31 Hearts Walk Through

Hey guys! I'm super excited to share with you guys today, especially since I managed to get everything I needed to do done early. It's nice to not have to worry about doing a blog post right before bed. But not only that, I have a more detailed post in store for you guys today. I'm going to run through all of the steps that it takes me to make this page. I'm actually going to be something similar to this on a guest post (more on that another day), except with more detail. But let's get started, shall we?

To start off my pages, I like to add a layer of journaling. This is very basic, and is done with a Sharpie. It isn't meant to be read, so the writing can be as messy and/or sloppy as you want it to be. And you can do it as quickly as you wish to.

Then, I decided to add some layers of paint. I did a couple of different shades of pink with a paintbrush on the very base. Then I scraped the yellow and purple on with a credit card. You could use a piece of cardboard if you so desire. I did this rather roughly, paying no attention to where the paint was going. I just let it go where it wanted to.

Then, I started to consider stamping options. I use foam stamps with acrylic paint all of the time in my work, so I wanted to change it up a little. So I decided to go with a clear acrylic stamp and a StudioG ink pad in a dark red color.

Here is what the page looked like when I was finished with that layer. I stamped all over the page, and, although it took a little while, I think that it was worth it overall. I love the effect that I was able to achieve, and I think it really represents me. Also, I didn't try to line up the stamp. At all. Sometimes I even tried to make it NOT line up. On purpose. Because I wanted to see what would happen. And I kind of liked the way it looked. So I decided to continue in that way.

Next, I added some masking tape in varying lengths to the page. I did it so that the angles of the tape actually mimic each other; it makes it a bit more pleasing to look at, in my personal opinion. Also, I had the 'A Year in the Life of an Art Journal' prompt in mind for this page as well. The 'Stuff' prompt was tape. So I decided to incorporate it into this page. Which, just so you know, is a 31 Hearts page. I'm not going to show you all of those today, just this one. Because it's going to be so much longer than a regular post anyways.

After applying the tape to the page, I made a wash from a hot pink acrylic craft paint and water, and then spread it over particular parts of the page; the tape, and then a little bit into the background, so that it would blend a bit better. I love the look that I was able to achieve.

After that, I added some stamping with a purple acrylic paint and bubble wrap. I did this over the entire page, and I especially enjoy the way that it looks when stamped over top of the tape. It's different from what I normally do, so I think that in and of itself makes it interesting.

The next thing that I did on this page was to white out the shape of a person. Instead of a head portrait, I decided to do a whole body, like I did for my other 31 Hearts page, and try to imitate the effects that I got on that page. I also did this same type of thing on one of my ICAD cards.

The next step was to fill in the big bodies of color that my girl is going to be composed of. This consists of the dress, the skin, and, even though it's not pictured in the above shot, the hair. I do this rather quickly, and simply follow the lines that I have whited out in the previous step. You also want to make sure that the white doesn't show through; you need to cover it all up with color. I chose a blue dress for this girl, in order to contrast the background. In addition, it coordinates with the purple. But contrasts the pink. Overall, it just works.

As you can see in this photo, I chose to give this girl brown hair with blue streaks. I REALLY like the way her hair turned out. It goes perfectly with the page. Also, in this photo, you can see that I added the facial features. I drew them in with a pencil, and then painted them in. I used a manga style for my piece, but you could do this in any way that you wished to.

The next step, for me at least, was to add the heart that makes this a "31 Hearts" page. I did it with red acrylic paint, and painted it directly onto her dress. 

After the heart had dried, I added a word cut out from a magazine that reads 'hidden'. It just stood out to me when I went browsing through the text a magazine article was composed of. I also cut out a couple of other words, just for future use.

Next, I outlined the whole thing with a Pitt Pen, in a dark gray color. I used short, sketchy strokes for everything except the eyes, nose, and mouth, in which I used more controlled motions so that I would have a more sophisticated look. And so it didn't look messy. I also outlined the entire page with a border.

Then I added some magazine and newspaper letters for a title. I spelled out aware, as that is the topic that I was exploring in my journaling in the very first layer. Awareness. To yourself and to the world around you.

