Monday, March 28, 2016

Sketchbook Pages: Chapter One

I've finished another page in my Amber altered book - that leaves only a few pages until the book is complete! I started on this one after spending some time organizing my craft room - it felt really good to sit down at my relatively clean desk and have everything at my finger tips. I also remembered to take progress photos as I went, which is my favourite way to document these pages.

First, I filled in the background with some paint I inherited from my aunt. I chose to use turquoise, dark green, grey and white and blended them together, leaving the "Chapter 1" visible through a thin layer of grey.

Next, I collaged some strips of grey and green paint swatches - the ombre kind with half a dozen shades, from light to dark. Next, I layered a bit more of the same paint (except for the turquoise) on top in order to push the collage elements back. I used a palette knife to create a different effect from the first layer.

At this point, I decided where I wanted to go with the page: pink/red flowers would really pop on the grey/green. So I tore some "petals" out of a coral patterned paper and glued them down with gel medium.

To make the flowers look more cohesive, I painted over them with a few shades of pink that I mixed with red, pink and white paint (unfortunately, red is the hardest colour for me to photograph! It looks much prettier than these photos show).

I used more of the dark green and grey paint, as well as some brown, to paint in stems, grass and darken the edges of the page.

I was really happy with the spread now, all it needed was a bit of texture and a touch of definition. I started with stamping some chevron and arrow patterns in the same grey paint, as well as white and black. I used some of the black to darken the background in a few areas. Then I splattered the page with white and black ink.

Lastly, to make the flowers feel a bit more "finished", I doodled around them with a black pen.

Another page in this book that makes my heart sing! I can't wait to finish the last few pages so that I can show a recap of the entire book!

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