Stay Fierce by Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

Happy hump day! It's Sue Plumb here to share my latest Colour Blast design team project with you. Today I am sharing a mixed media piece I created using Colour Artist Inks and Colour Paste. For this post I decided to re-visit a project style I have created previously, but this time I mixed it up a bit by changing some of my materials and altering my process steps. 

First, here's a look at my completed piece...

And now to my process...

I started this project with a page torn from a large, glossy wedding magazine that I picked up at an op shop. I have never created one of these girls on gloss paper before, so thought I would give it a go. I deliberately didn't use any gesso on the paper as I wanted to as I wanted to see how the Colour Artist Inks behaved on a different substrate. 

I stuck with a range of warm colours - Citrus, Sunburnt,Cranberry, Slipper and Cider. To apply, I simply dropped the ink randomly onto the page from the dropper, then spread using a brush. I then set it aside to dry. When I returned I noticed that the inks had dried a bit lighter than they would usually, obviously from reacting with the gloss paper - and I loved the effect!

Once the background colour was in place, it was time to add my focal image. I used a fabulous face stencil from StencilGirl that was designed by Andrea Matus deMeng, and I simply used Staz On ink and a sponge to apply it. I then used a Sharpie to fill in the small gaps left from the stencil in the hair and along the edges of the face.

Next, I added a few torn pieces of paper. This paper was from Flutterby Designs and featured a mixed media design. I wanted to use the paper over the top of parts of the stencilled design to push the face back into my design by building over the top of it. (This is different from my usual process, when I usually have the face more in the foreground; but as this face was larger and quite bold I wanted to soften it a bit.)

The next step was to add some stamping using rubber stamps from Viva Las VegaStamps. The purpose of the stamping was to add depth and interest to my layers.

I followed this with some contrasting colour detail using Oasis Colour Artist Ink applied with a small brush directly from the bottle. (When doing this, you need to remember that the colour will blend a bit with the colour underneath, so make sure you use colours that will work together.)

Then it was time to add some texture. I used a stencil from Flutterby Designs, along with Lovely Lilac Colour Paste. Using lilac gave me a good bridge between the warm and cool colours, and also helped to blend the lilac colour that was on the paper pieces I had used.

After the Colour Paste, I went in with a white Posca pen and added white highlights to the eyes, lips and bridge of the nose; as well as some other defining detail around the face.

With all the structure in place, it was time to add my focal words. These were fussy cut from a Flutterby Designs card; attached with a liquid adhesive, then stapled to add extra detail. I also used some Flutterby phrase stickers.

For the final details on my piece, I used a Stabilo All pencil to add some scribbles to help highlight the words and add a bit of a border; then used Slipper Colour Artist Ink and a small brush to add some splatters over the top.

When you look closely you can see all the layers at play, and despite its simplicity at first glance, it demonstrates how much depth this piece really has. I will be popping this one into a frame for sure!

Thanks so much for stopping by today so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to try something similar using your Colour Blast supplies. (If you don't have a face stencil, make sure you check out the Michelle Grant designed ones available in the Colour Blast store HERE or you could even try using a magazine image.)

If I have inspired you to create something similar, I would love to see it! Make sure you share it in the Colour Blast Creative Corner on Facebook or tag me on Instagram - @sue.plumb

Until next time, happy creating! 

"Art Is......" Journal Page- Chrissi Mannix

Hi Lovelies,

Chrissi back today, to share an Art Journal page with you.

 I probably art journal more than anything else. It is my favourite creative outlet. I love experimenting in my journal. Whenever I get new mediums, the first thing I will do is open my journal and just play. I like to see how the mediums and colours work together, and most of the time, I end up with a page I really like.

Today, I really want to experiment with my Gel Plate, and Colour Sprays!!! I've used paint before, many times, but never colour sprays and I was very curious how it would turn out, and I have to say, I love it!

I started out by playing with, what would be my focal image- I HAVE to have a focal image on my pages, its a me thing lol. I used Colour Sprays in the colour's Saffron and Carribean- (which I'm almost out of, its totally my fave). I sprayed these liberally over my gel plate.  

Then I just got some good old copy paper and pulled up the ink. I replaced the paper in different sections of the gel plate, and reapplied more colour spray when I wanted more colour. I continued doing this until I was happy with the coverage. 

