It was a “P” day in my art journal….not only play but pink & polka dots & Paris!  The bones or structure of this page has some color on it but not nearly enough for me.  And along the way, I made a new friend, Phil, who was very helpful with the polka dots…which infected me with Polka Dot Fever.

In the video, I’m sharing how using a stencil twice makes it easy to add to touches of color here and there and everywhere…turns out Polka Dot Fever increases the need to rhyme.

Watch Paris Polka Dots Art Journaling Tutorial Part 2 on YouTube.

See part 1 here.

You can see how this page started in this post using some fun images from Tumble Fish Studio and Hidden Vintage Studio and a gel print.

You’re probably wondering how that gel print was used to start this page since you can barely see it in the finished one.  Check out last week’s post and you’ll see how it all came about.

Phil, the O.O.P.S.

I ordered a bunch of brushes but apparently hit the wrong button because I ended up with a bunch of filbert brushes, which were new to me since I usually use a flat brush.

But it was an Outstanding Opportunity Presenting Suddenly because I am in love with these brushes I now affectionately call Phil.

Phil was just perfect for watercoloring in her polka dots.

Polka dot fever, which sounds a lot like a medical condition for artists, had overtaken me by this point.  The Circles Layer Me stencil has 2 sizes of dots that can be layered on top of each other to create a plethora of pattern possibilities.  In the video, you see how you I customize the pattern to the mood of the page.

The pink was a bit addictive for me so I added touches of it back onto the building by putting the Opera House stencil back on the page and selectively stenciling the windows.

That green you see at the top of the page…it wasn’t green paint…it was yellow. Yellow and blue make green after all! A final touch of scribble journaling and my thoughts were captured on the page.  After all, couldn’t leave any blank spots!

Want to know more about art journaling from how to start a page to easy color theory for using the rainbow to how to deal with ugly pages – then check out my Art Journaling FUNdamentals workshop and join the play!

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 you are helping me keep this blog and my videos ad free! Thank you- I don’t like ads any more than you do!

InLinkz.com

Eyesight is a rather useful sense and it’s one I count on quite a bit when creating.  So to help myself let go of control for this Let’s Play video, I’m painting blindfolded.  Can’t see a thing and it shows!

What is Let’s Play?  It’s all about rediscovering the ability to play. Each month I share a specific strategy that helped me recapture the freedom and fun of play.  This month’s theme is letting go of control. You can see more of the Let’s Play series here.

Mad respect for artists, like John Bramblitt, who use touch to do what most of us do with our eyes.  My sense of touch is not very impressive…I could barely tell if I had my fingers in paint let alone distinguish the textures of different paints, which he does.

Watch Blind Painting in my Art Journal on YouTube.

I’ve done this before (you can see a video of it here) and I know my sense of touch isn’t my strongest sense by a mile. In my first attempt at blind painting, I thought it would be easy to know when my brush or a finger was in the paint but it was nearly impossilbe.

But I learn from my experiences, so this time I set up my supplies and workspace differently.  How I positioned my supplies helped me know where my colors were located.  That helped…but not as much as I had anticipated.

Of course, I’m using my eyes to set it up. Every time I paint this way the respect I have for those who don’t have luxury of sight grows exponentially.

What I thought I was painting and what I actually painted were 2 very different things.  Full brushes of paint turned out to be barely a streak of color.

What I did without my eyes was a starting place for the next layers of play.  For these layers, I used my eyes but surprisingly left lots of white space.

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 you are helping me keep this blog and my videos ad free! Thank you- I don’t like ads any more than you do!

InLinkz.com

Now you’ve seen my play, let’s see yours!  Share what you’re creating with us all in the Facebook group and be inspired by what others are creating! And be sure to leave a comment here to get entered in the monthly $50 gift certificate giveaway!

Want to see more Let’s Play videos? You can find all the weekly posts here.

Sharing your play:   I, and a whole bunch of others, would love to see what you’re creating!  We’re sharing it in the Facebook group called A Colorful Place to Play. Why Facebook?  I’ve listened to your feedback about how and where you’d like to share your play instead of the link parties.

Monthly giveaways:  Leave comment on any (and all for more chances) of the weekly Let’s Play blog posts to be entered and one winner each month will be chosen by random.org.  Want more chances to win a $50 gift certificate to DickBlick.com?  Pin any of the images from the page or share about it on Facebook- then come back and leave a comment telling me what you did and you can have more chances to win! Giveaway closes the Sunday,October 3rd at 11 pm EST and the winner will announced on the blog the following Monday.

Congrats to Barbara, last month’s winner!