Just right click on each image and save them to your own computer. If you feel like sharing what you create with these backgrounds, I'd love to see them.
Have fun!!
Joanna
Showing posts with label grungy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grungy. Show all posts
FREE Grungy Backgrounds To Download
Here are some interesting grungy, rusty images I've had in my collection for a long time. I thought I would share them with you in case you'd like to use them for your own artsy projects.
Just right click on each image and save them to your own computer. If you feel like sharing what you create with these backgrounds, I'd love to see them.
Have fun!!
Joanna
Just right click on each image and save them to your own computer. If you feel like sharing what you create with these backgrounds, I'd love to see them.
Have fun!!
Joanna
New Art In The "Gelli Kids" Series
SOLD! Thank you, Barb!!!
That should read $69.95US for BOTH pieces, and with free shipping to the U.S. and Canada. The quote is a favourite from Robin Williams.
That should read $69.95US for BOTH pieces, and with free shipping to the U.S. and Canada. The quote is a favourite from Robin Williams.
What's On My Work Desk Right Now
I have been trying to force myself to work on a larger scale. I have always gravitated to producing smaller scale art because it allows me to see results much sooner. However, I often get asked if I have made or will make larger pieces for customers who want a more significant sized piece of art for their home or office or as a gift for someone else.
These images are from my larger Strathmore journal and each page is 9" X 12". That may not seem large to you but it is to me! I usually will have a number of pages on the go at any given time, all at various stages of development. I like to work this way because more often than not, a page will only get so far in a sitting. When I feel that I am not going to get any further with a given page, then I will move on to work on another. I never try to force myself to finish a page. I have always felt that everything comes to me when it is ready to and always have faith that everything gets done when it's supposed to. Of course, this approach means I have TONS of half-done things on the go at all times, but it also means that often when I get on a real roll, many projects all get finished at the same time too. And that is a phenomenal feeling of accomplishment!
Anyway, at some point these pages may turn into art for sale. Or they may remain just as journal pages. We shall see. I've made a few notes in the caption of each image so you can see what I am using for materials and techniques with each of these pages.
Hope you are all having a wonderful day!
Joanna
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| Gelli plate prints, stamped images, recycled materials (for the hands) |
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| All kinds of small scraps of papers glued onto page and then various rubber stamps used. |
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| Gelli plate print plus stamped images |
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| Gelli plate print plus stamped images |
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| Gelli plate print plus flower images from a napkin, dimensional paint, stamped images and face image prints |
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| Gelli print on tissues, flower images from a napkin, Gelli print scraps, rubber stamping |
"Strength Of Purpose" Simple Art Journal Page - Part 6
Today's post is another in my series of simple art journal pages that can be done quickly and with minimal fuss or supplies. Again, I am using one of my Gelli Plate printed papers that I didn't like very much and didn't really know what to do with for the base of the collage. I am working in my Strathmore Bristol/Vellum Art Journal (5.5" X 8")
The base piece of Gelli plate printed paper was pinky-coppery-gold with a bit of black from a stencil ghost print. Pretty bland, so I glued it into the journal and once the page was dry, I dragged a palette knife loaded with lime green acrylic paint vertically down the page. When the green paint had dried, I did some stacked journaling on top of it in white Gelly Roll pen. Then I used my 1.5" diameter sponge spouncer to blob on some purple circles, which were overlaid with rings of neon orange (which barely show up in the photos), and then scribbly white outlines . Now the page is looking a little more interesting! But, I am still not that happy with it.
So, my next step was to take some India Ink in an eye dropper and drip it down the page from the top edge, allowing the drips to end at different lengths and then set it aside to dry once again.
Now what?? As with other journal pages, here is where the page sat for a couple of months. I had NO idea where to go from here. I'd see the page every now and then when I came to work in this journal. I'd sit and look at it for a few minutes and inspiration would NOT come so I'd go do something else. Until, that is, a few nights ago when I was rummaging around in my hoarder's pile of images and stuff and found this awesome vintage image of a woman warrior. I love it when I discover treasures like this among all the crap I refuse to part with! Isn't she awesome? She looks kinda pissed at someone and I sure wouldn't mess with that big-ass sword of hers!
