30-30-30 Challenge: Day 20

 

Hello my friends. How are you guys doing today? I was working on a whole bunch of stuff today; finishing up my pieces for my art journal color challenge. For those of you who were wondering, or just wanted a bit of a refresh... the reveal is TOMORROW! I'll let you know the colors then! :)

However, let's get on to today's art. This is my In The Sun page for today. I haven't really been enjoying the way that these pages have been turning out for me, so I thought that it would probably turn out a bit better if I tried to lighten it up. I looked at the pages that I didn't really enjoy, and they were all extremely dark. So I tried to do the opposite. And this is what I came up with. I really like it; it seemed to turn out perfectly, especially for what I was looking for. I was trying for something a bit more simple, so I didn't use a photo. I love it.

And this is today's ICAD. I decided to use one of the prompts today, even though I haven't really been using them lately. I used the prompt 'butterfly'. This is what I came up with. I wasn't really sure exactly what I was going to be doing, so I did the background first, with all of the circles and the colors. Then I added the butterfly, and decided to layer the words on top of it. And that is that. 

And here is my 30-30-30 challenge page for today. I don't every really know how I did this page; I used a bunch of layers; watercolors, acrylics, and lots of other layers of paper and doodling. There are a lot of little details in this page that I love as well.

Here I layered a stenciled butterfly with the title and photo. The journaling overlaps with it as well. I loved the coloring of this page as well. It turned out pretty cool. Also, today marks my 2/3 point of this challenge. I've really enjoyed this. And I'm looking forward to seeing it finished through to the end.

Then, of course, I have the tab. I was searching through a whole bunch of my stuff today, and found a bunch of different kinds of tabs. I was freaking out. Seriously. I think I almost passed out. :) And I was just thinking about how cool a book would look with different colored and shaped tabs sticking out all over the place. Ha. I'm such an art nerd. :) But there's no problem with that. Anyways, make sure that you check back tomorrow to see the reveal of my color challenge! Actually, there might even be two posts tomorrow. One with my regular art, and one for the challenge. So make sure you check back! See you then! Bye!

30-30-30 Challenge + ICAD #28

Hey everyone! How are you guys doing today? I'm doing better than I was yesterday; I guess I just felt like I was having a bit of an off day. I'm better today though. I like the way that the stuff turned out. It seems that I just go through my phases. Today's 30-30-30 page was a bit more collage based than were some of my previous pages. I just painted on the border, and then worked the collage in the center. As I was working on this, I didn't really know what to expect. But I decided to just push through anyways and seeing what became of it. After flipping through a few pages of a magazine, I produced this image.

From there it was just a matter of working the collage at the bottom half of it. I experimented with a strip of paper that had large holes punched into it with a circle punch, and let some of the earlier layers show through. Then I added the piece that says 'trust'. These pieces that I've been using for titles lately were actually part of a punch out sheet that came with a pack of paper. They sometimes include those alongside stickers. Which I think is pretty cool. If you know how to use them.

Here's a bit of a better view of the collage, just for your enjoyment. And, of course, the journaling for this page was around the very edges of the page. I've been thinking lately about how I'm going to want to bind this, but I'm really not too sure yet. I'll figure it out. I will. Believe me.

And here is today's ICAD. I LOVE the imperfection of this piece! It was one of the very most basic ones that I have done thus far; it was composed of a single layer of media. 

I used a feather pen to draw lines all over the card with blue ink. It was super easy, but it gave me a very effective look. It didn't take very long either, which was cool. Sometimes I want to sit down and work for a long time on a card, but today wasn't really like that. I really just wanted to work on my workshop. Which I did. I did some videos. It was pretty cool. I'm really getting somewhere with this, and there might be an announcement coming up fairly soon. :) Anyways. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye!

Art/Challenge Updates

Today I found the art a little bit harder than I have in the past. Whatever I tried to make didn't really turn out the way that I wanted it to, and I had a bunch of other chores and stuff that I had to do. So I didn't have a whole lot of time to do all that I wanted to do. So it just turned out pretty bad. I hope that tomorrow goes a little bit better for me. 

Here is my 30-30-30 page for today. I really liked the way that this page turned out. This is really the one thing that I do like. The rest of the stuff I made, I wasn't all that fond of. But that's okay. I need to learn to be okay with the stuff that I do. It's okay. If I mess up on something, or don't like it, that's okay. I need to learn that.

