Words I will journal by.

Create. Learn. Try. Believe you can.

Thursday 23 March 2017

A PA Challenge entry

A warm welcome to all.
It seems very trivial to post this entry to the current PaperArtsy Blog challenge Here in the light of the awful events that have taken place in London and the devastating impact this dreadful act of hatred has had on so many people. And yet, the trivial everyday actions of us all must carry on 'as usual', though we might be numbed for a time by these senseless acts, to show these unseen, unknown enemies of peace and democracy that we are not cowed by this. I know that I hugged my husband, daughters and granddaughters, and wider family and friends, a little more closely to me today.
And therefore I post this recent art work based on the current PA challenge: Doors, windows, Architecture.  I chose to create a rather whimsical 'window' through a page in my small, square 8" X 8" art journal.
I love art journaling. It gives me such freedom to explore different media and different ideas but I often find myself coming back to a particular set of techniques that is heavily influenced by the very talented, generous, encouraging Kate Crane. And this project was just such an example. As it progressed (apart from creating a window I had no idea where it would end up) I became very aware of Kate's influence on it,  to such an extent that I wondered if I should even enter it in the PA challenge under my own name. It made me wonder if there can ever be a truly original idea in art? Surely we are all influenced by other artists, especially those we admire! Yet, there is a fine line between influence and inspiration and copying. Thus the page title! Kate generously allowed me to contribute this to the PA blog but I want to make clear that many of the techniques I explain here were hers first! You can see Kate's own gorgeous work Here. So how did I begin?
As I wanted each page to contrast with each other, allowing the contrasting colour to peep through the window (Kate's idea I've borrowed many times) I set about choosing some of my favourite PA Fresco chalk paints. Of course one of the pages would be in my 'go-to' colours of pinks/ oranges/ yellows.
 
I've used DecoArt Tinting base to add opacity to the more transparent colours and to help create different tones and hues with just the four colours. Another Kate technique. I dry brush these paints onto the page taking time to blend them until I'm happy with the result. It's very easy to blend Fresco paints. 
Again these were blended using the Tinting base with the paints. I'm addicted to this Tinting base. 
The next layer (after marking out where the window would be cut) was some stencilling, using a variety of stencils with the same paints as I used on the blended paint layer. Another very effective technique I learned from Kate. I also scraped a little of one of the blue paints across the page, just a few times. This would help bring both pages together once the window revealed the lower image. I used an old credit card to do this. Then similarly on the following page.
I generally apply layers in a sequence of paint, stencil, mark making, stamping. Sometimes repeated and not always in that order.  I've also added paint on both pages using a little piece of Lego, raided from the grandfairies' stash of Lego. Hope they don't miss it. A great tip from Kate! 
So here you see the mark making with bottle tops, edges of a credit card and more 'stamping' with odd bits of Lego. Kate is famous for her mark making tips and has a good collection of bottle tops. I'm an avid collector now myself! 
This is a close-up of the lower page revealing different marks made with Little Black Dress and Snowflake as well as the blue paints. Now for some stamping.
And a little doodling. A further tip I picked up from one of Kate's DVDs is to add marks with Ranger's Liquid pearls. This is the first time I tried that. Lovely. You can see that I have now stamped the houses in place which will become the main focus on both pages, although only one will be visible through the window. The stamps Ive used are: a mini PaperArtsy house, MN 23 ( I use that one all the time' love it)  and a Carabelle-studio stamp: sa60150. Now I needed to stamp out all the main images on PaperArtsy smoothly paper. The 280gms is perfect for this. I also stamped on some Tumblefish Studio background papers as I wanted to add collaged papers to the houses.
Here I've stamped the mini house several times (sorry, no number on the card) and some of the whimsical flowers from a new set by Elenazinski Art who designs for PaperArtsy: ZA07. I intended to paint the flowers using similar colours to the painted pages but use the collage papers for the little houses.
Now for some fussy cutting before choosing appropriate paint colours and cut out collaged images for the pages. 
Having cut out the window that I had previously marked, I used the collage papers to create a border around the frame. This would later be doodled on to really make it pop. 
It now only needed added text to sum up my feelings about using so many of Kate's techniques.
I love these pages. I love creating windows or cut away pages that offer a glimpse to the page below. It looks so intriguing.
So, what do you think? Did I cross the line? Id love you to leave a comment with your thoughts. Until next time! Happy Crafting! 







