Halloween Art Journal Page

I posted the background for this art journal page a while ago  as I was comparing acrylic markers, I added some doodling which I completed using my white and colored gel pens.  I really wanted to add something to the page to finish it off but couldn't come up with an idea for it.  As I was sketching one evening this character appeared on the page, I colored her with my Uni-Posca Markers, added some gel pen, cut her out and attached her to the page.  She really had the look of Halloween about her and decided to keep with that theme and added spiders and bats.  I was happy with it although in the future I'd probably enlarge her slightly so she became more of a focal point.

 I love the colors on this page and might consider doing another page in the  future because I think this would be so adorable with an undersea theme instead of Halloween.  But I had Halloween on the mind....... Happy Halloween.  

So this page shows me using a variety of different white pens, I was testing to see how opaque five different pens were when used continuously.  I used the Gelly Roll Sakura Medium, Uni-ball Signo White UM-153, the Uni-ball Signo Um-120 Angelic,  the Uni- Posca 1 mm Extra Fine, and the Uni-Posca 3mm bullet tip.  I actually loved them all and can find opportunities to use all five pens, in fact purchased more of each one to have them on hand.  There is nothing quite like a good quality white opaque pen.  I did this page after my test sample that I shared with you earlier today and I am guessing you can easily figure out which ones were my personal favorites.

Through trial and error I have found the best place to purchase these pens is www.jetpens.com  They have the best prices, amazingly quick service, and free shipping with a $25.00 order.  Be careful though, I have found that it is often cheaper to purchase the pens individually rather than in a set, prices are slightly different.  Maybe they will change that in the future.  I first found out about Jet Pens through Joanne Sharpe and she was so right.  Give them a shot and see if you aren't equally happy.

Curious about your use of white opaque pens?

This journal page was completed using a combination of a Black Molotow One 4 All pen and a Montana Empty Extra Fine which I filled with Golden Carbon Black High Flow, I also own the regular black Montana prefilled pen in extra fine and it is an equally wonderful pen.  They both worked great and I honestly didn't have a preference.  So you may be asking yourself why I filled the empty Montana marker with the High Flow paint and I did it so that I could see how it would hold up with the Golden paint instead of the Montana refills.  I also like the sheen on the Golden paint better than the matte look of the Montana brand.  Both will have their uses.

The tip on the Molotow is slightly thicker than the Montana but depending on your use both were fantastic.  The border is a combination of the two black pens listed above, some of my Faber Castell Big Brush Pitt Pens, and a Micron 005 black permanent marker.  This was completed mostly for my own benefit but I decided to post it so you could see how the two black markers performed.  I like them both and will continue to purchase both pens as well as the Montana black prefilled.  The nice thing about both pens is that you can refill them when you run out of ink which will save in the long run.  

How Opaque are my Acrylic Markers and my Gel Pens? Testing Uni-ball, Gelly Roll, Molotow, Montana, Uni-Posca,Faber Castell and Sakura Products

Ok, so once I completed the test of my markers I wondered how opaque these brands would be on black card stock.  Once I started going through my stash I found a number of markers and pens that I wanted to test.  It was actually scary how many pens I own.  Maybe my husband was right when he saw me looking at pens online and mentioned that he thought I probably had enough......   HMMMM????  Awe, maybe not.  LOL.

I have seen a number of pen tests online through You Tube and Jet Pens which test in a similar manner and I actually liked how organized this seemed.  Now I have my cards which will be available when I am working on a project and want a specific style of pen.  This will be very useful.

It actually was an interesting test for me and I had some surprising results.  Some of the pens tend to "feather" out and appear to be out of focus on the page while others gave a super clear result and were actually the same size and same brand and had the same amount of use.  Consequently they came from the manufacturer this way.  Depending on your use would determine whether or not you were happy with that result, I can see ways that you could use those pens which would be fine.  I really noticed this in the Sakura Permapaque and the Faber Castell White Pitt Pen.  Of course the most precise lines came from the Gel Pens and the smaller acrylic paint pens.  You would expect that just because of the tip size.  When I compared the Sakura Permapaque to the Uni Posca I personally preferred the Posca Pen and think that I will continue purchasing those rather than the Permapaque.  I prefer a more precise line.  

Hmmm.......  Just thought of another test and in fairness to the Sakura brand, which I  prefer their Micron pens to any other permanent markers should do a full test of each of the Posca Pens like I did of the Sakura brand.  Look for that in the future.  

What are your thoughts?  I'd love to hear what you use?