Here is my ICAD for today. I didn't use a prompt for this one; I haven't been for the past few days. I think that it is almost forcing me to be more creative in a way. Which is a good thing. In my opinion. Even though I'm not completely fond of the way that this looks, I do like the techniques that I used to get myself to this point.

And lastly we have my In The Sun page. I don't like this page. At all. And it seems that these pages are getting worse and worse. I don't know why. I liked the first few things that I did for this art journal, but they just seem to be getting worse to me. Anyways, the prompt was more of a question. Natalie asked us: When you go outside, what do you do? For me, the answer is obviously basketball. I wish the page would have turned out better. Because that's one of my favorite topics. Anyways. I'll see you guys tomorrow.

Second Floor Challenge #6 + Challenge Updates

Hey guys! What's up? I have some pretty cool projects to share with you guys today. At least I think that I do. I'm going to start us off today with the 6th Second Floor Challenge. It's only the second one that I have done, but I really like the way it turned out.

The challenge today was 'use a pencil', and this is what I came up with. I actually covered up a previous page that I didn't really like so much with plain white paint, and then used a pencil to draw circles all over the page, filled some of them in with paint, and left others normal. I really like the way that this turned out. It seemed to me to be a really nice remake, and since I don't normally use pencils in my work, it really stretched my boundaries. Also, I stopped with the layers a lot sooner than I normally would, so that was also a different thing for me.

Here is my In The Sun page for today; the prompt was to make a page about where your dream vacation home would be. I wasn't really able to pick just one; I would either pick Wooster, Ohio, where I'm originally from, so that I could be around my friends, or Costa Rica, as I went there on a missions trip a few months ago, and I really enjoyed it. The people were so nice, and even though there wasn't air conditioning, or any of the conveniences that we have over here, I still enjoyed it immensely. This is the page that I came up with.

Here is my 30-30-30 challenge page of the day; I used a couple of images and pieces of collage paper today instead of just one, and I really like the way that it turned out. After I had everything all collaged down, I used a black Portfolio oil pastel to outline everything on the page. It made everything stand out really nicely.

Here is a bit of a closer view of the details. Just so you can see it. :)

And here is the final project that I have to share with you guys today. This is my ICAD. Of course you guys could probably have told that by the shape. There were only three components to today's card. I used pink paint through a flower stencil, then used a black pastel to fill in the background. The last layer was, of course, the title.

And that would be that. See you guys tomorrow!

6.25.2012 Art/Challenge Updates

 

Hello everyone out there in the blogosphere. Whether your day has been going good or not so good, I send kind greetings your way. Sometimes just that can make or break a day. I hope to make yours. :)

So today, I have for you guys a bunch of new art. I was experimenting with quite a few different things today, and I'm glad that I'm going to be able to share it with you! I'm going to start us off with Day 16 of my 30-30-30 Challenge. I love this page, quite honestly, even though it's quite a bit different than what I'm used to. You guys know me and my style; I tend to go for the brighter, bolder colors, or anything that would make a statement. However, with this page I decided to go with muted tones.

I used the same graphic circles that I've been using in a lot of my art lately, and that kind of ties it together, and marks it as my own. At least I believe that it does. However, I do know something else; my style is really, quite frankly, undefinable. At least I believe it to be so. There are so many different elements to my style; so many different things that make me, ME, that it's almost impossible to say.

Another thing that I worked on today was a page in my In The Sun journal. This little homemade book is slowly but surely working it's way up to becoming a full journal. I made this journal out of 5 separate signatures, and I'm about halfway through the first. I'm not exactly sure how much of this journal I'm going to fill up, but I may even continue into fall, adding a separate page for that season as well. Since it says 'Summer 2012' right on the front cover, I would probably have to do another divider page. Which honestly wouldn't be too hard to do.

This is the title of the page today; I cut out the letters from a photograph, after being prompted to do so by Natalie by the prompts. I love the way that she has been setting up this course, and, once more, I am highly appreciative to her for doing what it is that she is doing. I might have to find me some more challenges to do, once summer is up. Or maybe I'll just have to start one of my own. For fall. We'll see. I'd have to come up with some ideas before that could happen.

