Finishing the 14-Day Art Journal

Here are the last four days of Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's 14-day mini art journal series.

Day 11 - Abstract (left page)

The technique for this day was to stamp with acrylic paint multiple times on the page and then color in the negative space with watercolor to form an overall abstract design. My stamp did not give me as abstract a result as Julie's but the technique was interesting.

Day 12 - Black and White Doodles (right page)

This technique was simply drawing lines with black marker to form shapes and then to doodle on the lines and within the shapes with both black and white pens of different widths to form patterns. My white pens didn't show up well on the black - it seems they soaked into the pigment so the result is far more subtle than desired. I discovered several dried up pens, so I was also able to declutter!

Day 13 - Mixing Media (left page)

This technique used water-soluble crayons (I used Tim Holtz Distress Crayons) and acrylic paint. Three colors of the crayons were scribbled on the page and then spread with a paintbrush and water.  The yellow circles and dark blue marks were also added with the crayons. In order to make this layer permanent, I used matte medium on the gel plate and printed over the entire page. . This is a great tip to fix any water-soluble medium instead of brushing over.  Once this dried, the light blue acrylic paint was added for extra interest.

Day 14 - Monoprint and Sketch (right page)

This page was already painted from the extra acrylic paint (blue) that I used up from the previous page. Then I used the gel plate to print a second layer with orange paint. When dry I sketched the flower with permanent pen and then used fluid acrylic paints to color the flower. Since these are transparent, you can see the sketch marks and previous layers underneath. I also doodled with white pen since the page was quite dark.

I thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with these techniques - some old and some new. It was a great distraction from what's presently going on in the world. Art is therapeutic!