Monday, September 28, 2009

2 more Art Journal Pages

I know, I should be packing boxes for the move, but I am still lagging behind schedule, and just can't bring myself to not create.
One of these pages I did a week or so ago, but just haven't made the time to put it up. The other one I just finished, and am waiting to send it to make sure it is completely dry.

First is a page for Marion, her topic was School. I went a bit of a different way by going with Education and Knowledge. It is a little quirky, but that is a style that I know Marion loves, so I hope that she likes them.


Second is for Sharron, her topic was Italian Affair. When I think of Italy, I think of stone buildings, and dreamy fields of grapes. I cut out the window of the right page, and added a picture of a castle like building, and then added groups of grapes, which I then covered in Crystal Lacquer to give them that shiny plumpness.
The quote: "A hundred years can not repair a moment lost" is an old Italian Proverb, which to me tied in the dreamy aspect of the piece.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Tribute to Jackson Pollock

Getting some more art journals done, I was able to incorporate the same subject into two different books.
(remember to click on images to see them larger)
The first book is Karen's and it is on Freedom.
I chose to do Jackson Pollock, because his outlook on art is that of expression, not necessarily completion.
He created his works out of feeling, not a predetermined idea of what it would end up like.
To me I feel that is 'Freedom in art'. I created these pages without any idea of what they would look like when they were finished, and it was an amazing experience.

The second journal belonging to Abby was titled 'American Idol', and we were to incorporate someone we look up to into the pages, so I was able to stay with the Jackson Pollock theme.
Even though he grew up in New York, he was born here in my home town of Cody, WY.

Both journal entries were done with acrylic paint. Some thinned with water, and painted on with a straw, a stick, and a paintbrush. Something that Jackson often did was use unusual items as 'brushes'.

The fist pages for Karen were done with pastel colors on a black background. (directly in the book) Then the paint was let to dry for 2 days. (it's thick in places) Then I printed actual works from Jackson Pollock onto Canvas paper, and then heat set and sealed them so they would not smear, then adhered them around the quote from him.
The quote reads:
'I like to express my feelings rather than illustrate them. There is no accident just as there is no beginning and no end...The painting has a life of it's own.'
Jackson Pollock, New York, 1951.
The second pages for Abby were done with earth tones, on a metallic brown linen texture cardstock. Let to dry, and then I added a transparency where I put Jackson's photo, name and life dates on as an overlay to my painting. On the right side, I added a print of his painting 'The Key' done on canvas paper and sealed, matted with the same metallic brown cardstock.
I was really happy with the way they turned out, and how different they look, when still using some of the basic drip technique.