Now I'm not really one for Summer but I do have a real love for all things beach and ice cream *insert childish excitement here*. You can keep the hot weather though! So I was rather pleased when Anna shared August's Patreon content and collage sheets.
I had on the reverse of one of my pages watercolour swatches I'd made in attempt to create a skin tone for my vintage girls from last months patreon content and I was undecided as to whether I was going to a)leave them and move onto another page b) gesso over them or c) include them somehow in the next piece I created. I figured they looked enough like sand so I thought I'd just roll with it and I'm quite happy with how it turned out. I added a couple of bits from the collage sheets - cannot go wrong with some ice cream or flip-flops. I love the simplicity of it, I'm usually one for adding faaaar too much to a page and I'm quite pleased with my self restraint!
....having said that....this is the bit I'm not sure about, having added the sea water I'm not convinced. Part of me wishes I had left it as it was whilst the other half of me quite likes it. What do you guys think?
It's funny how sometimes you start creating and it just sort of snow balls and you end up being inspired by something you've done and going on to create something else which in turn inspires another idea. That is what happened to me, there is just so much Anna shares and there's so many ways in which to use them!
When I was younger, whenever we went passed rows of houses on our travels I'd try and imagine all the lives behind the front doors. Imagining the comings and goings of the occupants, happy tales full great big adventures, with monsters and fantastic beasts - I had an uncontainable imagination. Nowadays I still dream and concoct stories, whole lives mapped out within single moment, although they are somewhat tamer than my childhood self would have created and the future of these imaginary people isn't based on the colour choice of their door or curtains. Anna's houses reminded me of this, I think it was the combination of the stylised way in which Anna has drawn them and the residual feelings of excitement over beaches and holidays away at the seaside.
I decided I wanted to continue this feel by abandoning my perfectionist self in search of my inner child - which was not hard, she bounces around just beneath the surface waiting to be set free! I used my craft knife and carefully cut around the houses leaving a small amount a the side to use as a tab so I could lift them back to reveal the inside.
I went right back to basics with felt tips with a bit of watercolour thrown in. I happily scribbled away with my felt tips, even encountering the same problems of some colours starting to dry up and then just scribbling harder to make the colour transfer.
I really enjoyed the 'letting go' aspect of this page, there is something to be said for not worrying about placement or realism and drawing and colouring outside of the lines.
Here's where it gets all a bit planner-creative-desk inceptionesk! I absolutely love this collage piece and immediately felt drawn to it...I think it has something to do with the fact it resembles my desk 99% of the time. Rather unimaginatively I decided to recreate my surroundings.
First I began Gessoing the areas I wanted to add more detail, mostly to try and block out some of the collage sheet. I think perhaps next time I won't take the easy route and I'll cut into where I'm going to build upon.
I built up the planner page by adding several sheets of normal copier paper and offset them slightly to give the appearance of volume as it was looking a little flat. I tried to set the page up similar to one of my journals so I printed off a photo and placed some ephemera and used some of the other collage pieces to create some washi tape. When I'm working on a journal page I also like to have the bits of ephemera around me so I've also included a mini pile next to the page.
I almost always have a cup of something at the desk with me too, so I used a bit of watercolour over the gesso. I quite like using gesso and watercolour in this way, although there isn't a great deal of blendability you do get some interesting textures as the water is not absorbed by the paper. I tried to recreate some bubbling but I became impatient and it didn't quite work!
I also added some more paint splodges, if I'm honest that bit happened by accident, but it was a happy one so I just added some more and I think it ties in nicely. Lastly I added a quick 'To Do' I always have a couple of these floating around my desk, and inevitably they always become buried under a mountain of my stuff.
I really loved letting go and just getting stuck in with this months collage sheets. I immersed myself in the process and forgot about the rules, and produced some pieces very unlike my usual style! But that is what I am loving so much about Anna's patreon, it really is pushing my boundaries and expanding my creative thinking.
I've been enjoying the sketchy girls you've all been sharing! Cannot wait to see how they develop and come together :)
Till next time guys xx
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