Author: Clare at CatsEatDogs

Artist Trading Cards part two

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I should be calling this my ‘opposite project’! I rarely work in layers and I hardly ever use stencils and I almost always add some collage. For these cards I have used multiple layers, added no collage and I love it! I took the cards off the cutting mat and mixed them up and stuck them back to make a gelli print using white gesso and a leafy plant. I must confess that this was a stage where I could have hated it once I peeled off the gel plate, but I didn’t. Once the paint was dry, I grabbed an Inktense pencil and loosely traced the botanical shape then gave it a spray of water. At last it was time to separate the cards and see them individually to decide what was next. I grabbed my waterproof black ink and a vintage nib pen and added some simple plant shapes, gave the whole lot a splatter of gold and called them done. I am pleased I gave layering a try and I am even …

Making Artist Trading Cards.

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I started this project completely backwards!  I cut out my nine cards and then promptly put them back together into a rectangle in order to paint and play on them all at once.  I really should have done all the painting and stenciling then cut them up, but that is what happens when there is no plan, just the decision to make something. As it has turned out, putting them all together on a cutting mat, held down with masking tape, is working out and I this way I can take them up and rearrange them to carry on mark making. Now I have painted, spray painted and stenciled, I am going to mix the cards up and see what marks I can make. Layering is not usually something I do, but I am enjoying this and I am excited to see where it ends up, I am also slightly nervous that I will add a layer and wish I could remove it! Let’s see what happens. Happy Wednesday x    

Weekend Finds.

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I have been a little remiss in writing for a while and I have no rhyme or reason for this, I seemed to grind to a halt in posting the 100 day project this year.  I finished my 100 day Project – 100 days of Creating with Blue and you can find it here on Instagram if you fancy a peek. This weekend our local antique shop was open for the first 7 days of the month, so today being the first of the month, we went to see what was there. I found a few things to use in my art which always makes me happy! No this awl is not broken or worn down, it is a teeny spike! Perfect for bookbinding.  The nib pen is a Esterbrook No. 7 Drawlet dip pen and works very nicely, it is a thick line to write or draw with but very smooth, so no complaints. I am always on the lookout for doilies to use with the gelli plate, so I thought these were  a …

Holiday art journal/sketchbook all filled up.

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I filled my holiday sketchbook!  I made the sketchbook before I went on holiday at the beginning of June, the post about that is here. I didn’t put a million pages in because I wanted to be able to fill it and I could have done with a few more to be honest! On the inside cover I swatched the paints I took and for the inside ephemera I used books I found in the ‘outside’ section of Parnassus books in Yarmouthport, MA.  This is where the less worthy books reside and prices don’t exceed $3.00. Bargain! I bought a 1938 book called Gloucester and Cape Ann for $2.00 and The American Almanac Year-Book Cyclopedia and Atlas for 1903 for $3.00. Both full of pictures I could use. I also found a tub of vintage photos at the Wellfleet flea market, so I used some of them in my art journal along with stickers and bits and bobs I found along the way.  I even managed to get a print from a crocheted doily I …

Get Messy Season of Starting

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‘Start where you are’ is my motto for the beginning of this new season over at Get Messy Art. I am on vacation with limited supplies and no book making stuff. So I made a quick trip to the local and historic hardware store and picked up a roll of kraft paper and a three inch wide paintbrush. How cool is this place! I unrolled a nice long piece of paper and cut it to size with some mini scissors (that took a minute and I have very ‘organic’ edges) which I then concertina folded and glued between two cut down paper bags. While I squashed this one flat under some heavy books, I carried on to make more books! I then persuaded some more of the tightly rolled paper to lay flat with a couple of books from the cottage we are staying in. I had three sheets ready to paint on, so I made some marks and brush strokes to get my pages moving in the direction of a mini art journal or …

Eventually, I am reading ‘A Gentleman in Moscow’

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I am very late to this party, in fact I think I may have arrived in time to sweep the floor, but I am pleased I came because it is so good! People have been recommending this to me literally since it was published and each time I read the synopsis, I have not been moved to read it. However, now I am a captive audience on holiday with the local library to entertain me, so I grabbed a copy and it is captivating. Each page is crying out to be made into a Wes Anderson movie! I am only part way in and it is looking like I may finish it before we go home. The large print was the copy I grabbed but I don’t mind because I am a secret member of the ‘I love large print’ club! Happy Thursday x