#I finally got a white gel pen again so I could doodle on my black sketch paper

[epiphanytear]

@raplinenthusiasts 💜

[doodlewash]

My name is Sahar, which means Dawn in Persian. I come from Iran and live in Sweden now for almost … poofff! it has been almost 10 years?! Time flies. As a child, I was always doodling on the pages of my notebooks during classes. Maths, Chemistry or Biology, they were all full of sketches and comics about stories I used to share with my classmates. Even now, their excited eyes are the best audience I’ve ever had.

Growing up, I never took art seriously. After all who does? I got myself busy with real stuff! I made myself study Mathematics following Computer Engineering in University. I moved to Sweden to continue my education towards a Master degree in the field of Distributed Systems of … nope! It doesn’t relate to this story whatsoever!

Soon after my graduation, I started my job as a computer engineer. Everything was new and I was struggling to fit in, to act professional and be a normal employee. Almost a year passed and I was practically blended in with others. My job became routine to me and I could put my guards down a little bit. That’s when I noticed…bang!… after 10 years, I’m doodling again in the meetings.

Thanks to endless rebukes of my old teachers at school, I had already mastered the art of multitasking, listening and drawing at the same time. Sketching with a pen in my hand was like a restless leg syndrome to others. Of course, way less irritating!

I think that was when my sleeping dreams started to waken up, I bought myself a set of watercolour for the first time in my life and then, voilà, painting became the best part of my days.

At the beginning, I did it just for the fun of the process. I didn’t care much for the results. It was more like meditation for me, washing the stress of the day away. I almost even came up with a new style of mixing watercolours with detailed line drawings which I call Watercolour Zentangle. Then as I got more comfortable, I dared myself to try out new things. I still do, Acrylics, Alcohol Inks, and gouache. I think we are so blessed with the connected digital world around us. Now learning any new technique is only one click away. Thanks GO…ogle! The rest is only practice.

On average, I paint 1 to 2 hours everyday. I come from work, shed the day off, and start.

My main style of watercolour is very controlled, precise and with lots of embellishments. It helps me to turn off all the buzzings in my head when focusing full engine on the painting. I usually start with a sketch, paint the main layout with watercolours, and then, layer by layer, I add details.

Second layer is similar to line drawing, when I add outlines to my work with black micron pens. I have them in different sizes to get the result I want. Any brand will work as long as it’s waterproof. Finishing this layer, I start to add small decorations with my gel pens here and there, sometimes I even use watercolour brush pens to add the final details if I need full control of the paint.

I have used many different brands but my all time budget-friendly favourite watercolour set has been Gansai Tambi. This Japanese brand has the most vibrant, shiniest and strongest colours. And on top of that, whenever I want to indulge myself, I buy some tubes of Daniel Smith watercolour. Some girls like diamonds, some just love paint tubes!

My set of Gel pens are from Sakura. When I want to add details or make something pop in a finished piece, they are my go-to magic wand. Besides my white gel pen, I especially love my bleed proof white ink from Dr. Ph. Martin. It has saved me a lot of times, acting as a mistake eraser. My set of watercolour brush pens are also from Sakura. What can I say? Japanese have it all when it comes to watercolour!

But recently, my preferences are changing. I have started practising with alcohol inks. I’m trying to loosen up and let go and only wait and watch the ink do its magic. One thing that really helped me was taking Karen Ruane Alcohol Inks eCourse. I use Tim Holtz alcohol inks and Yupo Paper! That’s basically it!

I love animations. They always inspire me to come up with an idea for a painting. Who can watch Miyazaki’s work and not be inspired? Watching the the pictures, I feel something, a connection, a mood that touches me, it will be the trigger point of a new painting. Colour palette and composition will come later. Usually when I start a painting, I have no idea of what the finished result will look like. I start, try to enjoy the process and let it take me with it.

Maybe that’s why I like to work on a few pieces at a time. When I feel blocked in one piece, I move to another one and return to the first only when the sparks of inspiration are back!

It has been a couple of years now since my art renaissance happened, and I can’t believe how addicted I am to my one-desk studio now. I’ve always wanted to be an artist, but for some reason it’s still the hardest thing to define myself as one. At best I can say, I’m an engineer by day and an artist by night.