And HERE is my Week 3 entry for the Summer of Color Challenge 2012. The ice cream flavor this week was composed of the colors white, raspberry, and a light/medium tan. This little batch of papers is what I was able to take from that. These papers had a little bit of better flow, than did the Mint Chocolate Chip ones, and I think I might have enjoyed working on them a bit more. I'm not sure why, but sometimes I just feel that way. I think that I'm going to have to find something to do with all of these papers after this summer challenge is over; maybe that could be part of my personal challenge; finding something to use them all up. I'm starting to get a little bit of an idea here. ;)

And finally, I give you my ICAD. This was based around the weekly prompt: 'Use a Fortune From a Fortune Cookie on Your Card." This is what I came up with. Something extremely simple, that is composed of the minimum amount of pieces that I could use. I like simplifying for these cards. I find it makes it a bit easier to work with them, and I think it looks nice. Minimalism is cool. I was even considering leaving out the number strip, but I decided that it looked better with it. I think that it grounds it a bit.

Well. That would be all that I have for you guys today, even though I have been working on other stuff. Like my things for my one-on-one challenge with Barbara, and some stuff for my e-course that I'm trying to design. I might have some more information about that up sometime; start saving your money, it's going to be good. ;)

I'll see you guys tomorrow! Bye!

30-30-30 Challenge, and ICAD #24

Hey guys. It's Jordan. I know that you guys probably figure that by now, but I just thought I'd tell you anyways. That way you know I wasn't hacked or anything like that. Anyways. Sorry for the late post. I really hate getting them to you like this, but I do what I have to do. Today we watched a movie. Together. As a family. And I couldn't just bail so that I could write on my blog. Sometimes it stinks being busy. Plus, I tried to do this earlier, before the movie, but the power was out. As was the internet. So I was completely and totally helpless.

Anyways. I present you with my 30-30-30 page of the day. As of today, I am officially half of the way through the challenge. And it HAS been an adventure, I'll tell you that much. I love the way today's page turned out; I really think that it expresses who I am as an artist. Not all bright colors and fun and games. Though the topic of the page is rather lighthearted. 

And here is my ICAD. My 24th card. Can you believe that? It's crazy. Honestly, it is. It doesn't feel like that long to me for some reason. Even though the challenge has definitely had it's ups and downs, I feel like it's been enjoyable to me overall. 

But more on the topic of this card; I didn't use a prompt today. Can you believe that? I don't know if I can, to be honest with you. It's pretty crazy. I haven't done that. But I do like the way it turned out, so I don't really mind. Anyways. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Hopefully a little earlier.

A Really Quick Update Post

Okay guys. So sorry that I'm so late today, but at least I have a good excuse. I went to movie with a friend around 3:30. I didn't know how long I was going to be out, and got back around 10:00. Then I watched the first episode of Dr. Who with my Mom. I did this art while I was watching that show, and, even though it's not super advanced or anything, I'll share it with you anyways.

The first thing is, of course, my 30-30-30 page. That's just the way I roll. Plus, even though it's a really basic collage, I do like it. A lot. I think that I really was able to express what I wanted to, even without words. Which I really like. I don't even think that I'm going to add a title to it. I was thinking about something like 'Wonky', but I decided to bail on that. I like it better plain. And I think it's more powerful.

And the other thing that I wanted to share with you was my ICAD. I think this is my first card that I did that was made up completely of words. In one color. That doesn't focus on design as much as the words themselves. Which I think is important. This was also one of the weekly prompts; "Record a moment in words". This was my representation of that.

Well, I hope you guys have a good rest of the night, and I'll see you later! Bye!

More Artwork/Experimentation

Okay. So I'm back with you guys yet again. Sorry that it has been so late the past few days though. It's just that I get really caught up with the stuff I've been doing every day, and it just kind of uses up a bunch of time. So I've been doing these posts while lying in bed at night. It's not that difficult for me to do, and I get my daily post in. You know how it is, I'm sure. Plus, I've been arting up to the very end of the day as of late, so that has a lot to do with it as well. 

Anyways. Something that I've been experimenting with a bit more lately is portraits/faces in my journal.  I just thought that it would be a fun thing to play around with; plus I'm not very good at it. Not yet anyways. So doing a few of these every now and again really sort of drills it into my brain. I've been doing them on two page spreads in my journal, instead of on single pages, but that's because I just like the look of it better. I'm sure I could do one on a single page if I wanted to. In the picture above, you can see one of the portraits I've been working on with the base of it laid down. And the beginnings of the background. And that's that.

