Hand painted papers: Using rice paper, coffee filters, paper towels, book pages and watercolor paper
Hello friends,
As most of you know, I am a lover of “art journals” and the art journaling process. The reason is…..there are no rules! That is right, there are no rules. There are numerous books, videos and workshops giving lots of ideas, prompts and suggestions on "how to art journal". But the reality is, that art journaling is all about what you want. How you feel and what you want to create.
The essence of visual art journaling is the process, the process of creating your story, not the end result. It is a private journal just for you. This is your opportunity to create with the freedom of no judgment, no criticism and with no one watching . Art journaling is your chance to relax and allow the process of creating and expressing who you are and how you feel. Art journaling is not about technique it is about letting go and creating in color with lightness or darkness, with passion, with anger and /or with joy. You are free to create, free to create without explanation. Your visual images are your personal language, your way of communicating and expressing with yourself. You are able to allow yourself the freedom to explore and the possibilities become endless.
Now don't get me wrong, I love fine art. I truly enjoy learning the proper form and techniques of the great master painters. And I love trying to reproduce an image to canvas in a painterly way. Capturing the proper lights and shadows with accurate proportions and perspective. Yet, this can become a huge burden to me. To create like this I need to feel inspired. I have to see an image or scene that I want to represent. Then I have to fight the inner battle of the demon thoughts…."will people like it?", "will this be sellable?”, “how will the public perceive me?”. All these thoughts are very counter-productive to the creative process. I have finally found a way to combine the two with “paper painting”.
Paper painting allows the freedom of art journaling and if you want, combining this with the proper form of the artistic painting process. Paper painting is creating with hand painted papers that you personally create with paints, inks, stamps, stencils etc.. In any shape, form, texture or color you choose at the moment. You can paint on rice papers, deli paper, watercolor paper, old book pages, recites, bills, letters anything you choose. Next, sketch in an image or scene with charcoal and paint in a simple background and under layer. Finally, you are ready to use your hand painted pages for collage. Begin to look for different colors and textures to fit the areas you are painting. Then rip the pages into shapes about an inch or so and glue them down with gel medium. Sometimes one area will have many different layers to create the shade and texture you are looking for.
In the painting below you can see that the majority of this painting was created with my hand painted papers. I found the process to be incredibly centering and fun. A great technique to incorporate into your art journals and collage backgrounds. Why not give it a try ???? It is just another avenue of self expression.
That's all for today......until we meet again, I hope you remember to enjoy the process, in everything you do!
Thanks for visiting.
Kim
I would love to hear about your experience with hand painted papers and your journaling process. You can leave your comments below or e-mail me at kimcragin@gmail.com
PS: Wow.....Big news for me....I now have an ETSY store! You can check out my products by going to http://kimcragindesigns.etsy.com
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