I ripped the edges of the image to give it a battered, vintage-y look and then ran a black ink pad around it so no white edges showed. I find that really helps when you are going for a vintage or grungy look. Then I fiddled with placement of the image on the page and when I liked where she would live, glued her down. Once she was in place, I realized that I didn't like how the black drips were cut off by the image. They no longer looked as random as I wanted.
So the final step was to take my India Ink marker (Faber Castell Pitt Pen) and embellish those drips a bit so they looked better. First, I tried India Ink in the eye dropper again, but it would not adhere to the smooth paper the image was printed on, so the marker was the next best option.
And there you have it! I opted to leave this page simple because it has lots of power in it as it is. It did not strike me as the kind of page that needed to be too fussy. And the title of it, "Strength Of Purpose," came to me in a flash as soon as it was done. When the names come to me that fast, I know I am tuned in what the piece is saying to me.
Hope you enjoyed this lesson. See you again soon, my friends!
Joanna
The base piece of Gelli plate printed paper was pinky-coppery-gold with a bit of black from a stencil ghost print. Pretty bland, so I glued it into the journal and once the page was dry, I dragged a palette knife loaded with lime green acrylic paint vertically down the page. When the green paint had dried, I did some stacked journaling on top of it in white Gelly Roll pen. Then I used my 1.5" diameter sponge spouncer to blob on some purple circles, which were overlaid with rings of neon orange (which barely show up in the photos), and then scribbly white outlines . Now the page is looking a little more interesting! But, I am still not that happy with it.
Now what?? As with other journal pages, here is where the page sat for a couple of months. I had NO idea where to go from here. I'd see the page every now and then when I came to work in this journal. I'd sit and look at it for a few minutes and inspiration would NOT come so I'd go do something else. Until, that is, a few nights ago when I was rummaging around in my hoarder's pile of images and stuff and found this awesome vintage image of a woman warrior. I love it when I discover treasures like this among all the crap I refuse to part with! Isn't she awesome? She looks kinda pissed at someone and I sure wouldn't mess with that big-ass sword of hers!
I ripped the edges of the image to give it a battered, vintage-y look and then ran a black ink pad around it so no white edges showed. I find that really helps when you are going for a vintage or grungy look. Then I fiddled with placement of the image on the page and when I liked where she would live, glued her down. Once she was in place, I realized that I didn't like how the black drips were cut off by the image. They no longer looked as random as I wanted.
So the final step was to take my India Ink marker (Faber Castell Pitt Pen) and embellish those drips a bit so they looked better. First, I tried India Ink in the eye dropper again, but it would not adhere to the smooth paper the image was printed on, so the marker was the next best option.
And there you have it! I opted to leave this page simple because it has lots of power in it as it is. It did not strike me as the kind of page that needed to be too fussy. And the title of it, "Strength Of Purpose," came to me in a flash as soon as it was done. When the names come to me that fast, I know I am tuned in what the piece is saying to me.
Hope you enjoyed this lesson. See you again soon, my friends!
Joanna
Gelli Print & Zentangle Simple Art Journal Page - Part 5
Hello all!
In my ongoing "how to" series of simple journal pages, I thought I'd bring you a page that combines some techniques you might not have thought to put together or that if you had thought of it, you'd say, "naw, that won't work." That was my reaction when I first considered this, but as it turns out, I was wrong. Yet again.
Anyway, this page is done in my Strathmore Bristol Journal (5.5" X 8").
The first step was to glue into the journal one of my gazillion Gelli Plate printed papers to be the background. This particular piece was done on heavy tissue paper and I used acrylic and fabric paint for the prints. The fabric paint is the black doodly lines. The rest of the color was done with acrylics. Actually, this was one of my very first Gelli plate printed papers, now that I see it again. Anyway, I waiting for the glue to dry and then just ripped the excess from around the sides without worrying about a finished look for the edges.
