Another month

February already! I had been meaning to make a new wallpaper, but I didn't get around to it. February just came so fast all of a sudden.

But, I finally took up a paintbrush again! I experimented with some lessons from Juliana Coles in "Extreme journaling". And I'm keeping up with my weekly sketching!

This week I felt more like making a kind of fantasy girl:

I like to switch back and forth between more life-like drawings and these big-eyed girls :-)

And here's how my journalpage started out:

Lots of black (not my favorite ....) and lots of text

doing an assignment and then incorporating what came out of that into the journalpage. For me these images represented what this page was about

trying to quiet down the background. Not easy with all the black

so out came the gesso!

for me this page was to be about Australia, and how homesick I sometimes feel for this beautiful country that I've lived in for more than 3 years. So I used colours that remind me of Australia

adding the blue of the oceans and the sky

and then suddenly finding another creature in there

And this is the finished page:

In Juliana's workshops text plays an important role, which is also the reason why I like her work.

Someone on Facebook commented that I should "fix the eye and get rid of the fish". But every single thing on this spread has a certain meaning for me and a reason why I made it like I did. Extreme journaling isn't about making pretty pages, it's about digging inside yourself and letting out what's in there. And I just loved how everything came to me while I was working on it. Definitely a great way to journal!

That's what I did this week. And now I want to show you a surprise I got in the mail from a dear friend of mine: Jackie from "creating without crayons". She makes the most beautiful stuff, and is always so inventive in how she uses her materials. Take a look at her blog, she always shows progress-pics and it's great to see how her creations are "born":-)

Beautiful tag with a real flower on there! (good thing that I don't live in Australia anymore, it would never have gotten past customs ...)

And look at that gorgeous paper! I'm going to scan it and use it in future projects :-)

So I was a very happy girl :-) Thank you Jackie ♥

I'm linking to Paint Party Friday once again. I'm so happy that this party keeps going. It feels as if so many people stop blogging, and going instead to Instagram, but I still like to read and see a bit more and get to know the person behind the art. 

Well, this is a long post already, but I'll throw in some funnies anyway :-)

And some sweet / wise ones:

Have a great day and thank you for paying a visit! I'll be back next week ♥ ♥ ♥

Playing

Trying to find a way around my recent resistance to painting, I remembered some small exercises from Fonda's workshop. And these got me going :-) I didn't touch my canvas yet, but I did paint this week and had lots of fun too!

These are creatures found in paint on scraps of paper (that I would normally throw out, but now I found an new use for it :-) )

They will be used as collage material, as well as these next ones: one-line drawings with my non-dominant hand:

I also made 2 sketches this week, to keep up with my plan to make a sketch every week this year. I skipped the first week (since I only planned to do this in the second week) so I was a week behind. With these two I'm on schedule, and I plan to keep going!

This one counts for week 1

And this is for this past week:

And I've also been playing in my art journal this week. Another one of my new year's resolutions is to finish every single workshop I have on my computer. I tend to start one, but then life gets in the way and I forget all about it. Last week I have been watching video's from Juliana Coles "Extreme journaling", and have been preparing a few backgrounds. Nothing finished yet, so not much to show. Here's a sneak peek of one of the pages:

And that's it for now! I'm linking this to Paint Party Friday, and looking forward to seeing what everyone's been up to last week.

Thanks so much for your visit and for leaving comments! I'll leave you with some funnies :-)

And also some to think about ....

Take care of yourself and have a great day!
I'll be back next week ♥ ♥ ♥

Still not painting

I don't know what it is, but I just Don't.Feel.Like.Painting. I look at my painting, I look at my brushes, I think of the lessons in Fonda's workshop I still want to try, and .... nothing. I can't bring myself to do it. It feels like so much hassle. Really weird. I hope this is just a passing phase, and that it'll pass real quick!

In the meantime, I'm drawing. I got out my alcohol-markers again. This one is not finished, I want to put text around her and I have some ideas in my head, but I'm not sure how and what yet. So for now I'll just post her like she is now:

And I did another sketch. I want to make one every week this year, although I already missed the first week. So I'll have to make one extra some time. But I like sketching again, and it only requires a sketchbook and my pencil-case. Less hassle than painting ;-)

And that's it for this week! I'm not being very productive at the moment, guess I'm still a bit in holiday mood :-)

So it's time for the funnies:

and the other ones ...

Linking this to Paint Party Friday. Thanks for your visit and your comments! Really appreciate it :-)

Hope you're having a great day! I'll be back next week ♥ ♥ ♥