Friday 23 February 2018

I Love Recycling: An Art Journal Page

This is the third art journal page that I have created using the February prompt over on Nina Ribena's Art Journal Prompts and More: Recycle, Repurpose, Reuse.  I have been loving this prompt as I often use magazine clippings and mop up sheets in my work.  I started this page with no clear end point in mind; it simply evolved as I worked on it.
I worked on a piece of mixed media card (18.5cm x 19.5cm) and started with the top layer of a piece of paper towel which had been used to clean off my brush when I was working with Gouache paints (see HERE).  As the paper towel had been folded in half originally, I laid it on so that the reflection was clear and the 'horizon' line across the centre of the page.
As the paper towel tore a little as I was sealing it down with matt medium, I decided to add pieces of torn book pages.  These are from a biography of Byron which I bought at the local library for £1 to recycle in mixed media projects.
As I had found a picture of a black flower in a magazine that I wanted to use as a focal point, I emphasized the outlines of the book text pieces with a black oil pastel (Royal Talens Van Gogh).
To avoid using commercial stamps, I used some bubble wrap and the edge of a credit card to add interest with Onyx Black Versafine ink.
The black lines also provided a background for two die cuts from my stash, left over from one of last year's pages (see HERE). I added the barbed wire (Cheery Lynn Barbwire border dies) cut into sections then laid the magazine clipping over the top, sealing the image with matt medium.
To help bed the image into the background, I blended dark grey and black Faber-Castell Big Brush Markers around the flower using my fingers.
Rather than add a black border around the page, I used bright colours of oil pastel to bring out the colours in the background (by this point, I had decided on my main quote).
I edged one of the Tim Holtz Quote Chips in black pen and glued it to the top of the page.
Two of the Small Talk Stickers provided a finishing touch.
I went round them with a black micron pen to make them stand out.

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