When I was happy, I then dried the page off with my heat gun. I wanted to add some interest to the paper, so I grabbed a collection of background stamps, and randomly stamped these over my page. 

I drew out my shape and then cut it out. Simple.
So using my mixed media supplies I made my own personalised paper, and focal image. Now to move on to my page.

While I had my Gel Plate out, I decided to use it to make my backround aswell. I did the same thing, using a different colour palette. I applied Saffron, Sunset and a small amount of Bubblegum Colour Sprays.

I applied the Gel Plate directly to my journal. Again, I reapplied the colour and gel plate untill I was happy with the coverage.

So this is what I like to call the Hot Mess stage of an Art Journal page. This is the point where it looks like a hot mess, and I would probably not be very happy. BUT, I have learnt too work past this stage. Very important, and remember that it is just a background.

Now this is where things start to come together. I start adding my layers. I'm using some Black Heavy Gesso to add some stenciling, and some splatters around my page. I also use a makeup sponge to randomly go around my page.

Now its starting to look a bit better, and I'm much happier. Now to add my focal image. 

Before I added my heart, I wanted to give it a mat of some kind. So I decided to use one of my favorite textures- cheesecloth. I dyed it by spraying it with Road base colour spray. 

To finish off my page, I layered the cheesecloth and my heart, using gel medium to adhere. I then added staples, once it was all dry, just to add some grunge.  I went with a contrasting colour to really make this pop. I then outlined it using a water reactive pencil and bled the lines with some water. And that's my art journal page. I hope you enjoyed my play with gel plates and colour inks, I sure did. I love finding new ways to use my tools, other then the way they were originally intended. 

Chrissi xxx

Colour Blast Journal Flip Through 2 & video with Selena Stevens

This is last blog post from me as a member of the Colour Blast Design Team.  To round up my year with Colour Blast I have put together a bit of a flip through of my journal.  I managed to fill two during the 12-month term and this is the second one. I have previously done a video and a blog post on my first journal.

Here is the video if you would like to watch the Flip Through of my Colour Blast Journal 2 where I talk about the different pages that I have created.

So, lets begin …

I believe that art journaling is a lot of fun.  It is a not so serious way of doing some art or trying out a new technique, as it doesn’t have the pressure attached to it like a canvas that will be displayed on a wall. An art journal can be whatever you want it to be, and if you don’t like it, just turn the page.

Swatches are always a great way to have a look at new products.  It’s a quick way to see the colours when they dry, to know which products you have at a glance and to try out some application techniques with them. 

The above photo is of a page of some swatches I did when I received some new Colour Blast products. Lots of yummy colours to choose from.

I find art journals are also a great tool to experiment with and see how products react to medium that you aren’t familiar with using.  For example, in the above photo I wanted to see how different Colour Blast products reacted to the Aqua Primer that I had.  So I scraped on the Aqua Primer, let it dry, then added on the Colour Blast products to see how they would react.  As I hadn’t used the Aqua Primer previously it also helped to become familiar with it.

I took my art journal (ok 3 or 4 in total plus canvases) along to the Biannual Colour Blast retreat. If I can recall correctly, I think I finished about 17 pages or close to it over the 4 days.  The above photo are some of the pages that I created.

If you haven’t been to one of the retreats hosted by Colour Blast I would advise you to go along. They are a great weekend.  The food is great, with a lovely and lively group of women attending.  It is relaxing, especially next to the pool.  You can create for as long or as little as you like.  It is definitely worth the weekend away.  To find out more contact Colour Blast.

Colour Blast run monthly challenges on their Colour Blast Creative Corner Facebook page.  Each month the challenge is set to a theme and everyone and all levels are encouraged to participate with the winner being able to claim a prize at the end of the month.  The above photo shows one of my blog posts that was created for a monthly challenge.

To participate in this challenge all you have to do is find out the challenge for the month, create something that fits that expectation and upload it to the Colour Blast Creative Corner page.  It is a supportive environment that encourages people to participate and we all love to look at other peoples work.  So have a go and good luck.

Of course there are the daily Colour Blast blog posts that are available daily with new designs and uses for Colour Blast products.  These posts are always worth looking at for ideas and techniques.  Colour Blast also have a youtube channel where some members post videos using these products as well.