Today is Day 13 of my 30-30-30 challenge, and this is my page for today. I decided to do today's page about the seasons, and how I think it's amazing that they can change so drastically, especially in particular part of the world. The background was actually woven from strips of magazine papers, glued down to the background, and then painted over with a thin layer of white paint, just to tone it down a bit. I thought that it turned out pretty interesting.

I also love the way that the paper layering turned out on this page. Sometimes my layering doesn't turn out quite the way I would have liked it to. But I thought this was a good one.

My ICAD today was actually a sketch; my first one that I've done on these little cards. I don't really know why; I've been told that I'm actually pretty good at drawing. And I enjoy it too. Actually, I'm working on a drawing of a Phoenix right now. Actually just putting the finishing touches on it. Maybe I should post a picture of that one of these days. But the ICAD prompt that I used today was on one of the (new) weekly prompts. It was to sketch a bicycle. And I just so happened to have a photo that I took lying around of my bike at a cool, unique (I think) angle. And I drew it. And I like it. A lot.

And then, here we have, once more, my In The Sun class page. I love the prompt for today, and I think that my page turned out pretty good. A little dark for my taste though. But that's okay. Not every page has to be perfect. Plus, I might add onto it later, so that I like it more. Anyways, the prompt was to make a background using magazine paper strips and washi tape, then write your daily schedule over the top of the page. Notice that practice basketball is on there. Alongside art. :) Yep. That's pretty much my world right there. 

She also gave us a bonus prompt to do over the weekend, and I think I'm going to go for it. I'll probably also do my other page that I never did over the weekend as well. Sometimes I just feel like I don't have enough stuff to do in a day, but I don't really know what kind of art I want to work on. These little prompts work wonders for that. Anyways. That's all I have for you guys today, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Sneak Peek and Art Project Update

Hey everybody! I've got some exciting stuff to share with all of you guys today! At least I think that it's exciting. But, once more, I am completely and totally biased. 

But, to start us off today, I am going to be sharing a little bit of a sneak peek of something that I have been working on. Remember the other day, when I mentioned that I was going to be doing a couple of ecourses? Well, I've been further developing these ideas, and coming up with some ideas for them, and I've been doing that through working in my art journal. My big one. I did a lot of that today, and I greatly enjoyed it. As you can see in the picture above, I found a way to get a lot of texture into any given piece, and, even though it takes some work to get it to that point, I personally believe that it is totally worth it. More on that at a later date.

So let's get started on the project updates now, shall we? I believe that we shall. I think we're going to get the ball rolling with my 30-30-30 page for today. I love this page, and the way that it turned out, even though I went through a lot of layers to get the background as textured and interesting (I think) that it is. It is difficult to see in the photograph however. Just a lot of the fine details of the piece were lost through the internet. That is one of the sad things that we do have to deal with.

However, something that I have very much enjoyed with this project, that I don't think I have mentioned before, is the fact that these are really starting to make me think. Something that I have been doing with them, is taking a newspaper page, picking out a random word that I really think could either relate to me, or lead to some really good journaling, and then just use that as my title. It's simple, quick, and easy to do. Not to mention the fact that it's just plain interesting.

Now we move onto the ICAD. This, for me, is ICAD #21. I personally am somewhat surprised that I actually made it this far. Three weeks today. On the nose. It's been a good journey thus far, and I look forward to keeping it up for the full 61 days. Who knows what I'm going to do with them all after that, but we will certainly see. I was thinking mini art journals, using these cards as the covers. 61. Little art journals. We'll see how that one turns out. But I thought it was an interesting thought. I wouldn't run out of mini journals for a while. Plus, it might give me a nice theme for the book. Who knows. It might happen. Might being the key word there, but...

ANYWAYS. The card itself today was based upon the daily prompt that Tammy has decided to start doing. Which is a bit lucky for me, because I had no idea what I was going to do with the remainder of the weekly prompts. It would have been a challenge, that's for sure. However, the prompt today was 'a funny joke'. Now I KNOW that this card isn't going to make sense to anyone but me. But that's because, instead of telling a joke, I decided to go with an inside joke. Yep. Cause that's the way I roll.

And last, but certainly not least, I have my In The Sun page for today. I wasn't able to complete two pages in this journal today in order to "catch up", as I was planning to do (not enough time), so I decided to simply do today's prompt instead. We'll see if I'll do the other one. I have an idea for it, so I might have to. We will see.

