I was lost and didn’t want to be found!  Lost in the play that is. As I added paint to this art journal page, I was guided by the abstract shapes gel printed directly in my art journal. I even had a crazy thought about keeping some white space.

Watch Abstract Art Journal Play that Started with a Gel Print on YouTube.

How did I make that background on the page?  Using hot glue and cardboard with a Gel Press plate.  You can see how  in this video.

Are these yellow circles inner tubes floating down the river or yellow sunshine donuts? This was the great question on my mind as I began covering up all the white space on the page in my Dylusions journal.  There was so much white space that I was driven to cover it all up with color.

When I started using the teal, I toyed with the idea of painting carefully around all of the pattern on the page.  But that much precision doesn’t bring me joy.

As much as I wanted to cover all the white space with color in the beginning, it was a surprise to me when I began to entertain the idea of leaving some of the white space.  I thought about it for a bit, but the color won out.

To write on the paint, I used a fountain pen.  For fine writing on paint, fountain pens provide one big advantage, they can take a lot of paint abuse because there are few working parts to clog up.  Since the ink flows down the nib, it is easier to remove any paint or paint residue from it when it builds up.  And if you’re writing on paint, it will build up.

Since I am not a huge fan of my legible writing, I used a stencil to help me write the title for this page.The very fine tip of a fountain pen makes it a breeze to get in to a stencil. The Wall of Words stencil has a plethora of words on it so I scanned through them looking for the ones that fit this page.

The words, this moment, reminded me of the good feelings I felt when I was totally lost in the play and color as I made this page.

Thanks for stopping by for today’s play.  Want to join in the fun of art journaling?  Check out my free workshop, Permission to Play, which is all about mixed media art journaling and play.

You know that feeling of clarity and focus you have when inspiration strikes?  When there is no doubt as to what you should do.  That’s NOT what was happening here.  I had no clarity. No focus.  Every decision was full of doubt because of that inner perfectionist pestering me.

So what do I do when I have days like this?  I play and laugh at how serious (and ridiculous) the perfectionist in my head is being.  After all, am I negotiating world peace here or is this just paper?

The play began with a bit of Gelatos and Gel Press play.  Was the perfectionist in my head happy with this? Not one iota.  Red and gray? Really. 4 circles? How could you!  

When I used the flower stamp by Darkroom Door, the teal paint was acceptable to that voice in my head, but not where I put it on the paper.  Just can’t seem to make a perfectionist happy no matter what I do.  All I could say to that was O.O.P.S.  These were Outstanding Opportunities Presenting Suddenly.  Needless to say the perfectionist was not amused.

This is where I am today, dealing with my inner perfectionist so I decided to capture that on the page. While I was stenciling with my Are We There Yet stencil, the that voice was not amused by my attitude, so she generously pointed out that this art journal page was not my best and definitely would not cut it as a piece of art.  Really? I thought this was art journal page and I was not working on a commission for the Queen.  

Of course, if the Queen would like an art journal page I will happily oblige…unless it is a spammer on Facebook, but those just tend to be princes.

All the scribble journaling on this page is me laughing at how ridiculous those cranky, demanding, and incredibly judgmental perfectionist thoughts have been throughout this play. She really didn’t appreciate that so she turned it up a notch and became even more frustrated with me.

There are 4 red circles but only 3 teal flowers.The angle of the one flower is not like the others. How could you!  Oh the humanity!

The ornery part of me rather enjoyed frustrating and irritating that inner perfectionist as I made this art journal page.

Here are the supplies I used. Some of these links are affiliate links which means I get a small percentage. It doesn’t cost you anything extra and it helps keep the free tutorials coming!