Here follows some embossing powder ideas I came up with in my art journal.
Yesterday, 02/05/2020, I was reading the entry for the day in ‘Wonderland’ (by Brett Westwood and Stephen Moss). It was a sensory description of the sand lizard and how they need the sun warmed sand to incubate their eggs. I was inspired to create a page about them using embossing powders.
Embossing powders can add so much texture and excitement to a page and in my art journal layout this week I have combined them with micro beads to imitate the lizard’s patterned, scaly skin.
But sometimes going from inspiration to idea to completed page is not straightforward. So …. I have included my process with the aim of helping you develop your own independent process.
Firstly I went for a ride on Google, looking for sand lizard pics. I found a few and then imagined a few page layouts. This is not disimilar to illustration work except I didn’t need to show anyone my ideas.
I did sketch up my favourite idea though, see left, and once I had it I enlarged it on my art journal page. Next I selected supplies, choosing natural colours of paint, embossing powder, beads and paper. At this point I planned the order of tasks for my layout. I find this really helps me complete a page despite all the usual household disruptions ….
It went something like this:
- Paint background
- Create masks of lizard and stripe and grass
- Stencil inside lizard shape and stripe shape
- Place grass masks and stencil with size and emboss lizard
- Emboss sky
- Emboss sand
- Add lettering
I discovered that tracing paper was not a substantial enough mask to use with the size and that my background of the lizard was not dark enough for the masking with grass to give a shadow effect so I could have left this bit out. I find it’s always helpful to think briefly about what could have gone better but to accept the ‘mistakes’ as they are.
I hope this give you some tricks to try with your own art journal pages.
Hugs, Ceri xx