Next, I took another of my early trial pieces of Gelli plate printed paper and cut out some simple shapes from it. I hadn't been too happy with this print so cutting it up made it more palatable for me. I ended up with some semi-circular pieces that I glued on top of the background page. Looking at the page at this point, the circles reminded me of planets or moons so I decided there should be a celestial theme to this page.
I still didn't like this page all that much. It was too plain and didn't have enough interest or depth for me. So, I started some zentangle inspired doodling. I used the zentangle pattern Mooka on the planet/moon images and then doodled the Paisley pattern into the background. Both were done with a permanent black marker.
So, now at least I like the page a bit more, but what do I do next? The answer to that question eluded me for a couple of months until just recently. I often use reprints of my original collage art from years gone by. I like to find new way to use old work, thus getting more mileage out of the art I have already created. Though the image may be a reprint from an original, it ends up becoming an all new original by being a component in a new piece. As an artist who has minimal time to devote to art because I work full time, I really appreciate this twist on "recycling" art. It really helps me make the best use of my precious art time and I enjoy the personal challenge of taking something old and giving it new life in a new way.
The next image shows a color laser print of a mixed media collage I did in about 2006 or so. I printed it to be about 3" X 5" so that it would fit on the journal page as the central image. I cut it out with deckle-edged scissors and then ran a black stamp pad around the edges for a grungier finish to it. Then I glued it onto the page.
Now I'm starting to like the page a whole lot more! Next, I used the same strategy from the last step and took a scan of a handmade star face piece I had created in the mid 1990s from molded Friendly Plastic. I had already used this star in a large collage/assemblage in 2005 (I think) but I had had the foresight to scan the star before the piece sold. It was originally about twice the size of the images of it you see here. I took the scanned image and created several duplicates of it on a single page and printed them on the color laser printer. Then I cut them out and mounted them to some shimmery silver paper and trimmed them out so that they would have a silver border that somewhat mimics the silver frame in the central image. Then I glued them in place on the journal page, making sure that a couple of them ran off the edges of the page, trimming away the overhang. Following is the finished page with the stars added.
I think this post is a good example of how to conquer a couple of challenges that many of us encounter. First, we may only get so far on an art journal page and then get stalled out, not knowing what the next step should be. I am never afraid of just leaving a piece of art partly done and coming back to it at a later time. I've always been a firm believer that it will come together when it's supposed to. And it always does. And when it does, it happens very quickly, as this did. Once I settled on the central image, the rest of it took only about fifteen minutes to finish. I didn't worry or stress about the fact that it sat for a couple of months. I have many other projects on the go at any given time. I just know I will always come back to the unfinished ones at some point.
Secondly, don't be afraid to recycle art you've already made and use it again in a new way. If you have limited time to devote to your art, this approach could be very liberating for you. You'll get to see finished work sooner and have the wonderful sense of accomplishment from your limited creative time. I think that is SO important to those of us who are starved for art time. Working smarter and not feeling that you always have to reinvent the wheel every time you sit down to create can make the difference in feeling more satisfied with what little time you get for art.
I hope you've enjoyed this post, my friends. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Happy creating!
Joanna
In my ongoing "how to" series of simple journal pages, I thought I'd bring you a page that combines some techniques you might not have thought to put together or that if you had thought of it, you'd say, "naw, that won't work." That was my reaction when I first considered this, but as it turns out, I was wrong. Yet again.
Anyway, this page is done in my Strathmore Bristol Journal (5.5" X 8").
The first step was to glue into the journal one of my gazillion Gelli Plate printed papers to be the background. This particular piece was done on heavy tissue paper and I used acrylic and fabric paint for the prints. The fabric paint is the black doodly lines. The rest of the color was done with acrylics. Actually, this was one of my very first Gelli plate printed papers, now that I see it again. Anyway, I waiting for the glue to dry and then just ripped the excess from around the sides without worrying about a finished look for the edges.
Next, I took another of my early trial pieces of Gelli plate printed paper and cut out some simple shapes from it. I hadn't been too happy with this print so cutting it up made it more palatable for me. I ended up with some semi-circular pieces that I glued on top of the background page. Looking at the page at this point, the circles reminded me of planets or moons so I decided there should be a celestial theme to this page.