Marker Comparison Part 2

I was actually taken aback at how popular my marker comparison was, in that post I promised a second comparison when I received my order for  refills and a new empty paint marker.  Here I have compared Molotow One 4 All in Black and White,  the Montana Acrylic Prefilled White as well as an Empty Montana Extra Fine marker which I added Golden Carbon Black in High Flow.  I also wanted to test my White Signo Gel Pen over black acrylic which you can see in the second page.  

I'm not sure that Montana markers endorse using the Golden High Flow Acrylic in the markers or not, I have not checked into that but considering how effective the paint has been in my empty Molotow markers I thought that I'd give it a try.  So far so good.  In a later post you will see a lettering page which was completed using a combination of both the Molotow and Montana Black markers.  

I laid down a base color to use the black and white markers over with Golden High Flow which I also have in some of my Molotow Paint Markers, you can see the size of each marker and the paint color listed under each square.  I have highlighted the marker that I am testing above each square.  I also did a quick test on the page to the right of two black markers as well as X and a wiggle line to the right of the squares.  

My test is actually more for myself so I can see how opaque my markers were over acrylic paint.  The Montana White tended to be less opaque than the Molotow White however I preferred the tip on the fine point Montana to the fine tip Molotow.  The Montana Empty Marker which I filled with Golden Carbon Black worked really well although until I got it to flow properly actually blobbed a bit on some of the tests.  Surprisingly my White Signo Gel Pen seemed to be the most consistent and the most opaque, the only drawback to these is that when empty you have to purchase a new pen.  My general thought is that all work really well and it is mostly a case of personal preference more than a quality issue.  So buy any brand and I feel very confident that you will be happy with your choice.  

8th Grade Mixed Media Project

Every so often I like to add a project to my curriculum which makes my students really think about the process and media that we are using.  I recently added a mixed media project for them to complete which has kind of rocked their world, in fact I heard from one student that this was a weird project.  LOL.  Made my heart sing to hear that... I knew for sure that I was making them stretch and think outside the box.  They are actually turning out really well.  I'm posting my class sample, when we get a few more completed I will post a few of theirs.

We began by collaging paper onto a piece of foamcore board, then added molding paste through a stencil and painted the background using either a monochromatic, analogous, or complementary color scheme.  The next stage was to sketch out a recognizable product which is popular in today's culture.  The lead in to this was a discussion about Andy Warhol and modernism.  We're not finished yet, I'm sure that I can rock their world a little more before I allow them to be finished.  

So far it has been an interesting experience for my students.  I will keep you all updated.  

Gelli Printed Mini Journal Part 2

Here is my mini journal which I gel printed a few weeks ago,  I sketched out words on deli paper, used my black permanent markers as well as a number of gell pen colors, then used Deco Art Decou-Page to attach the deli paper.  I'm not sure how much detail you can actually see in the words but I was happy with how the lettering fit the pages.  I now need to come up with something else to add to the journal.  I'm not sure if you can see but there is a pop out on the card and I really feel that it needs a character or maybe even a quote on it.  Hmmm???? Ideas?  

I finally remembered where I found this card, it was from the Feller's Arts Factory in Spokane Washington. http://www.fellersartsfactory.com/ I couldn't find these cards on their website but I'm sure if you contact them they can tell you if they still carry it.  

Marker Comparison of Uni Posca, Montana, and Molotow

As many of you are aware I am a huge marker fan.  In fact I pretty much love most art supplies, scary, but any of you who are also art supply junkies will understand.  I love all kinds of markers but have started using paint markers in the past year.  Since then I've collected a number of different brands and really wanted to compare them using some pretty simple comparisons.  Nothing terribly scientific but interesting none the less.  

I compared my Molotow Empty Markers which are filled with Golden High Flow Paints, the Montana brand of Acrylic Markers, and the Uni Posca Paint markers.  I did not include my Molotow prefilled markers in this comparison, mostly because I was out of the White ink and wanted to be able to test those when my order for white Molotow ink comes in.  If you look above you can see what I tested for....  

The first sample just shows the different tips that I have in markers and the ink/paint in the markers.  That is more for my information rather than a test.  The second photo shows the marker colors for the Uni Posca.   I then used both of my white markers Uni Posca markers in the 1mm and 3 mm size drawn over each paint color, here I was testing to see how opaque the white markers were when drawn over another color.  I've recently read some comments online that artists are concerned that their Uni Posca White markers are not always consistently opaque.  I did not have that problem until I used it over the black ink which can be seen in the third photo.  I also tested two of my white gel pens over the Posca ink and had issues with those as well.  Maybe the Black is more the problem rather than the white?  

My next test will be to test the Molotow brand white and black ink to test for their ability to be opaque over black.  HMMMM..... My order doesn't come until next week for the ink so will have to wait for that.  

Do you use markers?  What brand is your favorite and why????  

