30 Days if Get Your Art On – Day 6

I couldn’t decide between drawing, or working in my journal tonight. I wanted to do some art work earlier, but I basically spent most of the day packing orders to ship out. Everything always takes much longer than it seems (or maybe, more like longer than I hope). At any rate, I still need to figure out how to work on art at an earlier time. I don’t want it to be an after thought. I want it to be a priority. I feel like I’m at a cross-roads in my life, and I feel like focusing more on actual art-making is necessary to get me where I want and need to go. At the same time, I’m a one-woman show, and I can only do so much every day and there are business things and life things that need to get done (like figuring out how to get that tree off my trailer and figure out if it did any damage to my art house roof).

So back to the journal. The spread already had a thin layer of gesso on it applied unevenly so that parts of the original page showed through in places. Tonight I started by rolling on several layers of paint. Then I stamped the whole spread with a hand-carved stamped. Then more layers of paint. After collaging on the piece of joss paper and self-portrait, I added more paint. Each time I add it, I usually scrubbed some of it off in areas.

I loved the colors, and knew what it was going to be about. I had every intention on completing the spread tonight, and decided it would be fun to photograph it as I worked. That way I could show it in stages, like I did in my book “The Art Journal Workshop.” (Hey, did you know for The Art Journal Workshop, I took the pictures of all of the step-by-step journal spreads? And the demonstration photos in the beginning of the book? And I shot all the video? Yeah, I did! Even the pictures where my hands are in it. But I digress.) I shot this picture of the journal spread, and then my camera battery died. It was already late, and, I really need to start getting to bed earlier. Especially since my cat Shelby, the elderly lady with the hyperthyroid, wakes me up by scratching on my head anywhere from 4am to 6am, wanting me to get up and feed her. It makes for a grumpy day when I get to bed late. So I decided the dead battery was a sign to call it a night, and finish the spread tomorrow.

Everyone who is participating with me is doing great! I love reading your comments and looking at what you are doing. I’ll update the list tomorrow of participating artists. So if you aren’t on it and want to be, be sure to leave me a comment with how you want to be listed and the link you want to use.

You can see the rest of my posts for this project here