I still didn't like this page all that much. It was too plain and didn't have enough interest or depth for me. So, I started some zentangle inspired doodling. I used the zentangle pattern Mooka on the planet/moon images and then doodled the Paisley pattern into the background. Both were done with a permanent black marker.
So, now at least I like the page a bit more, but what do I do next? The answer to that question eluded me for a couple of months until just recently. I often use reprints of my original collage art from years gone by. I like to find new way to use old work, thus getting more mileage out of the art I have already created. Though the image may be a reprint from an original, it ends up becoming an all new original by being a component in a new piece. As an artist who has minimal time to devote to art because I work full time, I really appreciate this twist on "recycling" art. It really helps me make the best use of my precious art time and I enjoy the personal challenge of taking something old and giving it new life in a new way.
The next image shows a color laser print of a mixed media collage I did in about 2006 or so. I printed it to be about 3" X 5" so that it would fit on the journal page as the central image. I cut it out with deckle-edged scissors and then ran a black stamp pad around the edges for a grungier finish to it. Then I glued it onto the page.
Now I'm starting to like the page a whole lot more! Next, I used the same strategy from the last step and took a scan of a handmade star face piece I had created in the mid 1990s from molded Friendly Plastic. I had already used this star in a large collage/assemblage in 2005 (I think) but I had had the foresight to scan the star before the piece sold. It was originally about twice the size of the images of it you see here. I took the scanned image and created several duplicates of it on a single page and printed them on the color laser printer. Then I cut them out and mounted them to some shimmery silver paper and trimmed them out so that they would have a silver border that somewhat mimics the silver frame in the central image. Then I glued them in place on the journal page, making sure that a couple of them ran off the edges of the page, trimming away the overhang. Following is the finished page with the stars added.
I think this post is a good example of how to conquer a couple of challenges that many of us encounter. First, we may only get so far on an art journal page and then get stalled out, not knowing what the next step should be. I am never afraid of just leaving a piece of art partly done and coming back to it at a later time. I've always been a firm believer that it will come together when it's supposed to. And it always does. And when it does, it happens very quickly, as this did. Once I settled on the central image, the rest of it took only about fifteen minutes to finish. I didn't worry or stress about the fact that it sat for a couple of months. I have many other projects on the go at any given time. I just know I will always come back to the unfinished ones at some point.
Secondly, don't be afraid to recycle art you've already made and use it again in a new way. If you have limited time to devote to your art, this approach could be very liberating for you. You'll get to see finished work sooner and have the wonderful sense of accomplishment from your limited creative time. I think that is SO important to those of us who are starved for art time. Working smarter and not feeling that you always have to reinvent the wheel every time you sit down to create can make the difference in feeling more satisfied with what little time you get for art.
I hope you've enjoyed this post, my friends. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Happy creating!
Joanna
Where Did You Get That Avatar Of Yours???
I am often asked about my Facebook and blog avatar. You know, the little face with sunglasses that reads "odd things in my mind."
Well, here's the answer to that question.
The image comes from a mixed media collage/assemblage I created in 2007. I used an old bingo card, a variety of stamped images, walnut ink and a vintage escutcheon image (courtesy of Retro Cafe Art) for the main body of the piece. Recycled wire and salvaged beads create the hanger and I used old wallpaper to print the sentiment onto, which reads "She Had Not Yet Decided Whether To Use Her Power For Good Or Evil."
So there you have it. One of the great mysteries of the world has been solved! ;-)
Well, here's the answer to that question.
The image comes from a mixed media collage/assemblage I created in 2007. I used an old bingo card, a variety of stamped images, walnut ink and a vintage escutcheon image (courtesy of Retro Cafe Art) for the main body of the piece. Recycled wire and salvaged beads create the hanger and I used old wallpaper to print the sentiment onto, which reads "She Had Not Yet Decided Whether To Use Her Power For Good Or Evil."
