Not sure why she's so sad. Looks like she definitely needs more sleep, if those dark circles under her eye are any indication.
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- All blog content, ideas, photographs, artwork, and verbage © Dina Wakley. If you want to use something you see on my blog, please email me.
Recent Posts
September 17, 2012
September 14, 2012
Unfinished backgrounds...
I always have lots of unfinished backgrounds in my journals. I continue working on them when inspiration strikes! Sometimes inspiration never strikes. So, they remain in their unfinished state. *shrug*
September 13, 2012
More scribbling...
Just some more scribbling...
September 12, 2012
Ink blots...
Just a quick ink blot, some journaling, and stamps.
September 11, 2012
Current motif...
When I was making prints with my Gelli plate, I cut a few leaf & stem shapes out of paper to use on the plate. The shapes have been hanging out on my desk, and I keep picking them up and using them in various ways on my journal pages. You'll see them popping up a lot. I love using a motif. It's so artistically valuable to take one image and push yourself to use it in many ways.
September 10, 2012
Grungy page...
Just a grungy page. I had done something underneath that looked like puke on a page, so I just painted over it and wrote my journaling. No biggie. Remember, every page does not have to be a masterpiece! I think some people get caught up on making a "pretty " journal. It doesn't have to pretty. It just has to be expressive and authentic.
September 07, 2012
Purple-y gal, and some thoughts about supplies...
Here's a purple-y gal with lots of oil-pastel green & purple scribbles. Getting out a lot of frustrations in the journaling!
Auset left me a comment and said, "I have just started out with art journaling this June. I have created pages I love; but I have been frustrated with my favorite mediums sometimes not matching up (like, I love oil pastels but can't write over them with my gel pens). I think it's just a matter of getting more experience under my belt- but I would love to hear your take on combining the correct materials for newbies."
Great question...here are a few random musings.
I think learning what materials work well together is mostly trial and error. Like Auset, I've done pages with oil pastels only to find that nothing will write over them. I find that as a general rule, I have to add oil pastels as one of my last layers, and I plan not to put anything over them.
In general, water-based products can be layered easily. Oil-based products can go on top of water-based products. However, water-based products don't layer well over oil-based. That said I have been successful using small amounts of acrylic paint over oil pastel, so the "rule" can be broken to a point. For the page below, I drew over the oil pastel with my Stabilo Marks All pencil. That worked will because the Stabilo is meant to work on slick, non-porous surfaces (which is why it works so well on acrylic paint).
Because I use the Stabilo Marks All pencil for drawing, I've started to seal my drawings with Krylon Workable Fixatif. The fixatif helps the pencil marks stay put as I put more layers on top of them. It also protects the drawings from wear & tear of being in the journal. I have learned, though, that ink sprays do NOT like to go over workable fixatif. They will bead up. Acrylic paint will go over workable fixatif pretty well, especially if they are not watered down in any way.
My favorite fixatif is still Krylon Workable Fixatif. I tried the Prismacolor workable fixtif and I hate it...the fumes are even more noxious than the Krylon. I tried Spectrafix (which is a no-fume, non-aerosol product) and it's ok. I'm not in love with it because it is very wet and therefore alters my spray ink layers (because the inks react with the liquid in the Spectrafix).
I've ruined about a million pens trying to write over wet paint and ink. My best advice for pens is to wait until your paint is dry before you write! This causes me problems, still, because I don't like to wait for layers to dry. I have the best luck with paint pens...because paint works well over paint. I like Sharpie water-based poster-paint markers in extra-fine point. They're not a perfect pen by any means, but I get the best results with them. I have some of the Montana Acrylic Markers winging their way to me from Blick as we speak! Can't wait to try them.
Got an art journaling question? Drop me a line and let me know!
September 06, 2012
Gellin' with gelatin prints...
Another print. Oh, how I love to make prints! They look so much better in real life, the photos really do not do the layers justice.
September 05, 2012
My Masterful Scrapbook Design layouts for Aug...
