Art journal page - Look mum, I am a street artist

Hello everyone,

you won't find a fancy stamping technique in this post. Today I'm taking you on a little excursion about composition. With this art journal page I want to show you that you can stage your small stamps on larger projects. I didn't initially plan to showcase this page here on the blog, but I'm sure there are a lot of stampers that are struggeling with composition and are afraid that their images might get lost if they're too small compared to the whole project's size.
 

The background was an intuitive play with asemic writing, some acrylic paints and sprays as well as some stencils. The Buddha statue is a printed out image blended into the page with some more acrylic spray. If you print out things for using in your journals make sure its royality-free.

The page didn't look like street art to me at first sight, but a part of me wanted to add a Banksy stamp to it by all means. And while browsing through my stamps I came across the spraypainter and thought it would look great there, even if it is so small compared to the rest of the page. The quote that I stamped on my clean-up paper from the previous process was a perfect match.

Remember, there is no right or wrong in art. I'm just sharing a few tips that helped me making this page work:
- Play with contrasts. Not only regarding colors, but also with light and dark or contrasting shapes. This does not only refer to focal images, but also to the background itself. Here I used a black and white image (an uncolored stamp) against a colorful background.
- Decide where your focal point should be. I find it easier to place main elements near the edges of the page. Connecting them with the egdes helps them not to get lost, especially when you use smaller images on a larger page. I'm rarely creating a project that is completely focused to the center just because it is more difficult for me. Did you notice that on my page even the stenciled areas are touching the edges?
- Create a visual path. I'd bet the first thing that came to your eyes was the Buddha statue, just because it's heavily dominating the page. Then you recognize the spraypainter in the corner and move over to the quote and the rest of the page. The order in which you discover elements on this page is essential for my storytelling. You can influence this with contrast, size and placement of the elements you use.

Composition is not always easy and needs a little practice. You want to get a feel for that? Look at your older projects and focus on contrasts, where you placed elements and follow the visual path. Find out what you like and what makes you happy and remember those elements when you're creating something new.

Stamps used:
Banksy Spraypainter Boy (20452)
Banksy Look Mum I Am (19946)

Other material:
- Art Journal (Dina Wakley vlue edition)
- Acrylic paint Lukas (naples yellow, raw sienna, Indian yellow, titanium white, iron oxide black)
- Dina Wakley Gloss sprays (eggplant, night)
- Stencils (Finnabair - iris tapestry; TCW - woven)
- Printed image
- Versafine ink (nocturne)
- Posca paint pen (gold)

See you soon!

 

Live Your Art | Sue Plumb

Hi everyone!

Sue Plumb here to share my latest design team project with you. Today I have a mixed media scrapbook page that I created using some awesome Banksy stamps and a couple of photos of my son indulging in some spray paint art action.

This page was alllll about the background! I drew my inspiration from the colours and shapes in the photos to guide me as I constructed my layers. I began by adding some teal Kaisercraft acrylic paint in the centre of my page using a brayer. I then used a wide brush to apply some Colour Blast black heavy gesso in a few spots over the top of the teal paint.

Next, I took a yellow Faber-Castell gelato and added a few little scribbles here and there before using a baby wipe to blend them out into the background. I then went back with my brayer and some white acrylic paint and stripped back the colour a little in a few places. I used the Donna Downey "Live Your Art" stencil and sponged the title in using Staz On ink, then used a Posca paint pen to add a few highlights.

Now it was time for some stamping! I used the Banksy Salvador Dali Street Artist stamp and placed him at the beginning of my title. I also used the Banksy Who's Bad stamp to add the words above him. In the bottom corner of my page I used the Banksy Ladder Painter just underneath my title.

I wanted to add a bit of extra interest and help draw the viewer's eye through my title, so I used the Row Of Chevrons stamp and stamped it several times at the beginning of the title words. I then took a pink gelato and added some random scribbles to the page to mimic the pink on the art in the photos. I also splattered some Colour Blast 'Rainforest' Colour Spray. 

Next, it was time to add some textured layers for my photos to sit on. I used a paper doily, some punchinella and some frayed gauze. I then added some cardboard to the back of my photos to pop them up before adhering them on top.

After the photos were in place, I was able to add the Look mum I am a street artist quote using the Banksy Look Mum stamp. (Could there have been a more perfect quote for this page?!)
To finish off, I added some twisted pieces of coloured wire which I secured in place with staples; and then a few dots and spots using my favourite Doodle Dots stamp.

Thanks for stopping by so I could share this with you. I hope I have inspired you to get inky too! 

Stamps used:
- Banksy Salvador Dali Street Artist
- Banksy Who's Bad
- Banksy Ladder Painter
- Row Of Chevrons
- Banksy Look Mum
- Doodle Dots

Other materials:
- Bazzill cardstock
- Kaisercraft acrylic paint
- Colour Blast black heavy gesso
- Faber-Castell gelatos
- Donna Downey "Live Your Art" stencil
- Tsukineko Staz On ink
- Posca paint pen
- Colour Blast 'Rainforest' Colour Spray
- Paper doily, punchinella, frayed gauze
- Coloured wire, staples