Sketchbook Pages: Purple Musings

As promised, here is the first of the three Amber altered book pages I showed you yesterday. The purple one. I started this one on January 12 and finished it two days later:

So happy with how this spread turned out! I had no thoughts on where I wanted to this page to go (in contrast to the Days of the Week spread I will show you later this week)... I just went with it, one step at a time... and so the outcome was a bit of a surprise (but not really), displaying a few of my favourite techniques (and supplies).

Here is where I started:

I started on a pre-gesso'd page and collaged random papers ripped from my desk: lined paper on which I had quickly jotted down some goals for 2014 (using two different pens, as evidenced by their reaction to the gel medium I used as glue), tissue paper in a pale lilac and handmade papers (in a darker mauve and shipping paper painted in blue/white by me).

Next, I layered on some colour and patterns with gelatos (metallic purple) and Neocolour II (watercolour wax crayons in purple, pink and blue).

Then I "drew" some circles in purple India ink and let them drip. Almost immediately, I spotted some black magazine "rip-outs" with white graphics.... so... tear and add (placed but not glued in first photo below). Topped by washi tape, of course:

After that, finishing was a piece of cake. Doodles, rub-ons, doodle/journaling. DONE!

Layers: 

1. Gesso
2. collage (tissue paper and handmade paper)
3. gelato washes and Neocolor II doodles
4. collage (patterned paper)
5. India ink circles and drips
6. washi tape
7. Sharpie doodles
8. rub ons
9. journaling

Supplies used:

• gesso
• Golden soft gel medium (matte)
• ephemera (magazine cutouts / pages, patterned paper, tissue paper, handmade paper)
• gelato and Neocolor II
• India ink (purple)
• washi tape
• Sharpies (white, silver, black) and black pens (two different Pilot pens)
• rubons (Christy Tomlinson)

Not bad for a quick and dirty mixed-media sketchbook page, if I do say so myself (and I just did)!