  

Art Journal using Montana and Molotow Markers

During a previous post I mentioned that I was using the empty Molotow paint markers and the Montana acrylic markers. I decided that I wanted to do an art journal page using the markers as my main media and also wanted to compare which brand I preferred.  I'm working in my Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal for this page.  It was fun and I was able to add multiple layers, the only problem that I had was that if I wasn't careful my paper started to deteriorate mostly due to the makers somewhat abrasive quality when mixed with water.  If I allowed each layer to dry, they dried quickly, which eliminated part of the problem.  I think the main problem was that I was spraying my page with water prior to applying the paint  markers.  I wanted to see if the paint colors would mix and blend as I worked and they did somewhat although not quite as well as I had hoped.  I was actually using the larger sized chisel markers with the Golden High Flow Paint, Phthalo Blue, Phthalo Green, and Dioxazine Purple.  I'm wondering if the markers don't lay down such a thin application of paint, which dried very quickly, that the paint didn't have time to blend, or if I had used watercolor paper I might have had better luck. Once the page was dry I was able to add more paint layers which had a lovely transparent quality.  You can see some of the transparent colors in this photo.

After I had the base layer on I decided that I needed some additional color and began applying yellow, red, and green to the mix.  Then added a white gel pen and black paint.  Everything that I have added has been either a gel pen or in the markers.  At first I wasn't crazy about the page but I have continued working on it adding some doodles and in the next post I will share where I am with the page.  I'm not sure if I will leave it or try to add something more.  

I had hoped that I could use the markers for a travel set of paints, I may still be able to do so if I used watercolor paper but found that on this bristol paper the paint did not want to mix and blend particularly well.  That doesn't bode well for travel painting.   I'm going to have to do more experimentation to see how I feel about the media.  Don't get me wrong, I love the markers and have used them frequently when doing layouts to add interest and detail especially when I am doodling but that wasn't the goal of this test.  So......... we will see how my next test goes.

I just discovered that Montana also carries an empty paint marker and I'm curious how it will work with the Golden High Flow Paint.  I'm going to have to read what the manufacturer recommends.

Gelli Printed Mini Journal

A number of years ago I purchased these small accordion folded cards from a couple from Spokane Washington who came to the school to do a one week mask making program and have been saving them for just the right project.  I can't remember their names but will find the information and post it. I wondered how they would work for Gell Printing.  I used the same paint colors which were used in the previous posts and printed this as I was using up the extra paint which was left on the Gelli Plate.  I decided that I didn't want it to be completely printed instead just wanted splots, how about that for new art vocabulary, of random color applied to this piece.  I found that I really liked it and added some stamping and some doodling to finish it off.  

The next step is to add words to the piece which I am working on in my spare time.  I'm adding the words to deli paper and then will adhere with Decou-Page.  What a marvelously easy process to add text to a project.  

These accordion folded cards are cut out of a metallic shimmery paper, this one is a blue grey color and is beautiful to start with but with the addition of the Gell Printing I think it is really stunning.  Once I get the words finished up and attached, I will post the finished piece.  I love how the center section pops out.  

Let me know what you think!!!  

Adding Sprays to your Gelli Prints.

Once in a while when I am printing on my Gell Plate I leave an amount of white space like you see in the print below and I like how the white appears as negative space while the colored images act as the positive space.  I've also added a stencil in the piece below but again used the negative image instead of the positive stenciled image.   In the piece you see above I used a similar technique leaving areas the white of the paper and then sprayed them with a colored spray.  I used the new Deco Art Media Misters, which I love, and used the yellow.  The moral of the story is to use your materials to make your prints come alive depending on the color and mood that you want to portray.  

What to do with Gelli Prints?

Here's a question for all of you.....  What to do with these gel prints?  I love these and have done some doodling on them with the addition of a small amount of journaling.  I have used them as backgrounds for my art journal, backgrounds for cards, backgrounds for paintings, and in my Decorative Painting which is one of my favorite uses.  I've also collaged them onto other mixed media pieces.  There are countless ways to use these prints and if you tune in to a new online E-Zine called the Pixelated Palette you will see two different articles that are coming in the near future showing how to use your Gelli Plate to make your Christmas Cards.  HMMMM!!!!  Have I sparked your interest?  Are you a subscriber?  I am and the cost is extremely reasonable.  

http://pixelatedpalette.net/

Here is another rendition of a print similar to the one shown above.  I love how random these are.   These were all printed during the same printing session and I used the same selection of paint colors on these but you can see how different the textures all appear depending on how I positioned my paper as well as how I added the texture with my finger.  

Do you use a Gelli Plate?  I'd love to hear how you use your printed pieces!  Any new ideas?