week 4 documented life project (24th January 2015)

I confess, I am posting another not quite finished page and I know I said I will make more of an effort to finish my projects.  However, I have a very good reason.  I will explain later why it is unfinished.

Ok so Week 4 of the documented life project gives the art challenge of writing with the journal prompt of "words with friends"

This weeks challenge, I struggled with.  I simply did not get inspired, until today.  I had put gesso on my double page the beginning of the week even though I had no idea what I was going to do as I thought it would be a good place to start, I get fed up having an idea and not being able to get on with it for waiting on the gesso to dry.  It seemed sensible to prepare the journal for when inspiration struck, but it didn't for ages.  I had decided I was going to just skip a page and go back to it if the inspiration ever actually came. That was until today.  I came across a friendship quote which I liked on facebook.  It was in a Graphic design as many images of quotes are.  That together with a YouTube tutorial for beginners on watercolour crayons by JournalArtista I had watched a few days ago, the inspiration came.  It is funny at the time I watched the video there was no spark.  It was when I had thought, hmmm there are so many friendship quotes that I could not choose one.  It was this "could not" thought that turned into, why do I have to choose one.  The technique I had watched earlier in the week could provide some frames for a number of different quotes and I could choose my favourites.  So an idea was born

I started by painting with acrylics a background, using blue, red and white.  I have limited colours in my acrylics. 

I then took some postits and placed them on the page.  I watered down some gesso and gave the page a wash.  I then used a big music stamp and a branch stamp and stamped randomly across the page over the postit notes too.  Two of which were heart shaped.  When I lifted the postits, what was underneath was protected and left this effect - see picture below.

I wanted the shapes to be frames so I needed to define them a little more so used cray-pas oil pastels.  The white, two shades of blue a lighter and darker and red. 

To define the frames even more I used the black oil pastel to darken some of the areas I thought would be in shadow.

Finally, I wrote the journal prompt in the top middle heart and in the boxes my favourite quotes, minus one.  The bottom left heart I have put the definition of Friend.  The box that is blank.  I have a quote in mind but as I have exhausted the writing I know so far.  I have decided to leave the third quote for now until I am inspired with a different way to use writing, after all this is about a journey of discovery so no point in using the same old techniques I already know. One last thought to leave you with.  Despite researching lots of quotes I ended up deciding on three quotes that have special meaning and not just ones I like.  Believe me there are many I like.  One quote I have given to someone in a pocket card form and the other, along with the missing one, I have received from friends.  One on a plaque on my wall and one a fridge magnet:) I will keep it to myself which one is which, for a bit of mystery lol

So that's my page, the page I thought I would have to miss out.  Just shows you, inspiration can come at any time.  Now, I will go have a look at week 5s challenge and see where my imagination takes me to this time. I really could do with new colours though, mixing my acrylics, I have found, seems to result in rather mucky looking colours.  Thank you for stopping by T