So there you have it. One of the great mysteries of the world has been solved! ;-)
Third Generation Gelli Plate Printing Tutorial
Hi again everyone. I finally had time to do some more printing with my Gelli Plate to complete my experiment with doing multiple generations of prints from an original. You can see my previous posts from March 7 and March 9 for the history on this project.
Basically, I wanted to see how far from the original images I could get by scanning some Gelli-printed papers and making subsequent generations of printing. In each case I took the page and scanned it and printed it on a color laser printer and then took it back to do more Gelli-printing on that new page to create yet another generation. Sound confusing? Perhaps the photos will explain.
In each series, going from left to right, you'll see the first generation print, then the second and finally the third. I stopped at three for fear of making these prints too muddy to be used. Yes, occasionally I do exercise a bit of restraint, hard as that is to believe.
This really opens up lots of possibilities of what you can do with your Gelli-printed papers just by scanning them for future use. And I always love discovering ways to re-use my art without having to reinvent the wheel every time.
I hope you enjoyed these ideas and can put them to use yourself. Be sure to drop me a note if you have any questions on the process or if I can clarify something for you.
Have an artful day, my friends!
Joanna
Basically, I wanted to see how far from the original images I could get by scanning some Gelli-printed papers and making subsequent generations of printing. In each case I took the page and scanned it and printed it on a color laser printer and then took it back to do more Gelli-printing on that new page to create yet another generation. Sound confusing? Perhaps the photos will explain.
In each series, going from left to right, you'll see the first generation print, then the second and finally the third. I stopped at three for fear of making these prints too muddy to be used. Yes, occasionally I do exercise a bit of restraint, hard as that is to believe.
I hope you enjoyed these ideas and can put them to use yourself. Be sure to drop me a note if you have any questions on the process or if I can clarify something for you.
Have an artful day, my friends!
Joanna
FREE DOWNLOAD - GRUNGY PLAYING CARDS
Seems like it's time for another giveaway, don't you think?
This time, I am happy to share with you my grungy playing cards. I took a regular deck of playing cards and used only the face cards, aces and jokers. I tea stained them individually to get the cool grungy look that you see in the photos below.
I use these images in my mixed media, collage and altered art work. They make a cool addition to any art journal project, scrapbook page or handmade greeting card.
To get these images, all you need to do is message me here with your email address and I will send you the PDF file. If you use a Hotmail account be aware that the file is very likely to end up in your junk email folder so you'll have to check it. If you have any trouble reaching me through this blog, feel free to email me at: joannabanana@shaw.ca
The images will print on two 8.5 X 11 pieces of paper. I recommend sending them to either a color laser printer or a color copier, rather than an inkjet printer. I have not had good luck with ink jet printers because the ink can smear when subjected to a sealant in collage and mixed media work. If you don't have a color printer to work with, you can email the PDF file to your Staples store (or other office supply store) and they can print copies for you in their Copy Center. Because the file is in PDF format, you will not be able to re-size the images.
You are welcome to use the images for your personal use. The collection is copyrighted by me and is not to be re-distributed to others, nor reproduced for resale or redistribution in any form. If you end up using these images in work that you sell, I would certainly appreciate a credit noted.
Have fun with them and do let me know what you make with them. I absolutely LOVE to see what you create with my stuff!
Cheers all!
Joanna
This time, I am happy to share with you my grungy playing cards. I took a regular deck of playing cards and used only the face cards, aces and jokers. I tea stained them individually to get the cool grungy look that you see in the photos below.
I use these images in my mixed media, collage and altered art work. They make a cool addition to any art journal project, scrapbook page or handmade greeting card.
To get these images, all you need to do is message me here with your email address and I will send you the PDF file. If you use a Hotmail account be aware that the file is very likely to end up in your junk email folder so you'll have to check it. If you have any trouble reaching me through this blog, feel free to email me at: joannabanana@shaw.ca
The images will print on two 8.5 X 11 pieces of paper. I recommend sending them to either a color laser printer or a color copier, rather than an inkjet printer. I have not had good luck with ink jet printers because the ink can smear when subjected to a sealant in collage and mixed media work. If you don't have a color printer to work with, you can email the PDF file to your Staples store (or other office supply store) and they can print copies for you in their Copy Center. Because the file is in PDF format, you will not be able to re-size the images.