28 comments:

  1. No, you didn't cross the line. You have your own style to this, and also your fab sense of colour! You have made many choices of your own and created a unique piece of art.
    We are all influenced by, not just pieces of art and artists, but by everything around us. It is a joyous piece to brighten our day! Xx

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    1. Oh thank you for that reassurance Hazel! And Thankyou for visiting.

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    2. You are very welcome. All of the marks were guided by your hand. Even with a model to follow, it's still very hard to get the balance of composition that you have achieved. Xx

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  2. You have not crossed the line at all Chris. This is your creation created by your own hands. I too question if there is such a thing as true originality as we all learn by influence of others. Artists sharing their ideas and techniques plant the creative seed and its up to us how we decide to cultivate it... It's a dynamic piece Chris, you should be so proud of it! Hugs Tracey x

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    1. Thankyou Tracey. I really value your comment xxx

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    2. Your welcome Chris, Thank you for sharing xx

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  3. Gorgeous pages Chris. Inspired by, wirh a Chris take on it all!

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  4. Love your pages Chris, and your dilemma is one that most of us go through at some stage. Learning techniques taught to us and using those techniques in your own way, provides a connection in art that is unique. To be inspired and to inspire others is like a golden thread that weaves itself throughout the art and brings us all together. Xx

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    1. Oh Debs. I love this response. It has moved me to tears actually. I love this idea of a 'golden thread' of another person's inspiration appearing in our own work. Thankyou for this thought. It really helps xxxx

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  5. Chris, this is beautiful! I think it is definitely your own because when any of us creates we do so with our own hearts and hands and it becomes something of ourselves. We would, as you yourself point out, not really learn if we never tried the techniques of other artists. The important thing is that we acknowledge our debt. I love what Deborah says above about the golden thread - so true. This is why Art links us in this divisive world. xx

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    1. Oh my goodness, yes! This is such a beautiful thought Julie Ann, that in spite of the recent acts of hatred and division, art can leap those divisions and be a unifying force for good. Thank you so much for this uplifting comment xxx

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  6. No, you definitely didn't cross the line. Every artist has been influenced by another. That's why you study artists' work in art education. It's also why artists share their work and processes so often these days. It's an honour and as long as the influence is named, they can only be more than a little bit chuffed. By the way, this is so wonderful. It's easy to see Kate's influence, but it's very definitely yours. Fabulous 😍

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    1. Thank you Wendy. I so agree that the artist who provides the inspiration and especially the techniques should be rightfully acknowledged. I also messaged Kate to ask if she minded this being uploaded to the PA website. Not surprisingly, she so generously and very encouragingly agreed. She is a star.

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  7. Chris,
    Wow, this is beautiful. I have to comment on your opening I can feel your heart all the way to the USA. I also believe there is no place for hatred or bulling in our world thank you for being you. This is a time in our world where we must build each up and be as kind as possible to everyone. Now on to the art. I agree we are all influenced by others that is why we study art. That being said you can never truly copy an artist because they have developed a style that is their own you can use the same techniques and come up with something totally different. In fact when I see something that inspires me so much it's impossible for me to get the same exact look.

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    1. Thank you so much for this encouraging comment Colleen. It has really lifted me. It has also got me thinking. You are so right when you say that you can never truly copy an artist. Kate Crane's art work has a definite quality that is difficult to explain but it's instantly recognisable. Totally unique to her. Thankyou for this reassurance xxx

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  8. I think that we are all inspired by one another, we may use the same techniques, but the final result will always be different. This is clearly shown in your creation, as you have made it your own.

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  9. Love the depths of the backgrounds with all the layers of stamping, doodling and stencilling.
    As long as you don't copy someone's work in an identical fashion publishing it without credits, you should feel free to do whatever you like. Learning a technique from someone or taking inspiration from someone's style that is something all artists do in the developing of their own style.

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    1. Thank you for such an encouraging, reassuring comment!

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  10. Great contrasting colours ! Fabulous project !

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  11. Very Kate Crane-ish Chris....was surprised to see that I could comment on your blog as most I cannot...Love it and especially the houses peeping through the window!! Great interpretation on the brief.....Pat Crossland (aka CCA)

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  12. Oh, I love it! What a sad place it would be if we did not share and teach what we have learned from others.

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