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The journey of a mixed media canvas from the good, to the bad,and the ulgy by Carolyn Dube

There was a collision of the good, the bad, and the ugly in today’s play as I dealt with one of my hoarding tendencies.  This canvas began long ago, and it just sat.  That is until today, when I realized the opportunity in the O.O.P.S. was to use up a hoarded treasure…one that other people might call trash.

Watch  The Good, the Bad, the Ugly…and the Hoarder on YouTube.

Many moons ago, this canvas began as random stencil play with my Iron Grates stencil.  There were parts I loved, but it so needed something else.

The journey of a mixed media canvas from the good, to the bad,and the ulgy by Carolyn Dube

So I took the big risk, and added lots of black paint with Flora Bowley’s Bloom True flower and my Use Your Words stencil.  And it just sat at this layer.  For months and months, or maybe even a year.

The journey of a mixed media canvas from the good, to the bad,and the ulgy by Carolyn Dube

What got me playing with this canvas again? Leftover scraps of paper from die cutting that I had been hoarding as if they were made of platinum. Perhaps they were secret  art platinum from the muse, because without those scraps, this canvas would have stayed ignored on the shelf.

The journey of a mixed media canvas from the good, to the bad,and the ulgy by Carolyn Dube

Then came the color. Paint for the treasured squares went as I expected but the feel of the oil pastels in my hand was addictive.  So I might have added a bit more of it than planned, but plans are flexible when it comes to art play.

The journey of a mixed media canvas from the good, to the bad,and the ulgy by Carolyn Dube

All that black paint that made me cringe in the moment, but it turned out to be just the O.O.P.S. this canvas needed.  It took a while too find the opportunity in it, but it finally ended up where it was meant to be.  Good thing my muse is patient with me.

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!

 


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Letting myself just play in my art journal by asking what if...and it went through some ugly layers in the video but in the end created a map of the Land of What If

What if? This is the question that I asked in my art journal today. This page went through a lot, including some very ugly layers.  Since this was what if play, it didn’t matter if a layer was ugly.  It didn’t matter if it had no direction.

It only mattered that I asked what if.  Little did I know I was making a map as I was letting myself get lost in the play.

Watch Letting myself get lost in the art journal play on YouTube.

Building on an old background, I began smearing paint and adding pattern with stencils.  That yellow paint was slow to dry, since there was so much of it, which led me to asking what if with a baby wipe.  After all, I seem to have a subconscious need to avoid heat guns.

Letting myself just play in my art journal by asking what if...and it went through some ugly layers in the video but in the end created a map of the Land of What If

Oh, did it go through some ugly stages!  But that didn’t matter because smearing paint around brought me joy. I even ended up with a bout of pink polka dot fever.  Letting myself just play in my art journal by asking what if...and it went through some ugly layers in the video but in the end created a map of the Land of What If

The word “what” was redone with my Ransom Alphabet stencil, and I am proud to let my first grade teacher know that it wasn’t because of misspelling (this time at least).

Letting myself just play in my art journal by asking what if...and it went through some ugly layers in the video but in the end created a map of the Land of What If

As I stenciled the 3 Cutouts Inspired by Matisse, I began to see a forest.  I would love to visit a forest like that!  This is when the idea of a map took control of the page.Letting myself just play in my art journal by asking what if...and it went through some ugly layers in the video but in the end created a map of the Land of What If

Maps need towns, so I added castle towns with a mask from the Once Upon a Time stencil.  There was one feature still missing from this land, and that was water. A great big ocean was needed.

Letting myself just play in my art journal by asking what if...and it went through some ugly layers in the video but in the end created a map of the Land of What If

What types of places are in the Land of What If?  The Ocean of Inspiration and the City of Creativity of course!

Letting myself just play in my art journal by asking what if...and it went through some ugly layers in the video but in the end created a map of the Land of What If

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!


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Using a dried up paint palette to start a stenciled art journal page - video tutorial by Carolyn Dube (so there's an OOPS or 3 in it!)

What happens when I start with an old dried up paint palette, then start thinking about high school lit class, then make a series of OOPSies?  An art journal page!

You can find the video of the play in my guest post at StencilGirl Talk!

Be sure to check out the end of video where I analyze the symbolism on this page…and spoiler alert, my English teacher probably wouldn’t have liked my attitude about it!

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