You are welcome to use the images for your personal use. The collection is copyrighted by me and is not to be re-distributed to others, nor reproduced for resale or redistribution in any form. If you end up using these images in work that you sell, I would certainly appreciate a credit noted.
Have fun with them and do let me know what you make with them. I absolutely LOVE to see what you create with my stuff!
Cheers all!
Joanna
Fun With The Gelli Plate
With some of my Christmas gift loot, I bought myself the super duper sized Gelli Plate from Gelli Arts. If you haven't seen them, give them a Google and check 'em out! The possibilities are absolutely endless with this cool art tool!
I haven't had too much time to play with it yet, but I thought I would share what I had made so far. Perhaps it will inspire you to try this product too if you think it would be a good tool for your art supply arsenal.
I used regular acrylics, metallic acrylics, dimensional paint and liquid watercolors.
Next, I took a couple of those circles and cut them up to become substrates for some art magnets I will make in the future. I added some sparkly dimensional paint to the surface of the magnets and I really like how they turned out. Very colorful and cool!
I also printed on some salvaged typing paper. This is the stuff that back in the day would have been called a "flimsy" (the carbon copy of a typed letter). This paper is stronger than tissue but still very light weight and is a dream to use in collage art. I have a ton of this stuff so I made several sheets of it in my first attempts with my Gelli plate.
Below are some examples of the results. I have taken the 8.5" X 11" gelli-printed typing paper and glued them into my Strathmore Mixed Media journal (5.5" X 8") so that they can be the bases for future journal pages. The scraps trimmed away from the journal page have been kept to be used as well.
Here are a couple of those journal pages:
Lastly, here is a photo of one of the Gelli printed pieces of typing paper glued to a piece of salvaged masonite for a mixed media art piece. The photo really does not do it justice. There is TONS of texture and dimension to this substrate, probably because of the gold acrylic paint and the sheerness of the paper. Can't wait to create something on this!
I haven't had too much time to play with it yet, but I thought I would share what I had made so far. Perhaps it will inspire you to try this product too if you think it would be a good tool for your art supply arsenal.
I used regular acrylics, metallic acrylics, dimensional paint and liquid watercolors.
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| Gelli printing on postcard and index cards |
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| Gelli printing on cardstock |
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| Gelli printing on cardstock circle, bookmark blank and small shipping tag |
Next, I took a couple of those circles and cut them up to become substrates for some art magnets I will make in the future. I added some sparkly dimensional paint to the surface of the magnets and I really like how they turned out. Very colorful and cool!
 |
| Magnets-to-be made with Gelli printed paper |
I also printed on some salvaged typing paper. This is the stuff that back in the day would have been called a "flimsy" (the carbon copy of a typed letter). This paper is stronger than tissue but still very light weight and is a dream to use in collage art. I have a ton of this stuff so I made several sheets of it in my first attempts with my Gelli plate.
Below are some examples of the results. I have taken the 8.5" X 11" gelli-printed typing paper and glued them into my Strathmore Mixed Media journal (5.5" X 8") so that they can be the bases for future journal pages. The scraps trimmed away from the journal page have been kept to be used as well.
Here are a couple of those journal pages:
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| Journal page using Gelli printed typing paper |
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| Journal page using Gelli printed typing paper (and scraps added from the first page above) |
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| Journal page using Gelli printed typing paper (and stamped circles, paint doodles) |
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| Journal page using Gelli printed typing paper |
Lastly, here is a photo of one of the Gelli printed pieces of typing paper glued to a piece of salvaged masonite for a mixed media art piece. The photo really does not do it justice. There is TONS of texture and dimension to this substrate, probably because of the gold acrylic paint and the sheerness of the paper. Can't wait to create something on this!
 |
| Gelli-printed typing paper over masonite substrate |
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