LET'S TAKE A RISK AND START AN ART JOURNAL NOW!

"Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly."

Robert Schuller

Grab your books and let's get inspired.......


Supplies you will need before you begin:

journal or altered book
paint, can be any that you like working with, watercolor, watercolor pencils, pens, or inexpensive craft paint
gesso, this is a white, flat paint that dries with a rough finish, makes a great ground for pages. Pastel or white craft paint works as well.
scissors
brushes
pens or pencils
matte medium or glue stick for adhering papers
variety of thin collage papers: these can be from magazines, junk mail, old book pages, painted papers, etc.


















Here are a few recent journal pages as examples.




This is a minimalist page with paint and very little collage, without text










These pages are just some doodles with a fine line micron pen. It's a great to get you warmed up and get your right brain in gear.





A page with collage and paint
Art journaling can help us to express our emotions, or be about something that is troubling us.




This page is strictly collage and I added the word art and the stripes with a marker.


Don't forget to follow me on instagram @lynncorsibland for the #stayathome Journal Challenge, May 1st in my stories.

News on the Encaustic Front

I am happy to say the little painting that was shown on the last post won an award of merit.

Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts has a prestigious show biennially in the main gallery of the school. It is only open to Sevier County Residents and has gained popularity through the years.
This year's juror was Ms. Teri Alea. She is the Executive Director for Tennessee Craft, a leading statewide craft organization which provides professional development for craft artists across the state.

I entered "The Jester" and received one of three of the merit awards. It was exciting for me to be recognized in my own community for my artwork. Here I am with my painting.

The "Jester" is offered for sale.

Please visit my etsy store: 

www.notsobland.etsy.com

Please visit my etsy store: 

www.notsobland.etsy.com

A Place to Create

I often get asked about how and where I work on my art, and I thought I would share in the designing, and building of my studio. For years I shared a studio space in the basement of my husband's office building, and was so fortunate not to have any overhead, and a great artist friend to share it with me.
But it left a lot to be desired, as it was not heated in the winter and had no windows! I had always dreamed of my own creative space.

In anticipation of my husband's retirement, we started designing a barn, with a garage level for his tractor, kayaks, etc., and the second floor devoted to a studio space for me.

There were several things I really wanted, and one of them was a ventilation system over my encaustic work area to take out the toxic fumes from the wax. And of course, lots of windows and  counter top work areas.

We had the perfect spot on our property to build it. Across our creek there was a flat area surrounded by woods with a beautiful view of the creek. The first photos are of the setting before construction.

Fall

Summer

I couldn't resist putting this photo of mama deer and her babies in, and was worried that we wouldn't have them after the studio was built, but as you can see they did come back.

Now back to the construction. The framing has begun for the second story. I had to climb that ladder you see and take a look. It was hard to imagine at this stage, but I was already moving furniture in.

We really had to challenge our balance to use that "bridge" across the creek to get the the other side.

More to come on my next blog post.

February's Work

This is acrylic on crescent board with lots of texture. I did a grid composition so I could experiment with texture in the different boxes. I used Golden Crackle Paste, Light Modeling Paste, Gesso and Matte Gel.
They each give a very unique surface, and take the paint so differently. I especially love the way the crackle came out when the paint was thinned before applying. The designs are hand carved stamps I made, and the text is from old book pages collaged on the surface.

Also acrylic with a textured surface of Matte Gel and Gesso. This is definitely in process and I may cover the whole painting with an opaque mask.

This one is acrylic with collage and ink on canvas. I added some marks and line drawings with pencil.

This one is on Crescent Illustration Board that I covered with collage, stamping, and lots of drawing.  I used stencils for the numbers. Then I negative painted around the shapes to create the composition. I am
happy with this one and it is finished.

What I'm working on this month

I would like to share some of my work in progress, something I haven't done in the past but feel it might be a good way for me to document what I've done. I hope it will help me grow and develop and show me when a painting is completed. 

These are acrylics combined with collage, since it's gotten cold here and my wax area is not heated, I'm inside where it is warm. I would love to be able to use some beeswax with these mixed media pieces, but acrylic and wax to not mix and cannot be combined. Oil paint is the only paint that works, but for me it takes too long to dry. I am an impatient and spontaneous artist!

Ink and paint underdrawing

I have covered most of my drawings with paint

These paintings are in process and not really ready to say they are finished.  

Encaustic Collage

Artist:	Bascha Mon
Title:	ADRIFT
Medium:	ENCAUSTIC AND COLLAGE ON PAPER
Size:	22 x 30 inches

These collages are from the Tsunami Series and are heavily layered and impressive in size. This is an example of an artist expressing her sorrow through her art. Creating something beautiful out of a horrific natural disaster.

Artist:  Bascha Mon Title:  Searching For Paradise (Lost?) Medium:  encaustic & collage on paper Size:  30 x 22 inches

Artist:	Bascha Mon
Title:	Searching For Paradise (Lost?)
Medium:	encaustic & collage on paper
Size:	30 x 22 inches

Artist: 

Bascha Mon

Title: 

Searching For Paradise (Lost?)

Medium: 

encaustic & collage on paper

Size: 

30 x 22 inches

To see more work by this artist, please visit her website with this link:http://www.neoimages.net/artistportfolio.aspx?pid=3339

Encaustic Vessel

This graceful form by Katherine Glover is a three dimensional encaustic piece.
Her vessel is a combination of pleated silk and encaustic medium and was chosen for the Encaustic 2009 Juried Exhibit.  To view this show or find out more about encaustic paints, and the upcoming Encaustic 2011 call for entries visit this link:   rfpaints.com

 Visit Katherine's website to see more of her work  

http://www.katherineglover.com/gallery/encaustic.html

Back to Wax

In Process

oil sticks for drawing

Many brilliant colors to choose from. These are small blocks  of concentrated pigments suspended in encaustic medium.

The wax is heated to 250 degrees and becomes liquid. The thermometer sits directly on the heated palette so I can monitor it during painting.

The Paint

Warm and Ready




 

The Laboratory

I heard this week from the Brooklyn Art Library that my "sketchbook" was received and it now on tour to it's first destination, Austin, Texas. The exhibition will begin March 12th at the Austin Museum of Art.

Art journaling has been an important part of my creative process. It is one of the activities that I feel is important for my growth as an artist, and more importantly as a person. Being able to write my thoughts and create in the safety of a journal meant for my eyes only is such a freeing experience. But at times a page does become art, ( serendipity, if you will ) and I tear it out, mat it, and frame it for all to see. By now I have quite a collection of them and thought I'd share a few photos.