Thought I'd share my MSD layouts. The theme was "inspiration"...and we took inspiration from art to furniture to fashion, and more!
September 04, 2012
Another gelatin print...and win a 6x6 Gelli Plate!!
Le sigh. I love the layers you can build up as you go. Can you spot my Paint Lids stencil, and Dyan's Dylusions Letter Jumble stencil?
And, now for the good news!
Nancy Kelley from Gelli Arts contacted me and said I can give away a 6x6 Gelli Plate. Woo hoo!
To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. On Friday I will pick a winner via random draw.
September 03, 2012
Journal page for today...
Messy, just like I like it.
September 01, 2012
Happy September!
I cannot believe it's September. Where did August go? I still need it to be August...I am so behind. Eeks.
I posted on my blog every single day in August...did you notice? I'm hoping to keep up more regular posting. Not sure if I'll hit every day in Sept, but will try.
Here are a few of my Sept JBS projects...see them all (and the other design team members' awesome work) here. You will adore the exclusive stencil that's in the main kit!
I even did an art journal page with the kit...I used paper from the main kit as my background, and the exclusive stencil.
Get the kits before they're gone...or better yet, subscribe!
August 31, 2012
Everyday Eclectic Blog Hop
My sweet friend Alison Kreft Abad (former designer for the awesome Hambly) designed one of Echo Park's new lines. It's called Everyday Eclectic. I'm honored to participate in the blog hop to celebrate it! The collection is way cute and easy to use.
ONE winner will be selected from each blog on the hop to receive an Echo Park Paper Everyday Eclectic collection kit. To qualify for the giveaway, post a comment by midnight EST, Sunday, September 5th. Be sure to leave a comment on each blog and check back there to see if you've won. Each blog will announce its own winner. Please leave comments for my blog's giveaway in the comments section below! (open to U.S. AND international residents)
Hop along, now!
Dina Wakley (you are here!)
August 30, 2012
Out of the Journal Week 5...last week!
Out of the Journal has been fun. We'll definitely do it again next year!
This week I have been obsessed with my Gelli plate, and have made SO many prints. Here is one of my favorites. I'll share more in the coming month!
Link me up on this post to your week's Out of the Journal project. I will post all of the links on Monday.
August 29, 2012
Girl in the handwritten dress...
I drew this girl in the Dylusions journal over a Dylusions spray ink background. See all the water droplets? They were accidental...oops! I had this too close to another project that I was spritzing with water. I like the look, though. It's so cool how the Dylusions inks are reactive with water. I wrote my journaling in the girl's dress using a Fude ball pen.
August 28, 2012
Loving white space lately...
Gosh, I love white space. It really is one of my favorite design principles. This is in my Dylusions journal (using Dylusions ink and white paint for the background).
August 27, 2012
Oh lovely grunge...
Oh, I love a good grungy background. This is Dylusions black ink spray, and white paint. That's it! Easy, peasy. The stamp is from my Garden Grunge line. I used my Messy Circles stencil, too.
August 26, 2012
Still learning, studying...
I'm still learning & studying from Tina Berning. I highly recommend her book, 100 Girls on Cheap Paper. It has great drawing inspiration! The girl on the page above is copied from her book...well, sort of copied. I used her girl as a study for mine. I'm not skilled enough to really copy her, but I have learned a lot from her drawings. (Click on the book below to see her book on Amazon.) This page is in my Dylusions journal, with a Dylusions ink background. Do you spot my stencil design, too?
August 25, 2012
Girl with yellow hair...
This girl has yellow hair because I squirted too much yellow paint on my palette for a different project. To use it up, I painted her hair yellow! I never waste paint or ink...you can always use it somewhere.
I still need to write journaling on this. But it's not speakng to my any more, so I will come back to it when it calls to me.
August 24, 2012
Out of the Journal Week 4...
Here's my week 4 canvas. We still have one more week in August, so there's still time to play if you haven't joined us already!