Sahar Fall Instagram Facebook DeviantArt Society6 Portfolio

#WorldWatercolorGroup - GUEST ARTIST: "Dreams Never Die" by Sahar Fall - #doodlewash My name is Sahar, which means Dawn in Persian. I come from Iran and live in Sweden now for almost ...

[agosnesrerose]

Studio Saturdays: Mixed-Media Planner, Part 3

Welcome to the third and final installment of our Create Along series on making a unique mixed-media planner from scratch. You’ll love using this planner all year as a diary/datebook and an art journal. The idea was inspired by Dawn DeVries Sokol’s article “Creative Days Ahead” in the January/February 2017 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine, and this is her take on creating a one-of-a-kind planner that reflects your artistic style.

Today I’ll show you how to art up the inside pages, which is the most fun part of the project. If you missed the first two installments, you’ll learn how to make the covers in Part One, and how to bind the book in Part Two. If you’d like to work with an existing blank planner, journal, or sketchbook, feel free to jump in and start!

Below are the materials you’ll need. With the exception of a few basic supplies, feel free to use what you have on hand—this planner is all about playing and having fun, and the pages will ultimately reflect your style and artwork, so use what you love. You can also experiment with some new supplies if you like, or give that tube of paint that’s been sitting on your shelf a spin.

• Acrylic paint, a variety. I used tube and fluid acrylics in a range of colors, including fluorescents.

• Spray inks (optional)

• Collage materials, such as book text, maps, ledger pages, and magazine cut-outs

• Gel medium

• Gesso, white

• Expired gift, credit, or hotel card, or a Catalyst Wedge

• Paintbrushes, a variety

• Large binder clip (optional)

• Washi tape

• Stabilo Woody Crayons, or Stabilo All pencil, in black and other colors if desired

• Artist crayons (optional)

• Rubber stamps (optional)

• Stencils (optional)

• Inkpads (Use permanent ink if you want to color over the stamped images.)

• Stickers (optional)

• Permanent pens, a variety

Open your planner to the two-page spread you want to use, and spread some paint on in select areas. I worked on two spreads at a time using different colors and techniques, so I’ll show you the processes for both. You can spread the paint with an old gift card, your fingers, or a brush—the idea is to not overthink it. I had the most fun and got the best results by applying paint with my fingers.

I had specific color palettes in mind when I worked on both spreads, and used paints in those tones. But since the paint will be mostly covered by gesso in the next step, and we’ll be adding more color later, you can experiment and see the effects different colors offer.

Add some collage materials, adhering them with gel medium. I used torn and cut book and map pages and sheet music. Here’s the first planner spread, where I incorporated fluorescent orange and magenta paint:

For the first layer of the two-page spread, paint was spread on the page, and ephemera was adhered.

Here’s the first layer of the second spread, which incorporates blue and green tones and paper cut into circles. I also used spray inks in addition to acrylic paint:

For this planner spread, I used a combination of acrylic paint and spray inks.

Quick tip: Place a sheet of scrap paper underneath both sides of the spread you’re working on to protect the pages and covers underneath. Dawn also has a great tip: Laying a large binder clip on a page allows you to work on the next pages while the previous ones dry.

When the paints and inks dried, I spread a layer of white gesso over the pages, again using the gift card.

The first layer of gesso covered the paint and collage, but I wanted to mute the colors even more.

The colors were still vibrant, so I spread on a second coat of gesso, letting the first dry before applying it:

A second coat of gesso gave this planner spread perfect coverage.

On the second spread, I used only one coat of gesso because I loved the look of the dot pattern from the spray.

One coat of gesso was perfect for this spread, which still reveals much of the color underneath.

Quick tip: Gesso comes in a variety of thicknesses; try a variety to see what works best. You can also try using watercolor ground in white or clear, if that’s your preferred medium.

When the gesso was dry I drew light pencil lines to mark off the days of the week. In her article, Dawn said that she needs less room for weekends, so she makes those days smaller. Think about how you’d like your week to be laid out. I like a Monday-through-Sunday view, but you may prefer a Sunday-through-Saturday grid.

You can divide the week up any way you like in your planner, and change it for each week.

I created another configuration for the second spread.