And, before I leave you, I would like to give you one more close up of this girl's face and hair. Maybe you can see why I like her hair so much. Maybe you can't. But it's mine. And that's one of the reasons that I like it. Thanks for visiting! And I hope that you join me again tomorrow for some more art journaling!

31 Hearts and ICAD

Hey guys. I have a bit of a shorter post for all of you guys today, as I'm trying out a new setup for the blog, and this is part of the transition. I did a bunch of other art stuff today as well, but I'm going to be sharing that stuff later this week. Let's just say that, with the new set up, I hope to have some days specifically for some of the projects that I have started in the past; such as my work through of the book Collage Unleashed, and my Creative Experiments posts. As well as some tutorials, hopefully. Also, I have a bunch of In The Sun class pages that I'm hoping to share with you guys later this week. However, for the time being, I would like to share just a couple things, starting us out with my 31 Hearts page.

As I've said before, I've really enjoyed these pages. And today, I decided to use the hearts around the edges of the page as a sort of border instead of the main focus of the page, which I have tried in the past. You guys have seen plenty of those. And I have plenty more of those ideas to come. I just thought that it would be a good idea to add some variety in. Everybody needs some of that, right? I think so. I do like the way that this page looks though. It's really starting to grow on me. I love the texture that was achieved, even though I'm not really sure how I got it.

And today, I'm also going to share my ICAD with you guys. You can see the zebra striped heart? That was a stamp that I made out of fun foam and cardboard from a cereal box.I love the way that these stamps turned out (I made two of them, with one being the reverse of the other), and thought that this card turned out pretty good. It was nice doing a bunch of painting, after so much doodling. At least I thought it was.

That's all I have for you guys today though, so I'll talk to you guys later!

31 Hearts: Day 7 + Color Challenge #3 Announcement

Hello my art friends! How are you guys doing this fine evening. Very well I hope. For I have some more art to share with you guys today. I might, before long, vary the way that I do these posts, as I do not want to bore you. On the contrary, I would like to excite you to create, and I don't know that posting the same thing over and over again is really helping that too much. But, for now, I'm going to remain the way that I am, until I can figure out how else to do it.

We're starting out with my 31 Hearts page. I decided to do a zebra inspired page today, and actually created a stencil to make this page. I've been doing a whole lot of that lately; making stencils, masks and stamps to fit the theme. For example, I also made two zebra heart stamps today as well. I love the way that they turned out, and I'll probably do something with them tomorrow. My head is already swarming with ideas; we just have to see where they go.

Also, I decided to throw in a picture of yesterday's page and today's page side by side. I don't know if I like them right next to each other like this; I don't know if I'll do it again; but I did think that it would be interesting so that you could see this. I thought that although it was kind of weird to see two hearts side by side in my journal, it was also kind of different and unique. So I just had to share it.

My 30-30-30 Challenge page (30 art journal pages in 30 days in 30 minutes each) today, is actually extremely similar to yesterday's page. I decided to do more doodling. And this is what I churned out.

Here is my ICAD. Doodled.

And a couple of ATCs. Also doodled.

And really, to be honest, that's all I have for you guys today. At least art wise. I also have something else for you guys today. You remember when I did the color challenge with Dede? And with Barbara? Well. The color challenge is back. And it's more advanced than ever. I am once again playing with Barbara. We both enjoyed the previous challenge so much that we decided to do another! But there are some differences. First, and foremost, we actually have another person joining us! Mavis Penney of Mavis Penney Studios! So it's not so much a one - on - one challenge as it is a personal/secret challenge. Also, we have another twist that we will be adding in. The reveal will be Monday the 16th, and we will be revealing a total of 3 pieces. That's three pieces in 10 days. I'm ready to get started! And I hope you guys like the results!

Anyways. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Have a good rest of the night!

31 Hearts + Zentangling

Hey guys! How are all of you guys doing today? I am doing fine, and I hope that the same holds true for you. I would like to share with you today, some of my art that I was working on today. I worked on yet another 31 Hearts page, which I have been doing for the entire month of July. Those of you who have been followers of my blog will have seen the other pages, but, if you haven't, if you simply backtrack from here, you can see some of the others.