But today's prompt was actually a music video prompt. And there, in the middle of the music video, for a split second, was a photo of a sunset. And then the next thing I knew, they were doing cartwheels in the sand. I don't know. But I knew exactly what I was going to do. I used this photo that I took a few days ago, when we were watching the sunset with the friends that were visiting. It's my favorite photo I took of the sunset. And I think the page itself turned out great.

Plus, I just love the way the background turned out. I wasn't exactly sure when I started if it was going to pan out, but it did. I'm happy with it. And to me, that's all that really matters. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye!! :)

6.20.2012 Art Updates and a Color Challenge!

Hey everyone out there in blogland! Hope you guys had a fun, art filled day today. I know that I did. I have been really enjoying the arting everyday thing that I've been doing. AND I've loved coming here and sharing all of the things I've been doing with you guys! Just today, my blog got over a hundred hits. I don't think you guys understand how much that means to me. It's the first time that's ever happened too. And it might just be a coincidence, but today is my 150th post! And it's the first day of summer. I know that it's not a super hefty post amount. But, just next month, I will be approaching my 2 year anniversary for art journaling! And I'm excited for that day. I don't know why. It's just a day. But it's still a milestone. And it makes me happy.

Today's ICAD was based around the prompt 'Your Name'. Now, when I first read this prompt, the first thing that came to mind was my Doodle Your Name card from earlier this month. But I wanted to find another way to interpret this. And I wanted to do it in my own way. This is what I came up with. I didn't really know what I wanted to do when I was starting it out; I had a sort of basic idea in my head, but not all that much that I was super stuck on. I like the way the card came out though. It's somewhat basic, but I still enjoy it.

Today's 30-30-30 page though, is pretty much the complete opposite of basic. I was trying out a bunch of new techniques/concepts that I had dreamed up, as I was trying to figure out some ideas for an ecourse that I'm planning. Stay tuned for more details on that; I think there will be a free one and a paid one. If you buy the other one, you get some bonus features for the free one. That's what I'm thinking. But I'm still not completely sure.

There were a lot of layers involved in today's page, and I was working on it right down to the last second. I always love when that happens, because it shows me just how much I've been sucked into the work. Sometimes I just completely loose track of time, check my watch, and realize I have two minutes to wrap it up. It's all part of the thrill factor. And I've really enjoyed it.

The title of this page though, might not make sense to anyone but myself. I personally feel that the role of a director, or leader in any type of situation would and can be difficult. Maybe even rough. That was the basic concept that I was trying to reveal in this page.

Okay. So today the prompt was too late for me to be able to work on it for the In The Sun class. So, instead of work in that journal anyways, which I was considering doing, I worked on some art journal backgrounds instead. In my big, fat art journal that I really haven't worked in since I've started journaling again. I'll do two pages in my In The Sun book tomorrow. :) This journal (the one I worked in today) is actually almost finished; at least the painting parts. I still need to go through and put some titles and journaling on a lot of the pages. Though that'll be fun to do. I can't wait to actually have a completed journal in my possession. I think that will be fun. To look through an entire book of just my art. Something that I did. Something that I created.

This, like my 30-30-30 page, was composed of a lot of layers and experimentation. I had a lot of fun on these pages, and, even though I'm not really sure where I really want to go with them, I'm not sure that it really matters. I was using up a bunch of paint that I had leftover on my pallet from doing my ICAD (since I used all of those colors), and this was the result. See? You can't throw away that paint. At least I can't. Especially since I've seen this kind of stuff come from throwaways.

I think that I kind of like this circle page a bit better than I like the heart page shown above, but I honestly think that has a lot to do with the colors instead of the overall design of the pages. I like blue a bit better than I like green. Green is my second favorite color, but still.

So yes. These projects are the result of my creative endeavors in this day and age. Tomorrow will be different. And new. And will hold new possibilities.

However, for now, I do have one last announcement. Some of you may remember when I did the color challenge with Dede? I'm doing another one! At least something similar. I'm doing it with Barbara this time, from Reptitude, and we are going to be doing a total of five projects, with the same color pallet, over a time period of slightly less than two weeks. The final reveal, with all of the final projects will be on the 30th of June. I thought that was really fitting. The end of a month, the beginning of a new. Plus, I think it will be fun! If any of you would like to do a color challenge with me after the one with Barbara, please let me know in the comments! I'd be more than willing to do one! :)

Anyways, that's all I have today, and I'll see you guys tomorrow! Bye!