Next, divide the areas using a variety of materials: washi tape, rubber stamps, hand-drawn doodles, postage stamps, stickers, and strips of paper. Decorating planner pages is a great way for me to justify my washi tape addiction, so I love using it. I also split up the spaces with rubber stamps and collage papers, which I adhered with gel medium. By the way, if you’ve never used washi tape before, be warned that it’s a slippery slope.

Add the month at the top of each spread, and add the dates and days to the boxes. Get creative with the numbers—cut some from magazines, stamp them, hand write them, cut up an old tape measure—when you start looking, you’ll see that numbers are everywhere.

Washi tape is a great way to divide the planner pages into days; create numbers in a variety of ways.

Here, washi tape was used along with stamps and a strip of book text to create the grid.

Quick tip: Writing the months and days on your planner pages is a great way to practice your hand lettering.

Now it’s time to start building layers of color and depth. I love how Dawn often highlights images with shadows, adding deep color values. She recommends using Stabilo Woody crayons or a Stabilo All pencil; those are excellent, as are water-soluble artist crayons. I used a combination of all three, lightly drawing black lines around images and along the edges of the washi tape, then going over the lines with a wet paintbrush or water brush. I snuck a little extra color in as well with stencils, water-soluble crayons, and watered-down acrylic paint. If you compare the pages with and without the shadows, you’ll see what a dramatic look they provide.

What a difference a little depth and shadow make!

More shadows add deeper color values on the pages.

After that, I continued to add more color with the crayons, paint, stencils, and ink pads, plus extra collage, a few sketches, and some writing, rub-ons, and photos. The pages feel very organic to me. While each spread has its own look, the book as a whole feels cohesive.

Here is one finished spread:

This planner spread incorporates a huge variety of mediums and techniques.

And here’s the other:

The collage I added on the first layer became jumping-off points for doodles and sketches.

I decided to dedicate the first page of each signature to a list of my goals for the coming weeks. This goals page started with paint and Gelatos spread and scribbled across the page:

Paint and Gelatos were spread across the page to add color.

I covered the page with gesso, and lightly stenciled a pattern on top:

A layer of gesso muted the paint, then a stencil pattern was added.

I added sketches and lettering, plus collage and washi tape, to finish it:

The finished goals page includes washi tape, sketches, and collage.

Try raiding your art journals, sketchbooks, and scraps for odd pieces to use in your planner; sometimes I’ll like one element of a page and hate the rest, so I’ll cut out the part I like and add it to something else. This planner spread was the perfect place for a hand-carved flower stamp:

A hand-carved stamp image was cut from another project and added to a planner page.

In Part 2 of this Create Along series I explained that the binding for the planner left room to fill it with lots of stuff. I’ve started down that road already—on the goals page I created a small envelope for receipts, business cards, etc.:

A scrap of hand-printed map paper was used to create a custom envelope.

And here I created a tiny sewn book that I adhered to the page. The cover is a subway ticket:

I added a mini sewn journal to the page, using a subway ticket for a cover.

While working in the planner, I realized that if I didn’t have a super exciting week, I could still use the spaces to add sketches, doodles, journaling, and collage. I think what I love most about the way Dawn builds the spreads is the element of surprise. Those collage bits that you added in the first layer become great jumping-off points for drawings and doodles.

I’m having so much fun working in my planner that I can’t wait to get to it, even I only have a quick 15 minutes. I hope you love this project as much as I do, and make sure to post your handmade mixed-media planners in our member gallery! If you have any questions about the materials or techniques, please leave them in the comments section.

If you’re looking for even more ways to fill your new planner, check out these books, videos, and magazines from North Light Books—there are tons of ideas that you can use on your pages!

Don’t miss Dawn DeVries Sokol’s article on making mixed-media planners in the January/February issue of Cloth Paper Scissors!

Let Kass Hall show you how to make your art journaling pages come alive in her book Amplified Art.

Learn how to create whimsical hand lettering and make colorful journals in this Inspirational Art Journals video with Joanne Sharpe.

In Mixed Media Techniques in Art Journaling, you’ll discover how to incorporate easy and eye-catching techniques in your planner.

The post Studio Saturdays: Mixed-Media Planner, Part 3 appeared first on Artist's Network.

from Artist’s Network http://ift.tt/2kDAy67

http://ift.tt/2kcuald