I decided not to paint the face of the woman, I liked the outline of her against the craziness of the background.
Can't wait to see what you came up with this week! I am enjoying doing each week's canvas. I'm really tempted to try to keep it up for a longer period of time. I'm tempted to paint over some of the ones I did last time.
Note that I'm going to post next week's canvas on Thurs, Aug 30th, because I'm participating in a blog hop on Friday.
August 23, 2012
A buggy page...
I was flipping through a magazine and came across a full-page photograph of a bee. I kept paging throug the magazine, but couldn't stop thinking about the bee. Finally I tore it out and added it to my "inspiration" file. I grabbed my journal and sketched the bee onto the page with the magic pencil (Stabilo Marks All). I like the way it looks...and it was fun to draw something other than a moody female face.
August 22, 2012
Another Inktense face...
Here's another page done with Inktense pencils...she turned out so weird because of the extra long neck. It makes me laugh...she's like a giraffe girl.
August 21, 2012
Inktense pencils...
About a year ago I bought a bunch of Inktense pencils. I've barely used them, though, so I gave myself a little challenge to do some pages with them. I scribbled away in my journals...fun! I really love to use them on a wet page.
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August 20, 2012
Why I work in more than one journal at a time...
Michelle posted a comment and asked me for more information about my journals...how many I have going at a time, and how I decide which one to work in and when.
The main reason I work in more than one journal is that I hate to wait for paint to dry. I know, that's not a deep or very artistic reason, but it's the practical truth. I'm impulsive and can be a tad impatient when it comes to art. If I have to wait for paint to dry, it stunts the flow of my ideas and creativity. So, while one thing dries, I grab another journal and continue working.
This workstyle works for me because I never, ever start a page with a finished result in mind. Never. I start with color. Any color that's on my table, or a color that's near the top of my paint drawer. I don't really think about it. I just start. Sometimes I start with ink. Sometimes I start with writing.Sometimes I blot a stencil and start with that. Sometimes I glue down paper and start with that.
While my "start" dries, I grab another journal. It may already have color on a page or two. I look at the color and listen. I let it tell me what to do next. I add more layers. I experiment, I see what happens. If I over-do it (and I often do), I just paint over it. While that dries, I grab another journal (or the first one I worked on).
I look at the page. I listen to it. I let it tell me what to do next. At some point I write (because to me, an art journal is still a journal. I write sometimes a lot sometimes a little, but I write. And I disguise it on purpose so you can't read it well...heh heh). At some point I add focal imagery...drawing, stamping, collage.
This is why I can have 3 or 4 pages going on at once. I often work on 2 pages (the pages in a spread) at the same time in a journal, then will work on 2 pages in a second (or third) journal. Sometimes I treat the 2-page spread as one page.
I know that the process sounds new-agey and weird, but it's what I do. If the page isn't speaking to me, I don't worry about. I turn the page and add color to a new page.
Right now I have two main journals going...my ledger and my Dylusions. In the past I've had as many as 4 or 5 going at one time. For awhile I kept a little journal that I wiped all my extra paint into...that was a fun one. I need to do that again!
This moody gal is in the Dylusions journal...still need to write.
I'm actually planning on writing a new art journaling online class, which will replace and update my old classes (Art Journaling 101 and 102). I'll talk about my process and walk you through it step by step.I'm excited about revising the old material! Especially since my personal journaling process has changed quite a bit since I wrote those classes several years ago.
If you have art/journaling questions, let me know. I'll do my best to answer them!
August 19, 2012
Even more hearts...
I often do several pages at once with the same motifs and colors. Part of my working style is to start a page, and while it dries turn to another page and keep working. That's why I often have 4 or more pages going at once. I love to play with colors and motifs, using them in different ways...or sometimes using them in the same way over and over.
August 18, 2012
I still love hearts...
I still love hearts. And ink. And stencils...hee hee.
August 17, 2012
Out of the Journal Week 3
Here's mine, a painted girl. I had proportion issues with this, but I'm leaving it. It's how it turned out, c'est la vie.
