layers!

I like Roben-Marie Smith's style - her colors, marks, projects all appeal to me. I've bought a couple of her online classes before and been happy with them so when she announced this one - Cardboard Crush - I didn't hesitate for long. You get a LOT for your money with this class. Four artists created projects for this class using cardboard and there are process videos from all four of them. I've only watched Roben-Marie's so far - two over 30 minutes and one about 25 minutes - and am making a project from her vids.

She is the queen of layers in my opinion and as I watched the vid, I jotted down what she did along the way. Then sat down and got to work with the intention of not stopping until I had outdone my previous layeriness. I also had the brains to take process shots along the way! I always love other people's process shots but rarely remember to pick up the damn camera until I'm finished. The last two pics are scans of the finished cover. Will post again when I've got it all done.

more 21 Secrets art

This was one large page but it doesn't fit in my scanner that way and I was going to cut it in half anyway, so I scanned it after cutting.

Rhonda - this is that page you gave me that was mostly yellow and aqua, that you'd done with the rubber baster brush technique. Remember it? I was casting about for something to do and spotted it in a pile. Perfect starter for one of these pages. I shoulda taken its pic before I covered it all up.

I collaged with dress pattern tissue and gelli prints in the same colors, then just went nuts with stencils, stamps, doodles, paint, gesso, stitched paper bag.

The stamp pad I used to rub thru the harlequin stencil wasn't permanent so when I rubbed gesso on with my finger, they mixed and made the pale aqua areas, which I quite like now, altho at the time I spoke a few bad words when I saw what was happening.

I know the world doesn't need another Etsy shop with handmade journals in it, but that's prolly where most of what I'm making will eventually end up since I already have a lifetime supply of journals for myself and so few friends who would appreciate such a gift or don't already make their own.

I not only really enjoy the process shown in her 21 Secrets video, but it has finally broken me of stopping too soon, of being worried about covering up that cool thing I just put on there.

<conversation in my head> There's lot more cool things around! Just do it! And if you use the last one, oh well. You bought them to USE, right? Right!

I'm loving these....

artist date with Rhonda (and Roben-Marie)

Rhonda came over for the day and we made art!

Roben-Marie inspired art, to be specific.

I've long admired her style - the countless layers, the colors, the shapes, the doodles - but it's not a style that comes naturally to me. At all.

So we sat down at the computer, dialed up Roben-Marie's blog, studied several of her pieces closely, then proceeded to do our own take on her unique style. These are on 9"x12" watercolor paper.

Very fun. It wasn't a quick process and it looked like a bomb went off in my studio by the time we were done rampaging thru all my stuff looking for just the right stamp/stencil/ink/marker etc, but it was a lot of fun and I really like my pages.

I like the bottom one best overall but there are parts of the top one that I love, such as the flower on the right edge. Looking at it on my screen as I type, it looks dimensional. Also like the 3 circles along the left side.

The bottom one is more in my color comfort zone and I like that the chevrons are in smaller chunks and that the white scallops turn corners.

Next time I'll pay more attn to doing things in threes than I did this time. It's bugging me now, looking at some of the elements that I only did twice (lookin at YOU, red circles).

Also don't like that my big curve sorta looks like it's supposed to be a stem for the flower (it isn't) but that I missed getting it lined up lol.

 Anyway, tons of fun. Thanks, Rhonda!