This isn't really my favorite page that I've done for this challenge, but I might add some more to it. I liked it a whole lot better before the black border around the heart became extremely dark and thick. I liked it better when it was dark and thin. It feels like it might be more my style. However, tomorrow, I may add some more words to this page. That might help a little bit with the style of the page. Adding some more near the bottom would be what I would normally do. I just ran out of time in the day. However, today, this is what I used on the page:

"These diamonds we collect are hardly the beginning to the power of all of the facts life has been without."

                                                 -Jordan Hill

Hope you guys like it. Sometimes the little phrases, sentences, and paragraphs I put together seem to have deeper meaning than I originally intend. That's pretty much what happened today.

Of course, today I would love to share with you guys my 30-30-30 Challenge. For those of you who are not aware of my challenge; I have been challenged by Bianca of Luctor Et Emergo to create 30 art journal pages in 30 days in 30 minutes each. Today I decided to do a Zentangle doodle. I still need to add the tab of course, but it seemed easy enough. Plus, I've been really into the doodling thing lately. It's fun, easy, quick, and looks amazing. Plus, I find it fun to experiment with all of the different marks that it is possible to make.

For example, with today's ICAD I did exactly the same thing. I made a zentangle. I love the zebra type pattern; it really seems to explore my style; I actually have an idea for my 31 Hearts pages that I'm looking to explore with some zebra patterns included in it. We'll see what becomes of that. I have about a million of ideas for that challenge after today. 

Here are some stamps that I actually made for this challenge. Or, rather, based around this challenge. I used self adhesive fun foam and cardboard from a cardboard box. I have probably 5 more ideas for some stamps that I would love to experiment with, as well as some more stencil ideas. I've really been having fun exploring using a new shape in my artwork, and am even considering trying a new shape after this challenge is up. I feel as if this is exploring a side of me that I never even knew existed; the hearts seem to be a part of my style that I didn't even know was there. It's weird. But true.

And finally, I would like to present you with my ATCs for the day. I started some more besides these, but these four were all I was able to finish. I've been working on top of color washed and watercolored papers for these pieces, so that the color will show through the black and white pieces. I love the effect that this gives, for sure.

Anyways, thanks for checking out my blog. And I'll see you guys later. Peace.

Challenge Updates - 7.5.2012 Edition

Hey guys. I'm back with you guys again today, even though I haven't really been doing so good with getting my art in lately. Some of this I just do while watching television. Since that's what I seem to be doing lately. Vegetating. In front of the television. Plus, my family makes me feel guilty because they want to watch Lost, while I'm making art. So they keep pestering me every two seconds. Ha. So eventually I just gave in. But here I have my 31 Hearts page for you guys today.

I'm not sure if this page really turned out the way that I wanted it to. I mean, it certainly fits the style of the rest of the pages that I've been doing for this challenge, but for some reason I felt like this was going to be much more graphic and bold. Instead it's subdued and subtle. And I don't know how I feel about it, to be completely honest. I had to stare at it for a couple of hours before I could bring myself to leave it as is, and not completely cover it up and start over from scratch. Of course, I realize that I am much too difficult on myself sometimes.

My 30-30-30 page for you guys. Again, very much the same collage based style that I have been using for the majority of this project. It's weird. It seems that I develop a style for any challenge that I start. This one is more collage based, while my 31 Hearts challenge is very much based around paint, stencils, masks, stamps, distressing and subtle colors.

Here's a few of the details of the page. I used a bunch of scrap paper from magazines to create this page.

My ICAD was purely doodled today. I drew my inspiration from some pieces that Tammy was doing earlier on in the challenge, although I did mine in simple black and white. And I do like the way that it turned out. It's certainly not horrible.

I also made some ATCs today. I haven't quite been keeping up with my schedule this month, but we'll see what happens. Today I made three cards, and I love each and every one of them. These, as always, are available for trade. I made two of them from a very basic watercolor background, and the other from specific collage materials that I culled from anywhere that I could. And I like them all. Anyways. That's all that I have for you guys today. And I hope to see you tomorrow. I'll be here.

31 Hearts, 30-30-30 + ICAD

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!

