colorlust {art therapy}

in there somewhere.

layers.

paint.

collage papers.

words.

scratched and peeled.

ridiculousness.

abandonment for any rules.

xo. kristin

you can always try to bury those stories {art journaled}

above is the ink that bled through my art journal page. i gesso'd over part of it, but, the ink bled through anyway. 

some of those stories that are created are meant to live onto other pages- their story needs to continue to be told. 

so above is where i started.

i did add a bit more hot pink to the ink; sometimes it is best to embellish the story. 

i loooove the hot pink, lime green and that dirty orange. does that make me weird?! (don't answer that.....)

a couple of glimpses at the rest of the page...

you can always try to bury those stories....

happy wednesday.

xo- kristin

art journal

i had this idea floating around in my head after listening to a post by Erin Faith Allen. i posted her video on my FB page. loved her layers and how Erin worked and peeled.

below is my interpretation:

happy monday,

a look back #DLP {when not to stop}

looking back through my Documented Life Project art journal, i realized i had made pages that i had not shared those with you.... (what the heck?....) so these pages are actually from the When Not to Stop back in february; and as you will see....i should have maybe asked myself, "should you stop now? or maybe now?!...." i will let you decide.

i did gesso the both pages to begin with and then started my layers. there are many layers on these pages and i had great fun with stencils as you can see on my pages.

happy wednesday!

evolution {through destruction}

how can a 4" x 4" little canvas give me so much trouble?!....... i like to work small sometimes and had already painted this one which also included layers of collage. however, i grew tired of it and wanted to paint over it and make something else. i like being able to paint over other paintings. i like not starting on a blank canvas and the texture of the layers of paint and collage that may already be down- and then, sometimes peeling back through those layers to the original.

so i began the task of the re-do... only to discover that the layers of collage underneath all of this painting (including my new layer of paint) was soft because i paint so wet. "alright- no problem...let's take that collage off and see what i have"......20 minutes later with me picking and poking, pulling and peeling....and the evolution is this. i love the hot pink and yellow orange in the left upper corner.

i really like the colors and the three circles down here in the corner and the bit of collage that were left behind.

much happier now with this little guy! not sure i will do anything else....will let it "cook" for a bit to make sure that it doesn't need anything else.

happy tuesday!

#DLP: Featured Artist {Layers You will Love}

so very excited and totally honored to be a part of the Documented Life Project as a featured artist this week. thank you, thank you Art to the 5th!

the month of february is all about layers you will love; and this particular week our challenge is to use at least five layers and our prompt is give me a high five. so let's get started.....

i am working in the dylusions's art journal and always gesso the pages to start. once i had the gesso down and dry- i started with gluing in some vintage book papers. these papers are thin and you can see i did not care if the paper was running the correct way, or covering the entire journal page. sometimes for me a layer is being able to peel back through the paper.

i then chose what colors i wanted to work with. starting with the orange and using an old credit card to scrap a thin layer of orange paint across most of the page; but, again, not all of the page.

the next layers for me was the use of dylusion's ink spray- both the pink, which i used a stencil, and white, which i simply sprayed. i also went back and peeled up loose paper that was not stuck well and had bubbled a bit from the moisture of the inks. 

these next few layers were adding more paint back through my stencil- like above.

now comes my favorite part- adding a little more pop of color into my pages with the turquoise, and a few strips of washi tape. the other layers i added was the words "yes you can" and the number 5 for our layers and high five....and a few splatters.

sometime layers can be overwhelming, but, work slowly if you need to, even if that means to step away for a bit and then come back; and choose your colors you want to work with. (i have a color wheel hanging in my studio space for me to always refer back to). 

i also added a zip of Adirondack butterscotch alcohol ink on the washi tape. i like how the paper of the tape absorbs the ink. then, adding a little stamping and some small paint circles for interest and detail.

i added some larger paint circles with the end of a toilet paper roll. :) those are the larger pink circles in the upper left corner, in the pic below.

i like this pic below- as you can just see the "you can, yes, you can"..... peeking through all the layers.

below you can see i added some notes in regards to this week's pages especially since this is the Documented Life Project (right?!)....i will confess,....the layers should have been easy, but, i did feel like i had to work for these pages. some come easy and sometimes the pages do not- but, always remember....yes, you can. even i have to remind myself sometimes that the point is to play; to experiment and take the time.

my end sentence says to "dream big".... listen to those inner whispers while you are playing. let the whispers blow away any self doubt that may try to dissuade you and just play; and if you have to- it is okay to not follow all of these rules.

i was feeling like my layers of layers had maybe gotten the best of me and i needed to calm all of this down a bit....so i added some white ink circles. i really liked how the white pulled the overall feeling of the page together.

here is a fuller view of the page below....the white ink blends well with the dylusion's inks and provides a softening to some of my bright colors.

welcome to my "layered" studio table. i hope you have managed to stick with me in this post....sorry it is super long! i had a great time making this though and if you made it to this point....give yourself a high five for sticking with me!!  here is a close up look at my final page...

thank you! and thank you Art to the 5th!

have wings....

i had started a painting on a cigar box....and it gave me fits. so after many, and i do mean many.... layers of paint, this box found its' wings.....

yep...this white owl had found its' wings......happy saturday.

new year, new painting

i have been working on this painting for a while....and this first pic shows a sneak peek along the way. i even really loved the colors that were emerging from this painting....but, love does not always mean that you are done with a painting...

somewhere along the way i took a left turn and managed to take down the some of the layers of paint to get to my finished painting. i now truly love the emerging layers, the worn and weathered feel of this painting.

 

here is the lower portion of the painting....you can just make out that colorful edge and what is left of it.

lesson

lesson in patience.....i had this idea for a painting for my new kitchen and somehow in my head the vision is layered, lovely and perfect. however, (and this is where the patience comes in), my painting and my style are not ones that come in the first swing through. probably not even on the second or third-(i normally lose count)....and when i am thinking "holy cow this is ugly" and let it sit and "cook", then, somewhere deep within i hear the whisper of what to do next. what layer of color i need, or layer of ink, paper, pencil....and very slowly, i usually come to something to i like. so after a rocky start, my painting was whispering for turquoise and india ink. the ink may have gotten a little OC. can you tell?...but, i sure did have a good time. stop back...to see my kitchen painting and see what my fuss is about.

re-work

this original painting hung in both galleries that i am in but did not find another home. sometimes whispers tell me to re-work painting....which is what i am in the process of doing now. the words on the painting, were part of the original painting, and, i wanted to keep those. i was thinking i was almost finished with this and then, decided to layer the white- it was quite bold underneath. while contemplating what i had just done, i noticed the purple india ink....and decided that was needed too. 

i loved the circles, but, before they were really in your face....now, with the layering i like how the circles softly come through. i love how the purple ink ran- this particular layer was really  wet.. i will show more after letting it "cook" for another day or two. happy monday!