Mar 17, 2016

Mixed Media Watercolor Techniques

book 1

Hey guys and welcome to the first page from my new junk journal.  A girl I work with was saving these thick pieces of cardboard and I asked her for them.  I cut them in half and bound them with jute.  I am LOVING working on cardboard as a substrate for mixed media.  I first gesso the page and then go to town wetting and painting.  The pages do not curl and the book lays perfectly flat when open.  WIN WIN!  I can't wait to share my experiments with you.  <3

book 2

After my Grandfather passed away, my Aunt gave me all of his old keys that she couldn't find locks to fit.  He was the town lawn mower repairman and Mr. Fix-It.  I have kept all of the keys on the ring until now, when I finally found a home for this one.  He would know exactly what it was for, he was so smart.  I love the sense of wonder that I feel when I look at it.  Whatever it locked, I will never know...

book 3

These photos really don't show the texture and dimension on the pages well.  The triangles are a huge part of the design IRL and really pop off the pages.

book 4

I did manage to take one quick before photo so you could understand my process a bit better.  You see the layers of torn papers and stamping over the gessoed background.  A special shout out to my homey Mimi for sending me the sweetest package this week.  She lovingly filled it with great bits of ephemera, even some of her coveted library cards.  She included a sweet note in the package explaining all of the bits and bobs and I just had to use it in my layering!  Mimi and I share a love for triangles!  ;0

book 5

I chose this mysterious girl from Tim's photo booth collection as my focal point.  She is surrounded with a Prima triangle stamp, embossed in gold.

book 6

You can see a little more detail of the watercolor puddles and splatters here.  Spritzes of Glimmer Mist balance the very matte Loew Cornell watercolor.  I have been testing out some of the other brands I have recently.  I used an old Prang set leftover from art school and they work beautifully, but ALWAYS react to water, even after dried.  The Loew Cornell dry almost permanent, which is my preference for this type of mixed media.  The only down side is the pigments will separate if you add too much water and the result is a sort of powdery, cracked finish.  I have learned to watch out for this and correct as I go.  When using Glimmer Mists I find it better to use on top of these watercolors.  For my brighter cards last week, I used Dr. PH Martin's inks.  They are permanent and can easily be made into sprays, which won't bleed.  They are fantastic for spraying through stencils!  I just need to get a couple of palettes so I can better mix my own colors.

book 7

Back to my pages!  I decided to use more handwriting in my journal.  The 2nd Class stamp is sort of a pun about how frugal Mimi and I are.  I just had to incorporate it.

book 8

book 9

I'm sharing with:
Scrapki

26 comments:

Connie Mercer said...

Love what you did here. amazing art!

kiwimeskreations said...

Wow - this is gorgeous Autumn - love the texture, the repeated triangles and the hints of embossing. The image is such an haunting one, and add to the key and cut triangles gives the page an aura of mystery.
Blessings
Maxine

Mimi said...

Awwwwe, love this! (Umm, you know I do! Yes, you had me at triangle stencil!!!) But as usual, your colors are bomb, and your use of bits from the past are simply special. But really, I identify with you: sweet Autumn... Coveting another woman's cardboard :) Us crafters be like, "Uh, you gonna throw that wrapper away?" ;) xo

Vintagehandmade said...

Wow, Autumn, this is an absolutely beautiful work of art! What you did with watercolours is amazing! You have created such an awesome texture and I love your old key and those cut triangles! Fabulous stamping, too! Simply stunning! Big hugs! Branka xx

Carole Wright said...

wow this is beautiful, thank you so much for entering our challenge here at Berry71Bleu x

Unknown said...

Autumn - girl - you just are blowing it out of the park with one INCREDIBLE project after another. Soooooo much talent. I just love this. And that key story brought tears to my eyes... so special. This is SUCH a BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL creation. XXj.

Lisa said...

Oh wow, this is gorgeous!! I love the texture and the colors!! How sweet that you used your grandpa's keys!! It makes it so special!! This is fabulous, Autumn!! Have a great weekend!! Big hugs :)

Lisa
A Mermaid's Crafts

crafty-stamper said...

Fabulous and love the step by step and all the paint and textured layers -I you cut out triangles and your Granfathers key
Carol x

Curls N Twirls said...

I fell in love with the triangles - Golden ones .. Its amazing the way you have worked with corrugated cardboard .. Its Beautiful !!

Diana Taylor said...

This is stunning -I love those colours, they give the pages such a warm glow and they remind me of a sunset. The triangular design is fab and works so well. How lovely to use your Grandfather's keys - it turns it into something so special. I love everything you have done here - it really is beautiful.

Words and Pictures said...

Simply stunning - what a glorious page spread. I love seeing the structure of the composition before the colours were added - the dynamic movement of the triangles is fantastic. And the layering of the colours is glorious - huge WOW from here!
Alison x

sarascloset said...

Wow, Autumn! I love your new journal and these pages are texture Heaven! I think it's fantastic you used one of your Grandpa's keys, so special! As always, your design is sublime! Hugs!

Olga Bielska Warsztaty Artystyczne said...

WOW! I Love it! Very beautiful.

Päivi said...

Stunning! This is so very beautiful! Perfect into every detail. Thanks for joining us at Berry71bleu March challenge!

Jinny Newlin said...

LOVE those triangles, Autumn, and that you've incorporated something so personal into your beautiful design! The bits of gold and corrugated paper are fantastic, too! Really... just everything about it is fantastic. You're amazing, girl!

A Pink said...

I'm working backwards Autumn so my comment will make sense knowing that - just when I thought you had won my heart on your other journal pages , projects I arrive here to see these stunning pages and yet again my heart is won . Love the story you tell in the creating of these pages and all the little personal touches and those textured diamonds are so eye catching ! Thank you so much for sharing and inspiring hugs x

Yasmina TIN-SANG said...

beautiful! thanks for joining us at Mixed Media Warriors!
Yasmina

Unknown said...

Nice work !! thank you for playing with MMW!!

Marina Syskova said...

Just delightful! Thanks for joining us at Scrapki-wyzwaniowo!)

Marina Syskova said...

Amazing page spread! Thank you for joining us at Scrapki-wyzwaniowo challenge =)

JaMajka said...

Amazing colors and texture! Thank you for playing along with us at scrapki wyzwaniowo!

Denise van Deventer said...

Such stunning and gorgeous journal pages! I really love the styling! ;-) Thanks so much for playing along with us at Berry71Bleu! ;-)

Cathi ONeill said...

Gorgeous vintage journal page. Love all your details.Thanks so much for joining us at Berry71bleu!

Goga said...

Unusual mixed media textures!
I'm impressed :)
Thank you for playing with us at Mixed Media Warriors!

MS Design said...

Amazing, thank you for playing with us on MixedMediaWarriors :)

Mrs.B said...

Hi Autumn, just had a catch up on these junk journal pages,
gorgeous, and full of details.
Avril xx

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