The above photo is of some of the blog posts I have created as a member of the Colour Blast Design Team and they also include a video of the page being painted.  I would love for you to have a look at them and tell me what you think.

It has been a memorable, rewarding and challenging 12 months with the Colour Blast Design Team.  I have been lucky enough to use some great products with lovely vibrant colours.  I wish the new team great success and would love to encourage everyone to create something every day.

To keep in touch with what I am doing creatively, you can find me at

Facebook:  Selena Stevens Art

Instagram: selenastevensart

Youtube:  Selena Stevens Art

Blog:  www.selenastevensart.wordpress.com

Selena

Owls with Selena Stevens

This is a fairly simple page today.  I have also included a process video for you to watch.  Click here to see the video.

To start this page I used one of my new favourite mediums, a resist spray, through a homemade stencil.  Once it was dry I sprayed Colour Spray (Sapphire & Indigo) and Colour Shimmer Spray (Lovely Lilac) once it dries then the resist starts to show through.

I painted some simple owls in with acrylic paint using several colours.

Colour Paste (Sunshine) was applied with a palette knife to give large luminescence eyes.

Heavy Black Gesso was used to add in pupils to the owls’ eyes.

To give the wings the effect of small feathers, a watermark pen was used to make marks for the feathers. Colour Embossing Powder (Lovely Lilac) was poured onto the watermark areas, the excess tipped back into its jar. The Colour Embossing Powder was set with a heat gun. 

With a white pen used for highlights, bring us to the end of this page.

I  hope you enjoyed it.

Selena

Hand Holding An Orb & Process Video with Selena Stevens

Today I am going to show you an art journal page using StencilGirl stencils and Colour Artist Ink.

To see the process video go here.

So, lets begin …

I started by randomly stamping over the page with a permanent ink.  It needs to be permanent since there are  more layers to go on top of it and I don’t want it smudging black everywhere.

I ripped some music paper and glued it down to form a loose interpretation of trees.  Black and White Heavy Gesso was used to add tonal values to the shadows of the “tree trunks”.

I wet the page with water. While wet I added Colour Artist Ink (Citrus, Cranberry & Cider) one at a time with a paint brush and blended the edges together.

A little of the White Heavy Gesso was added to the middle of the centre of the circle to make it lighter.

I wanted some Colour Paste that was lighter than the Sunshine so I mixed the Sunshine Colour Paste with the White Heavy Gesso for a pale yellow colour.

This pale yellow colour was scraped through a StencilGirl stencil with a palette knife randomly over the page.

That brings us to the end of the art journal page.  

I hope you enjoyed it.

I would love to see you recreate this page.

Until next time

Selena

Colour Blast Retreat & Process Video with Selena Stevens

I have noticed that a lot of the Colour Blast Design Team members are beginning to do more art journaling, so I thought I would have a go at doing a layout (but it is still in my art journal).  The photos used are from the Colour Blast Retreat in October 2017.

To watch the timelapse video go here.

So, lets begin….

I began with a journal page that I had used to clean stencils, use up left over paint, and to look at colours of ink.

I began by wetting the page by spraying it with water.  Then Colour Spray (Sunset) was sprayed randomly over the page.  While this page was still wet I sprinkled Colour Shimmer Dust (Cobalt & Candy) and sprayed it with water again to make sure it was all dissolved.  I moved the colour around the page with a paint brush to cover the white of the page.

While the page was wet, I placed two StencilGirl stencils onto the page.  I sprinkled more of the same Colour Shimmer Dust and wet it again to dissolve the granules.  A paint brush was used to move the colour around on top of the stencil.  This was left to dry.

While waiting for the page to dry I painted the chipboard with Heavy Black Gesso.  Applied a clear embossing ink and covered it with Colour Embossing Powder (Just Blue).  The Colour Embossing Powder was heated with a heat gun until it was activated.

Once the background was dry. Paint was pounced through the same stencils in blue and red.  A few paint splatters in red, blue and white were added to the page.  Heavy White Gesso was applied to a stamp and stamped onto the background where the photos are going to go.  Once this was dry, Colour Paste (Just Blue) was scraped through a star stencil near where the photos will be attached.

The photos, chipboard, cotton and button were glued onto the page and left to dry.

I hope you enjoyed this, especially since it was something a little different from me.

Until next time,

Selena