Another project from the Artful Academy Visible Image Mini Collection. This tag was inspired by the lesson from Katy Leitch, the founder of Artful Academy. [Previous lessons include butterflies, Stampbord owls, and hummingbird.] It was a pretty straightforward creation; the only problem I had was when the acrylic paint started to dry quicker than I… Continue reading Artful Academy dragonfly tag
This started out as a three colour abstract inspired by a video from Kim Dellow. I do like a lot of abstract art, though I am still trying to work out exactly what appeals to me and what doesn't. As I said, this started out as just three colours, but I decided it needed some… Continue reading “Swipe” abstract painting
Series: Artful Academy 2020 journal #10 I finally caught up with the monthly journal prompts, finishing September's "Mystical" page only a few days after the lesson went online. The tutor went with a fairy motif, but I'd used that for my July "story" page and I didn't want to repeat myself in a journal that… Continue reading Artful Academy journal – September
Series: Artful Academy 2020 journal #9 Unlike all the previous months which had a single prompt word, August's tutor used the theme of "recycle" but also used "grateful" as a separate prompt word. I decided to keep it simple and stick with just "recycle". I went literal with the design, basing it off the Recycle… Continue reading Artful Academy journal – August
There was a definite phase earlier this year when I simply could not properly focus on anything that needed any planning so my creativity was basically being prompted by things that went past on Twitter or wherever. This time it was a painted leaf that reminded me I’d pressed a few leaves last autumn. And… Continue reading Metal striped leaf
Series: Artful Academy 2020 journal #8 July's theme for the Artful Academy Art Journalling Challenge 2020 was "story". These are the sort of prompts that give me the most trouble — "think of a story that inspires you to use as inspiration for your art journal page" — now, I love reading fiction, but I… Continue reading Artful Academy journal – July
This abstract was inspired by Becky Wood over on Twitter. She makes a small piece of art every day — I've given up trying to do specific daily practice, it just doesn't work for me — and changes the style or theme every month. March's theme used a bold stroke of colour over a background… Continue reading Red swipe abstract
I was about to say that I only really use my acrylic paints for colour and texture on mixed media work and that I never really just paint with them. Then I started wondering if that was actually true so I had a quick search in my blog archives and realised that I have used… Continue reading Simple acrylic landscape
This is literally junk. Or at least it was before I got my black paint out. I'd been using cotton buds to put blobs of colour on the top of some acrylic paint bottles so I could quickly see which was which. And then I'd wiped the excess paint off onto a piece of card;… Continue reading Abstract negative painting
Series: Artful Academy 2020 journal #5 Prompts that are abstract concepts rarely provoke an instant idea for me; I either go blank or completely overthink it. The only thing I can practically do is go away, do something else, and let my brain ponder it in the background... To be fair, I do that with… Continue reading Artful Academy journal – April
Series: Artful Academy 2020 journal #4 The theme for March was home and it was time to get the stencils out again. I'm following the themes and the basic techniques used, but varying some of the elements and ideas in each lesson: there is no point (for me) in just recreating what the instructor demonstrates,… Continue reading Artful Academy journal – March
Series: Artful Academy 2020 journal #2 After creating the cover for my Artful Academy class journal, I was determined to do my best to keep up with the monthly challenge. Each month has a prompt word — January's was "list" — and a video of one of the tutors making their journal page as inspiration.… Continue reading Artful Academy journal – January
Another technique that I've previously only tried with watercolour paints: using rock salt to add texture. And, like the cling film technique, it didn't turn out as well as it might have. At least this time I'm pretty sure I know what went wrong, I simply didn't use enough water, so the effect is more… Continue reading Supply Savvy ATC day 4
Another simple process that gives an interesting result. The background is essentially finger-painting: add blobs of paint to the card and smoosh it around until you are happy with how it looks. Add a few marks and splatters and, once it's dried, you're ready to add the background text. This is not a stamp, it… Continue reading Supply Savvy ATC day 3
The main technique for the second day of the Artful Academy Supply Savvy challenge was using cling film with acrylic paint to create a textured background. I've done this with watercolour paint before and it turned out really nicely, but for some reason it just didn't work that well here — I must give it… Continue reading Supply Savvy ATC day 2
Crafty Rat 