that I’d like to share is about texture paste – too much of it will weigh a page down but I have found that if you use the Faber Castell Whipped Spackle there isn’t a lot of extra weight. Which means I can stencil away with texture to my hearts content! Don’t forget to clean the texture paste out of your stencils right away – it can set hard and ruin them if you aren’t careful.

Have you been playing along with the challenge? I’d love to see if you would like to post me a link in the comments.

Discover Colour - Life Book week 1 - Robyn Wood
Art Journal, Mixed media, Online classes

Discover Colour

The first week of Life Book has come and gone and I’ve put the final touches to the first art journal & drawing lesson from Tamara Laporte. Tam themed the lesson around the idea of creating a Happy Traveller, a protective character that leads the way into the new year along with a soul animal or two.

Purple Salt, Robyn Wood, art journal, mixed media
Discover Colour – Life Book week 1

Mine turned out a little differently, as I want to make my online class practices more ‘me’ and less of the teachers this year. My soul animal was meant to be a fox but I guess I was meant to have the cat I ended up with! Never mind, first time drawing an animal like this from scratch so not so worried.

Purple Salt, Robyn Wood, art journal, mixed media

My focus for this year is adventure. Adventures in art making, meeting up with my art sistas, travelling and an all round seeking of new paths. One of these will be learning more about art – so ‘Discover Colour’ seemed to be appropriate for this girl!

Purple Salt, Robyn Wood, art journal, mixed media

I love how she came together, especially the strings of doodles that hang from her hair. Those are pure Tam but I think you will be seeing more in future girls.

Purple Salt, Robyn Wood, art journal, mixed media

Below is a list of the basic supplies I used in creating her, one of the more unique ones is this rubbon – I’ve had it for ages so it was nice to finally give it a home. Leave me a comment if you would like to know what I used in more detail and I’ll try to help. I’d love to know which soul animal you have chosen for this year.

Supplies:

  • Neocolor II crayons
  • Ceramcoat acrylic paint in skin colours
  • Prismacolour pencils
  • Ranger Distress paints
  • Letraset Aquamarkers & Tombow markers
  • Sharpie fine white paint pen
  • Collage paper & rubbon
  • Stabilo All pencil
  • The Crafters Workshop stencils

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The Life Book 2016 year is still in the early weeks, if you are interested in learning from Tam and a great group of artists you can sign up here.