*fanfare plays*

Yep. And that's that. All of the fourth festivities that you're going to get. Because, to be completely honest, I didn't use those particular colors in the majority of my art today, like I know some people did. I guess that it's just not my style. But I'll tell you what is my style. Today's art.

We're going to start off, once more, with my 31 Hearts page. This is starting to become a habit, now that I think about it, but I don't really think that should be a problem. I just like showing my most favorite pieces first. That's the way I blog; I almost always have. And I think something about getting back to journaling in a full size format, and just having a new challenge to work with is really inspiring me. Also, I think I'm creating, in me, a new love of hearts that wasn't there before. I don't know why. I've always shied away from them. But this challenge is pushing me beyond my boundaries. And I've enjoyed every minute of it. And I haven't made a single page that I didn't like.

The real focus of this page though, is obviously the hearts. Even though I did an extremely textured background to work on, the hearts are what I am most proud of. I went on a hunt, through all of my papers that I have lying around my desk; that were formed from painting them, or lifting paint from a previous page; I found my favorites. Then I made a collage of them on another piece of printer paper. I also included some paper towels (dyed, of course) into the layers. Added some stamping and some doodling, and I was done. Then I cut hearts out of the piece. And I really like the way that they turned out. I still have a few left over; not sure what's going to become of them yet.

And here is my ICAD of the day. This is ICAD #35. If you guys remember, yesterday I was having problems with my ICAD. I didn't really like it. At all. I didn't feel that the girl really represented my style. So I tried again today. And I really feel as if I achieved what I was looking for. This is the second time that I have repeated a prompt, but the result was good, so I'm okay with it.

And here you can see the details of her face a bit better. I used watercolors for the majority of this face, and mixed some white acrylics into some of the layers to create a more solid texture. I really like the way that this turned out. I was taken aback by her hair at first, but I soon got over that. I like it now.

And, finally, here is my 30-30-30 page. After doing a quick count today, I realized that this is not page 24 as I thought, but, rather, page 25. So I really only have five days left. I did this page in very much the same style as I have done most of the pages in this journal, and really enjoyed the way that it turned out. 

And that would be that. I hope you guys enjoyed this post, and I'll see you tomorrow! Bye!

31 Hearts: Day 3

Hello my art friends ! How are all of you guys doing today? Sorry the post is so late getting to you guys today; I know I've been saying that a lot lately. But really, I just threw some of this together a few minutes ago so that I would have something to show you. You see, I do have an excuse though. I was out thrifting today with a friend of mine. Sadly, I didn't find anything crafty, but I did find some interesting, unique clothing that was totally my style. So I was totally pumped about that. That was this morning. Then, this afternoon, when I normally do my art, I had to clean my room. It's still not done, but most of it is. And then the rest of the night I watched Lost. I meant to only watch one episode. I really did. But I got sucked into that crazy world, just like I did with Prison Break. Here's to hoping that the ending isn't QUITE as bad. We'll see.

Anyways, I'd like to start us off today with my 31 Hearts page. That seems to be what I've been doing a lot of lately. But here's the deal. I really enjoy the way that these pages have been turning out. Plus, I've really enjoyed working in a full page format again. I missed it. What with all my small mini pages for all my other challenges I have going. Plus, I really feel as if this challenge is almost forcing me to push my limits as an artist. And for me, that is really a good thing. It is almost forcing me to define my own style. I have come up with several things in the past two months that I feel really show my own artistic abilities and strengths, and I'm currently looking for ways to showcase that in my art. These challenges that I've been participating in are simply helping me to narrow that down. And develop it.

I decided to do a broken heart today. I actually made the stencil for this myself, which is actually part of what I meant about developing my own style. When I first started art journaling, I would have had no idea where to begin with that kind of thing; with the inspiration I am getting now. I probably would have postponed the project until I could find the proper stencil or mask. But now I'm making my own. And I like it so much better. I feel as if it's more me. And nobody is going to have a stencil exactly like it, even if they try. And I think that's cool. It's what makes me unique.

Another thing that I've really enjoyed about this challenge is the way that it keeps generating me new ideas. I know that it may sound kind of strange to any non-artists that may be reading this. But that's kind of why I say it. Just today, when I was working on this page, I came up with two NEW ideas for heart pages. And I'm sure that those are going to create more. It's just a matter of time before I have way too many heart ideas for pages, and have to pick one to work with, and save the rest for another day.

