Art Journal Backgrounds

 

I watched a free online Strathmore workshop called Sketchbook Fury - The Art Ninja’s Handbook taught by Graham   Smith.  Lesson one has  great tips on designing background pages for your art journal.  I created blended backgrounds in my art journal with Graham’s tips in mind. 

For these backgrounds, I choose 2 to 3 translucent paints per page.  I made sure I picked out colors within the same color family.  For example, I used cool colors (blues and greens) per background, or warm colors (reds and oranges).  This strategy ensures you won’t create a muddy brown background.  For a more blended look, I sprayed the pages with water prior to adding paint. 

After I applied paint to one page, I closed my journal so that the paints would bleed and blend onto the adjacent page.   Upon opening my journal, there were a couple of places where the paint didn’t do what I wanted it to.  In these areas I simply used a baby wipe to help spread the paint where I wanted it.

Resources: Free Online Art Workshops from Strathmore

Finding affordable art classes can be such a challenge.  My friend introduced me to the free Strathmore workshops (thanks, Becky).  We both took a sketching workshop online and had fun sharing our sketches with each other.  I later took an art journaling workshop through them.  These are great classes that teach the basics and work well with any budget.  Some of the free workshops include acrylic painting, sketching, printmaking, and Calligraphy.

Strathmore free on-line workshops