Why, Why, Why? Once a Fan, Always a Fan: Art Journal Page

I thought it was about time that I caught up with the Mission Inspiration prompts for July.  Given two of the prompts and the fact that it's our first home match of the season tomorrow, the theme was a no brainer!  Three suggested colours (Yellow Ochre, Burnt Orange and Grey), eight steps and a choice of five word prompts were the usual order of the day for this monthly challenge.

Step 1: Scrape colour(s) over your page.  I worked on mixed media card (nearly A4 in size).  It was spritzed with water and Burnt Orange Pixie Powder sprinkled over the page.  The colour was dragged out with a spatula and further water and powder added until I was happy with the result.

Step 1

Step 2: Glue tea bag/ coffee filter fragments.  I cut up three round tea bags, emptied out the tea and added the circles to the page over on the left hand side.

Step 2

Step 3: Add texture with a stencil.  I mixed some of the Amsterdam Fine Pumice Medium with some of their neutral grey acrylic paint and spread the result through the bubbles stencil from IndigoBlu.

Step 3

Step 4: Make marks with your fingers.  I added a line of Yellow Ochre Amsterdam acrylic across the middle of the page using my fingers.

Step 4

Step 5: Add a self portrait or photo of yourself.  I had printed off a photo of myself wearing a grey Stoke City away top from a previous season using a laser printer.  This was trimmed, added to the page, then Neutral Grey Amsterdam acrylic paint used to mask out the background and blend the photo in with the page.

Step 5

Step 6: Add illegible journaling or scribbles.  I used a black, fine Posca pen to write the story of Stoke's seasons since I became a season ticket holder at the start of the 2000-01 season (although I have supported the club since I was at school).  I was at the Millennium Stadium for the play off final which took us back to the Championship from League 1 and at the Britannia Stadium (as it was then) when we were promoted to the Premiership.  Despite being relegated last season, I renewed my season ticket.

Step 6

Step 7: Add one word repeated three times.  That was easy.  Delilah is one of the songs sung by the  fans every match and 'Why, why, why?' is the refrain.  I stamped them in Onyx Black Versafine ink and heat embossed them in clear EP using the Word Chain Alphabet by Claritystamp for the letters and punctuation.

Step 7

Step 8: Finish with some sparkle, shine or lustre.  I used a combination of  Renaissance Gold and Empire Gold Pebeo Gilding Wax to get an approximation of yellow ochre and added highlights to the textured bubbles.

Step 8

Finally, I used one of the prompt words (Picture, Shadow, Freedom, Sketch and Truth) as part of my quote.  'Because... Once a fan, always a fan.  That's the Truth.'  The prompt (from Word Chain set 12) was stamped and heat embossed in the same way as Why, why, why? and the remainder of the quote printed off using my Dymo Letratag onto clear plastic.  I feel that all the prompts came together beautifully to create this autobiographical page.  Here's to Stoke being promoted back to the Premiership sooner rather than later!