And here is my ICAD for today. The daily challenge was to paint a girl on your card. Even though I'm not so fond of the way that this one turned out, I was fairly inspired, and I think I may try again tomorrow. I know. I don't generally use the same prompt twice. But I don't think there's a problem with that. I was considering using a bit more acrylic paint than I did here, and making it in a horizontal format, instead of a vertical one. Also, I had some cool color ideas. But it's still in the processing stage. In my head. We'll see how it turns out on paper.

And, of course, here I am with my daily 30-30-30 Challenge page. It's actually extremely hard to believe that this challenge is almost over. I have enjoyed it immensely, and may consider doing something similar in the months to come, even if I do it somewhat individually. This is actually Day 23 of this challenge. That means I only have a week until it's over. But, after those seven days are up, I'll have the fun challenge of trying to decide how exactly I want to try and bind these suckers. I haven't a clue in the world, to be completely honest with you. And I think, after that it is over, it'll be nice to have a whole, completed art journal. I don't have one of those yet. But I will. So that will be cool.

And finally, the last thing that I have to show you guys today are my ATCs that I created. I love the way that these turned out; the texture is amazing. The texture of a piece can definitely add a lot to it. I have learned that from experience. A lot of my older pieces didn't have a lot of texture. I think that it's kind of cool to see the way my art has changed. It's interesting. These cards are also available for trade, if anyone wants them. That brings my ATC Challenge count to 8/101. Not too bad so far. Not too bad.

Well. That's all I have for you guys today. And I'll see you tomorrow.

31 Hearts: Day 2 + ATC Challenge

Hey everyone! Jordan here, and I'm back with you guys again today with yet another post. I have quite a few projects going, as most of you know, that I am continuously working on. I have quite a few things to show you guys today. The first thing that I want to show you guys today is my 30-30-30 page. 

This page is a bit more neon than I'm normally used to, and I really like the way that it turned out. The basis of this page really came from the photo of the girl. I got that photo out of a magazine, and then added a couple of other items to the page. Along with the watercolor background. And after that was done, the page was pretty much finished. With this journal, I'm really focusing a little more on the collage aspect of the page, rather than the painting aspect of the page. I'll find my own mix eventually. I'm just having fun with the experimenting aspect of it.

And here we have some ATCs that I made. I made four today, and I'm starting a challenge. For myself at least. If any of you guys want to join, feel free to post a link to your blog in the comments. Anyways, what I'm challenging myself to do, is, in the month of July, make 101 ATCs. I figured all of the math out. I make four a day for eleven days, and then the rest of the month, I make three. I don't think that it will be too difficult to do. Since they are so small. Plus, I can use up leftovers when making them. That's just a plus. 

If anyone wants to trade for these, let me know. As a group would be preferred, to save on postage.

And here is my 31 Hearts page. This challenge has been pretty inspiring to me thus far, and I'm really enjoying it. I love starting new challenges because I always get a fresh new flow of ideas, which I love. This page was based around the concept that I was talking about yesterday. The original thought was that I should create a colorful, patterned background, and then use black to mask off a heart shape. That's not quite the way that it turned out though. What ended up happening is that I used blue/turquoise paint instead of black, and, since I liked the way that the page looked without covering all of the background, I decided to leave it like that. Then I added the title, and that was that.

Something else that I worked on today was my Summer of Color: Week 4 Colors. The colors were a light pink and bright, summery yellow. I made a few more papers than this, but I didn't take a picture. I do love the way that they turned out though. The colors however, are a lot more vibrant in real life. I don't know why it didn't transmit very well to the screen.

And finally, last, but certainly not least, we have my ICAD for today. I did a bit of a collage today, without any paint at all. I decided to do it this way, because I wanted to sit in front of the television and lounge around, but I knew that I still had some stuff left to do. So I did this while sitting in front of the T.V. And I do like the way that it turned out.

ALSO, tomorrow, I'm going thrift store shopping with a friend of mine. We'll see if I find anything good! If I do, I'll be sure to post it on the blog. :) I'll be back tomorrow, and hope to see you then! Bye!