Longing – An Art Journal Page
This journal spread was an expression of longing. “What are you longing for?” you might ask. What do we all long for? Longing for things that are past or improbable or somehow out of reach. The feeling is far from unique.
The illustration I chose does not have to be interpreted as longing, but it did bend to my will and work with me. I chose bright colors reflecting all that is alive and energetic and happy in the world and toned them down with that reality that all that is wanted cannot necessarily be had.
Materials:
Mixed media paper
Irresistible India Downloadable Collage Cut Outs
Pearlescent Liquid Acrylic by Dale Rowney (Dutch Blue, Sundown Magenta, Hot Mama Red and Autumn Gold.)
Gwen’s new Not Afraid to Try stencil
Tim Holtz Distress Paint by Ranger (seedless preserves)
beaded piece or other embellishment
Various handmade and hand stamped papers from Gwen’s store. Beautiful papers can be found similar to the ones I used in her Irresistible India Mixed Media Happy Pack and many more throughout the shop. Just search paper for the wide variety she stocks.
Golden regular medium (gloss)
Making the page:
I knew I wanted to use some of the beautiful printables from Gwen’s shop.
This is a background I painted in my first art journal years ago. Never went back to it, but it seemed perfect as the starting point. I (sacrilege) cut it out of the journal and got to work.
Adding some Pearlescent Liquid Acrylic (Dale Rowney) really made the colors pop. (Dutch Blue, Sundown Magenta, Hot Mama Red and Autumn Gold.)
After firming up my choice of printables and handmade/printed paper from Gwen’s shop, the placement of the stencils was decided. These patterns were made with Gwen’s new Not Afraid to Try stencil using Tim Holtz Distress Paint by Ranger (seedless preserves). The scrap was cut to form a window around the illustration.
The window was secured with gel medium. Two scraps left from the Secret Journey Journal project were perfect for further framing the picture. Turkmen jewelry pieces were sewn on the lower strip and a piece of beading I had tried my hand at looked great above.
Detail from the beading strip and how the Pearlescent Acrylic shines.
To the top, a piece cut from sari scraps was adhered to the top.
Finally, I adhered the whole onto a piece of handmade paper which Gwen hand printed. It gave the whole thing some weight, but also reflected the theme of longing.
And now that I have used that beautiful piece of paper I long for more.
What are you longing for these days?
The longing makes that having so much sweeter.
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