Add your links to this post...I will blog about them on Monday!
August 16, 2012
Another one-eyed girl...
The alpha stencil is from Jenni Bowlin Studios...love it! Jenni is putting some exclusive stencils in her kits now, along with exclusive stamps.
August 15, 2012
One eye is easier to draw than two...
Lately I've been drawing these strange one-eyed girls. Probably because it's easier to draw one eye than two! This gal is in the ledger.
August 14, 2012
Le sigh...
I really, really want to go take this class. It's so hard to spend the money, though, when fella #1 is a Senior in high school and we have big (big, big) expenses on the horizon for him. Still....I can dream, right?
Here's a page in the Dylusions journal...it represents how I want to LEARN and GROW.
August 13, 2012
Inspired by Wolf Hall...
I love books. A couple of years ago I read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and loved, loved, loved it. When the sequel, "Bring Up the Bodies" came out this year, I snapped it up. But before I started it, I decided to reread Wolf Hall.
Wolf Hall isn't an easy book. It's a very English major book, if that makes sense. It's dense, it can be confusing at times. But it's so, so genius. Some passages are sublimely written. I've even been dreaming about it, so I did a journal page inspired by it.
I finished my re-read, and now I'm about halfway through Bring Up the Bodies. Have you ever done a journal page about a book?
August 12, 2012
Grungy cardboard journal...
I'm teaching this grungy cardboard journal at The Ink Pad in September. I think I'm in love with it! Lots of layers, paint, ink, stencils, foam prints, stamping...fun.
August 11, 2012
She looks creepy...otherworldly...
But I like her. :)
August 10, 2012
21 Secrets is on sale!
The awesome 21 Secrets class series is on sale for only $45 (regular price was $59)...click below for the info!
Out of the Journal Week Two
Alrighty, friends, time for show & tell! Here's my canvas. It's actually the second one I did this week. The first one I liked, then I kept adding & adding & adding and pretty soon it looked like a paint store threw up on it. I finally just gesso'd over the whole thing. I guess I'll use that one next week!
I used my Lonely Girl stamp by Stampington on this canvas...she seemed to fit well.
What did you come up with this week? Share your link in a comment, and I'll get them all posted on Monday.
Are you making any artistic discoveries? If you're finding it hard to do a canvas, go to your journal and find a favorite page. Recreate it on the canvas...easy peasy!
August 09, 2012
Those darn insecurities...
Working out my insecurities in my journal.....this is in the Dylusions.
August 08, 2012
This & that...
If you're participating in Out of the Journal, just a reminder that we're in week 2 and it's Wednesday...nudge nudge. I'll post mine on Friday. Loved all the links from last week...very inspiring!
I recently updated my "Teaching Schedule"...in September I'll be in NYC, Westford, MA, and Toronto, Canada. Contact the stores for more info/availability.
Here's a page from the ledger...me nudging myself to get my work DONE!
August 07, 2012
Girl in the ledger...
I think I'm finally figuring out how to mix better skin tones. Whew. I do love to use funky colors on faces, but sometimes I need a good regular skintone...kwim?
August 06, 2012
A class in Arizona....join me!
I'm teaching my Encaustic Tag Book at In a Pear Tree, in Casa Grande, AZ. Saturday, August 18th, 1 pm. We'll have lots of inky, waxy fun! Contact the store to sign up.
Two alien faces...
I'm obsessed with drawing lately. I'm still struggling with it, still trying to improve. I love it, though. The girls in this thread look sort of like aliens to me...maybe it's their lack of hair?
August 05, 2012
Why so sad?
I think this little gal in my ledger looks so sad. Maybe it's because I painted her face those crazy pink colors, heh heh. She does look strange...
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Oooh, exciting. Would love to win. Beautiful page, also. Thanks for the opportunity. Susan
Posted by: Susan Burtchell | September 04, 2012 at 06:43 AM