Spice up your art journal with this fun, easy watercolor, and embellishing technique. Combining beautiful watercolor backgrounds, alternative papers, mixed media, and rubber stamps, you will learn how to make intriguing additions and backgrounds that will liven up any page in your art journals. Starting with gorgeous, colorful watercolor washes, your pages will be the perfect backdrop for adding interest and words of inspiration. We will add our favorite and inspiring quotes, poetry, words of wisdom, as well as your own words. We will also add pockets, and other dimensional items to add a component of mystery and engage the reader to explore beyond the flat surface of the page. Artists are very tactile and inserting dimensional objects adds a component of pretty surprises, enticing exploration beyond the flat dimension of the page. We will be experimenting how to enhance our of exciting ways to enhance your journal pages using different papers, stencils, stamps, and various pens and ink. This is a great way to start or finish a journal page with flair! All levels welcome.

Materials Fee $20 paid at beginning of class includes:

• Extra watercolor paint samples.
• Artist tape
• A variety of pens, inks, water-soluble pencils. Colored markers
• Water-soluble pens
• Shipping tags, page dividers, library pockets, index card dividers
• Stencils
• Inks
• Sponges
• Other types of papers
• Gesso
• Texture makers
  

Supplies Needed  to bring for Class:

• Top quality watercolor paints (not student grade!) I suggest you start out with top quality brands such as Daniel Smith, Windsor Newton, Holbein, or Sennelier with at least 6 colors, a warm and a cool of yellow, red, and blue. Suggested colors: COOL YELLOW: Lemon yellow or Hansa yellow light, WARM YELLOW; new Gamboge or quinacridone gold, COOL RED: Permanent rose or quinacridone rose, WARM RED: Permanent red or Windsor red, WARM BLUE: French ultramarine blue, COOL BLUE: cobalt blue. Optional colors include: Permanent orange, Permanent Magenta, Manganese blue, quinacridone purple, French vermilion, quinacridone burnt orange, and rich green gold. Check out my blog post for ideas of a well-rounded watercolor palette: http://djnewbold.blogspot.com/2017/12/a-well-rounded-watercolor-palette.html
• A watercolor palette such the Mijello Fusion AirTight Watercolor Palette (18 Wells) to hold your paints
• Watercolor brushes in a variety of sizes such as Princeton Brush & Co. Series 4050: round #3, round #8, ½ inch flat, and a liner brush size #2 or #4. Optional - A scrubby brush such as Cheap Joe’s Fritch Scrubber brush, size lifter 6 or 8
• Arches cold press watercolor block 7 x 10 inches or your watercolor journal
• Pencil and kneaded eraser
• Uni-Ball UM 153 Signo white gel pen
• A black glaze gel pen by Sakura
• An old painting brush for spreading gesso
• Your favorite ink pens
• Small cotton cloth or washcloth
• Small spray bottle
• Ribbons
• Washi tape
• Exato knife
• Photographs, memorabilia, favorite quotes, and poetry

Optional: Alphabet and patterned stencils, rubber stamps, Posca or Sharpie oil-based paint pens, Pentel Slicci metallic gel pens