“Tears are words the heart can’t express.”
Some Art Journal entries take a lot of time to finish and some just come so spontaneously like this one. I worked on it a total of two nights, and that was with a major re-do when I messed up the black and white clipping.
I had originally photocopied it in a darker black and white after picking up this photo from the New York Times showing the Royal Ballet: Zenaida Yanowsky and Rupert Pennefather performing “A Month in the Country,” choreographed by Frederick Ashton to music by Chopin, at Covent Garden last week. (Photo credits: Dee Conway/ROH). I was actually browsing back issues of the newspapers to find a portion I can photocopy onto a watercolored background when I chanced upon this. It was such a dramatic photo and I started looking for quotes online and found it but without proper credit. (So they are not my own.) I started painting the watercolor teardrops and got carried away when I attempted to paint the clothes worn by the two dancers which made a disaster of the whole thing. Luckily, we had multiple copies of the newspaper in the office, and instead of trying to alter the newspaper photograph, I decided to go with the original and just pasted it onto the mess I made.
To make the figures pop out, I zentangled the dark greys with black ink which made it come out nicely. After drawing around the teardrops, I realized the bright pink I used was a little too much so I tried to mute it by zentangling over it and I think it came out quite well. I couldn’t resist putting in a heart for the journal box, and I simply journaled by hand in silver ink and I like the fact that it’s there but not there — know what I mean? There was a huge empty space on top and the easiest and the only thing that made sense to me was to draw bigger tears and just do them in black and white. (I didn’t want to risk ruining what was turning out to be something I was happy about.)
I have stopped creating backgrounds for now because I have around a dozen of them, and I have four works in progress which is why I’ve been so prolific. I read that most art journalers create backgrounds ahead and then fill them up as the inspiration hits them. I’m just taking their lead. After my watercoloring spree over the weekend, I’ve zeroed in on what to work on and do a bit at a time. No pressure. That’s why I’m enjoying it so much… It is also uncanny how I have buried most of my original backgrounds in the actual entry and they have come out soooo differently.
I’m trying to venture out beyond doing just zentangling or watercoloring, and am trying to do more collage work. I’m also experimenting with layering beyond just layering color.
This is one of my works in progress where I color photocopied a portion of the newspaper onto a watercolor background painted sheet and then I tried painting over the top portion again which washed out the newsprint photocopy. It makes it appear that I had painted over a newspaper sheet which is going to be very difficult given that newsprint doesn’t work well with anything that has to do with water, and newspaper ink will easily mix with any color you put on top of it. So here was a work around.
I don’t know if it’s just the photocopier but it doesn’t always come out right nor “fully developed” when I pass a watercolor painted sheet through the machine. It’s an ongoing experiment, so bear with me.
I haven’t quite made up my mind about what this sheet is going to be about, but I like toying with the possibilities I’ve explored so far. I keep staring at it as if it’s speaking to me.
Someone told me I’m an artist and I still refuse to accept that. I am just very expressive. I’ll take that I’m crafty, yes. It helps me to keep busy and let’s just be thankful I’m not into wood working or carpentry. =) And in art journaling, there are no rules. You make them as you go along. How I envy the artists who can draw up real tapestries with pastel, watercolor, acrylics and mixed art. That’s THEIR art, though, and I’m happy to admire from afar. They are the geniuses who continue to inspire, and they have provided me with tons of inspiration indeed.
My Art Journal, though, has taken on a very funny shape, but I like that it reveals how I’ve progressed in my work. That’s another blogpost coming one of these days.
If you want to see more of my Art Journal, please click here, or you can always choose my Art Journal Every Day page from the list on the top left of the blog page.
I invite you to view the Flickr Group dedicated to this endeavor by clicking here, and be inspired to create your own art journal. (Artistic talent optional.)
Pinay New Yorker 