One of my favorite things to do is use colored pencil to add depth and definition to a page. If you compare today’s image with the one posted yesterday, you can see how the page is coming to life. I used Koh-I-Noor Hardmuth Polycolor pencils. They tend to be a bit more opaque than some of the others. In addition, they will blend a bit if rubbed with a stump.

The next layer that I’ve added to the page in my sketchbook is text, or lettering. Each block in the design is about a particular art concept. So I’ve added the key word that matches the text in each block. I tried to match something in the text design to the concept. As an aside, you see a mistake in one block. When you want to add lettering, it’s a good idea to print out the word on a piece of scrap paper and keep it in front of you!

Yesterday, you saw the first page I am working on in my new sketchbook. I had done a watercolor grid on the page, as an underpainting. The next thing I have done is to add texture to the color block using handwriting. Each block is a description of one of the main elements of art. They are: line, shape, space, texture, repetition, value, emphasis and color. The actual text comes from the book “Abstract Art Painting: Expressions in Mixed Media” by Debora Stewart.

Last week, I did the Daisy Yellow Tiny Museum Workshop. It was a lot of fun and allowed me to try a variety of techniques while using watercolors. I am switching to another project which will take up several months. For part of it, I’ve started a new art journal. I am using a Bee Super Deluxe Mixed Media book. I’ve used these books for years as my daily sketch book.

This beautiful Zentangle tile was created by CZT Amanda Higbee. This design is based on Eni Oken’s Fan String class. I love the pink color and the way the shaping of the fragments adds to the illusion of curving segments. Beautiful!

Fewer images to show you today because each one took more time. These go beyond the workshop I am taking. I decided to go with some mixed media techniques. In addition to watercolor, I used markers and gel pens to add tiny details to these. I have to say, I’m kind of in love with this technique! The credit for the inspiration for these are: Artist Harriet Osborne, Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine, Japanese sashiko techniques.

For this lesson from Daisy Yellow’s Tiny Museum Workshop, we are using pictures as prompts. In some cases, I did a fairly literal copy and in others I copied just the feeling or shapes or colors. This was a lot harder than what I had been doing, but it was still fun!

Another set of tiny, abstract backgrounds. I have to let these dry over night so that I can add more to the pieces without the base layer moving all around when it gets wet. This time, I’ve used a combination of the Winsor Newton and Daniel Smith watercolors. They are working very well together. I find that the Winsor Newton box works just fine for most of the colors.

As I mentioned last Friday, I am taking the Tiny Museum Workshop from Daisy Yellow. One of the short videos illustrates how to blend colors together. In the process, these curvy images are created. These reminded me of banded agate stones. I did mine, again, on individual, tiny art journal sized pieces of watercolor paper, rather than on a large sheet. I didn’t blend these as much as the video showed.

I decided to take the Tiny Museum Workshop from Daisy Yellow! It’s a lot of fun, and I can recommend it to anyone who isn’t sure how to work with gouache and/or watercolor. You’ll get plenty of practice using either (or both!) in this series. I decided to take it because it looked like fun, and I wanted to learn more about working with watercolors to create tiny, abstract art journaling pages.

Keyword: Stamping Technique: Stamping with Sponges You will need: gessoed or painted card craft paint a variety of sponges plastic craft mat Cellulose sponges, sea sponges, closed cell sponges, makeup sponges… There are all kinds of sponges, and each one is like a fingerprint: It will produce it’s own unique pattern when used to stamp paint. You could actually make an entire painting with just sponges! The technique for this is simple.

Keyword: Stamping Technique: Stamping with Household Objects You will need: gessoed or painted card craft paint various household objects brayer, paint brush plastic craft mat There are all kinds of household object that can be used to transfer paint onto your project and create texture. I keep a cupboard in my studio that is full of odd things, such as a sushi mat, a plastic doily, some pieces of shelf liner, corks, and other things that you might question being in an art studio.

Keyword: Stamping Technique: Stamping with Bubble Wrap You will need: gessoed or painted card craft paint bubble wrap brayer, paint brush plastic craft mat Using bubble wrap for mixed media art is not new. It’s pretty much considered a basic in the bag of artistic techniques. You can get bubble wrap for free. It comes along with all kinds of other packing materials. If you don’t have any, you can probably find some in the trash behind almost any kind of mall or shopping center.

Keyword: Stamping Technique: Stamping with a Stencil You will need: gessoed or painted card craft paint stencil brayer, paint brush plastic craft mat For the first card, above, I put a couple of drops of paint on the craft mat and then used the brayer to pick it up and apply it to the stencil. Then I stamped the stencil on the card. For this second card, I added some water to the remainder of the paint, picked it up with the brush and added it to the stencil.

Keyword: Stamping Technique: Subtractive Stamping Instead of adding paint to the card with the stamp, this technique removes it with a stamp! You will need: gessoed card craft paint foam stamps brayer plastic craft mat I put a couple of drops of craft paint on the mat and used the brayer to apply paint to the card until it was covered. I immediately stamped a clean, dry, foam stamp on the card and removed it.