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: 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!

Color Challenge #2 Reveal: Barbara

Hey everybody! I'm here with my first post of the day. I may have another one for you guys coming up later tonight, with the rest of my art (My ICAD, 30-30-30 Challenge, and In The Sun post). But for right now, what I have for you guys is my color challenge REVEAL!! I've been working on this challenge pretty much every day since I announced it here, and have really enjoyed it. The colors were lime, light purple, red, pale yellow, and white. Barbara and I decided to do this in a bit of a larger scale than I did last time with Dede. With that challenge, we gave ourselves a week to create one art journal page. And that was cool. But for this challenge, we gave ourselves two weeks to complete five projects. It was a little more time consuming, but I love the results! So let's get on with it!

The first project is a page in my art journal. This is my big, fat art journal with the black cover and green spine. I don't know if I've ever put a picture on here of just the journal, not the pages inside of it. Maybe I should think about doing that. And perhaps a flip would be in order. That way you guys can see about how much I have left to do before the journal itself is done.

Anyways, focusing more in on the journal page itself, let's look at a close up of the page. You can probably see that in the very back of the page is a background that was composed solely up of dictionary paper that I tore up and then collaged down to the background in all different directions using Elmer's School Glue. It actually works just as well as Mod Podge from what I've done so far. Which I think is impressive. Though it could just be me. Anyways, with this page, I actually decided to blend the concept of this page with another challenge. A Year In the Life of An Art Journal. I really wanted to do all of the prompts for this part of the challenge, but I simply ran out of time in the month. That's okay though. There's always next month. :)

And here you can probably see the stamping a bit better. I used my circle stencil, along with 3 found stamps to create these circles. Something that I find popping up again and again in my work is circles. Whether it be deep inside of the layers of a page, the main focus of a page or accents ON a page, it seems that everything that I make these days has at least one circle on it. And if I don't want to use circles, it takes quite a bit to pull myself away from them. It's crazy. However, I have learned to accept it for what it is. Part of my art. And I'm not going to try and change that.

Here is the second project that I did for this challenge. I decided upon a spread for this portion of the challenge, and tried to do a portrait. I don't like it as much as some of the other portraits that I have done in the past, but I believe that to have something to do with my limited color pallet. I couldn't deviate too much from the colors Barbara and I had picked together, so I just went with what I knew would most likely work. However, this did inspire me to work more on my portraits, as this is certainly not my favorite. So I guess it was kind of a win-win situation anyways.

Also, just a question. Does this background look familiar to you guys at all? :) I slipped you guys a sneak peek a few days ago, I just didn't tell you. If you are still wondering where it is, you can click here to see. :)

One of the other projects that I decided upon was a series of ATC's. I decided to count this as a single project, instead of three. I suppose I could have done it either way, but I had some other ideas that I had floating around in my head, so I decided to go with those as well. So I created these three ATCs, simultaneously, as part of a series. They are not identical, but they go together. I would LOVE to trade these! One of my goals for my DayZero Project is to trade 101 ATCS. I am currently at 0. Even though this is only three, it'd be cool to have a few at least.

Here's a bit of a close up of the first ATC. It is titled "TAKE ME TO THE LAND OF JAZZ." As you can see.

Here is the second ATC.

And here is the third. They are composed of many layers of media on top of one another.

Here is the fourth project I came up with for this challenge. I decided to do a mini collage; it measures 6" on each side. I made most of the papers that this collage was composed of as well. The only one that I didn't make was the red grid with the lime circles showing through it. I painted the papers specifically for this challenge, and I still have a whole bunch left over. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with them, but it could be one of many things. Something that I love about this collage though, is all of the little details.

For example, this layered circle that was composed up of multiple layers of paper and paint on top of one another. I love the way it turned out, and is was so much fun to work on. Plus, I love the way the stamped title looks when it was layered with the circle.

Here's another part that I love. I laid down a stripe of lime green paint down onto the page, then punched circles out of the red graph paper. Then I glued it on top of the green. Then, of course, I added the red to the green, and the layer of red stamping along the side. And the lettering. Can't forget that.

Finally, we have the red circles that I added to very bottom to accent the pale yellow and purple background. I tried to go without putting something in every spot, but I just didn't like the way that it looked. So I filled it up. And I quite like the way that it turned out.

And then, for my fifth and final project for this challenge, I have a little mini "canvas". If you follow me on twitter, you might have seen this picture. I was giving you TWO sneak peeks. ;) I wanted to see if anyone would notice, and then put two and two together. Anyways. I was greatly inspired to create this "canvas" by this post. And, the reason that canvas is in quotes, is because it's not actually a canvas. It's a box. A little cardboard box.

You can see that a little bit better here. It has a bit more depth to it than normal canvas. But I really like the way that this one turned out for me. I used pink words on this, instead of one of the colors, but only because I couldn't find any that matched. And this just looked good.

And THAT my friends; that was my color challenge reveal! I hope that you guys enjoyed it! Make sure to check back later for another post. :)

ATC Background Tutorial

A little while back I did a tutorial on ATCs. I love to make the backgrounds a bit different on each card. These are some of my favorite backgrounds to use, and they're so simple. They only use a couple of supplies, and they're really easy to make. The photo above shows what they look like. You can make these in any colors you want, but I recommend darker, more vintage looking colors. The style of this technique just goes better with those types of colors.

These are the supplies needed for this technique. I actually designed/developed this technique in order to use up older, dried up old baby wipes. So you're going to need one of those. You'll also need an ATC blank in white, a spray bottle full of water, and ink pads in two coordinating colors. With the inks, I recommend Distress Inks, since they react with water, but if you know of another brand that does the same thing, feel free to use them. I'm using Aged Mahogany and Vintage Linen.

Here's the ATC after I've already put the lighter color (the Vintage Linen), and am starting to apply the darker mahogany color on top of it. I like to use two colors, since I think that it adds more color, texture, and dimension to the finished piece. When you apply the color, either dab the ink on, or rub it back and forth on the pad. Then rub it lightly against the paper in light circles.

Here is the ATC after both layers have been applied. You can see how on the edges it is a bit darker. I like it better that way. It seems to add dimension. I don't know about you, but I like it. You can also make it more even if you like; it doesn't matter to me. I like the look of it. :)

Spray/mist the ATC back with a bottle of water, making sure that some of the dots of water are bigger than others. Let it sit for a minute and...

Scrape or dab it off with the baby wipe. This is what the finished piece looks like! I love it!! I hope you guys try out this technique, and, if you do, feel free to post it in the comments. I'll come and visit you!

Note:: This technique can be used in any way you like; in an art journal, mixed media, ATCs, or any other thing you can think of. It doesn't matter! Just play around. That's what matters.

I hope you guys enjoyed today's post, and I'll talk to you later. Bye!