lara

Two art journal pages:



This first is for Gauche Alchemy - we're having a challenge over there to use packing tape for image transfer (one of my favorite things).

I took a photo of me walking in London and used spraypaint in a couple of different layers to create this. I think it feels like Brick Lane in London pretty nicely!



This page was a quick little page. The background is paint pallette which i slapped the last photo of me and charo ever taken on and quickly journalled about the pain i still can't get rid of.

I've just downloaded about 400 photos for my 365 Photo-a-Day project to catch up!
Here is June 18 - July 15.

For the latest prompt at A Year in the Life of an Art Journal as my inspiration in addition to the "misting" prompt at Gauche Alchemy.

However, for my misting technique I chose spraypaint as lately I've been super inspired by graffiti and I like the opaqueness spray paint creates. There's five layers of paint on this page (I know i have a problem) - the first layer is my "palette" layer - paints i've used on other projects throughout the last couple of months. Over that to make it more cohesive I used acrylic paint with some moulding paste and Punchinella to stencil it. I then slathered my hands in paint to do the imprint. Then I cut out outlines of my hands, used them as masks while I also took some lovely plastic canvas from the Wholey Sheet Kit and lightly spraypainted over the entire page. I then sprayed some "Merlot"Glimmer Mist for a soft drippy effect and then dripped more acylic paint at the top. Finally I put some alpha stickers on that say "Stop - Are You Happy." I wanted to journal more but then decided that one sentence says it all. And my art journalling these days has concentrated more on visual evocation than literal. But that one sentence produces an answer that then produces so many more questions....

A couple of art journal pages:



I made this awhile ago but never got around to scanning it. It's inspired by Peter Gabriel's cover of "My Body is a Cage" on his latest album.




Art Journal Page inspired by the prompt at gauchealchemy.wordpress.com/ "Free as a Bird"

This is for a blog trade with Gutter Girlz and Scrap Your Crap - to design a page using things in increments of five.

There's five photos (from my 365 Photo Project), Five buttons, Five washers, Five types of patterned paper and Five Flower Embellishments.

Close up of the texture created by acrylic paint, Heavy Gel and spray paint:

For the Tangled prompt at A Year in the Life of an Art Journal:




I dont *think* i need an acrylic paint intervention yet ... this was done with alot of that and Liquitex Pouring Medium and Gesso.

for my art journal, prompt from oneyearartjournal.blogspot.com. The actual prompt is "tears" but i took it to "cry" after i finished the page and stared at it. It's my first page really experimenting with all my new acrylic paint mediums...




Mediums/Gels used are from Golden: Pumice Gel, Clear Tar Gel, Heavy Molding Paste

Once a month, Gauche Alchemy has a theme day where the design team plays with the same theme or supplies to show all the various ways they can be used. This month we played with Ouchless Cardboard, one of my favorite materials to make all sorts of textural things with.

But, of course, me being me, I went with cutting it up and putting it back together all funky to make a canvas - something i've been wanting to do for months now but never really had the motivation until now. And I've been obsessively painting these days since i splurged and bought a wide variety of different painting mediums and gels. I decided to experiment with the two together - to see what kind of texture the paint and the corrugation could create. Hence my "Be" wall piece:



The alpha letters are also corrugated cardboard from Joann's. There's also screen from the hardware store i put paint on.



The acrylic paint is mixed with Liquitex String Gel which gives it a bit of a honey-like consistancy and makes it super glossy.



Check out Gauche Alchemy for more AWESOME and awe-inspiring ideas!

A months worth of photos for the 365 Project - WOW! I made it half a year!!! Thank goodness for my iPhone - dont think i would have without the convenience of the camera on it. And the new 4g's have flash built in!!! (Although i won't be getting one for some time I'm sure)

Another project I just did is a card for my Mom's birthday. I'm so geeking out on Acrylic Paint mediums these days - its all over this. Might look a little messy as i was having some inspiration problems, but the heart texture is super cool. I used a combination of "Pouring Gel" to make the outline and "Light Molding Paste" with Punchinella for the inside.

Now for some Milan photos ... just the beginning :)

The thing that struck me most straight out of the box is how much graffiti there is EVERYWHERE. I've never seen anything like it and i live in downtown Atlanta! Alot of the graffitti are just "tags" - not really arty, just names and labels. Anyways, here are some shots from all over the city:



This is by the canals. I am soooooooooo inspired by graffiti like this!!!!!



Just a street corner.

Another street corner. Love the juxtaposition of the tenet making their balcony all pretty and naturesque with the gritty city graffiti!



Now, onto a little bit of architecture. Being from a country that wasnt built but within the last three centuries, it's crazy to think I was walking by and under structures built 8+ centuries (if not more) ago!






Finally, like any good tourist, we visited the Duomo in Milan - the fourth oldest Catholic Church in the world. Legend has it, it took 500 years to be built, was completed in the 17th century. Everywhere you look there is a scultpure or stainglass that all pertain to bible stories. However, since i've never cracked open a bible I couldnt tell you what anything is - and i hope none of the photos i took offends anyone in a religious way! I just thought they were pretty and fascinating to look at!















Just a couple of miscellaneous things:

CHEESE!!!!!



and a manhole:

the first of the photos from London.
I took about 2,000 photos and am in the process of trying to figure out what to do with them now! But here's a start of some of my favorites...



This is one of my favorites! It's from a gate at Hyde Park. These others are also from Hyde Park:







(someone recently got a nosejob :D)

These next photos are from our afternoon on Brick Lane in London - a funky/arty neighborhood:













(no, i dont know who these chickies are - they were taking photos in front of the graffiti so i snapped a shot as well)



Going on London Bridge :)



Painted wall in a tunnel in London.



Last but not least in this set, the Swiss Alps and clouds seen from the airplane from London to Milan...



More to come...