MIXED MEDIA MONDAY!

Yay! Thanks to wanting some posts scheduled, I took an entire day to play in the studio. I started with Pinterest for some tutorials I had on my boards. Then I grabbed a 9x12 Mixed Media Journal I'd purchased on clearance last fall. I decided I was going to actually USE one of them to play with some of the techniques. Will the pages be fabulous? Not anywhere close. But I am playing. I'm getting inky and paint under my nails (yeah, just in time to need them done for a wedding LOL) So for the remainder of the Mondays this month, you will see my first three pages. None of them are done. I want to go back and add some hardware and little touches. These are all just beginnings.

This first piece was inspired by Donna Downey at Design Memory Craft. Donna has some great tutorials on using the Gelatos by Faber-Castell. I LOVE  Gelatos and if someone doesn't mind some gently used basic colors, I might offer them up as a give-away at some point. I think I'm going to need the complete set - meaning I'll have some duplicate colors. I could also put them in my travel art bag. We'll see. For now...

If you're not familiar with Gelatos, they are a water-color 'stick' that comes in a tube similar to chapstick. This makes them really portable. You can create a palette tray as the video shows, dab a wet brush on the end and paint from there or scribble in an area then spread with a water brush. I usually don't use the last method unless I want some lines for interest because the initial scratch of the crayon tends to show.

I titled this one GARDEN COLLAGE because I used the Garden Collage stamp (retired) from SU as my focal point. I used the gelatos and sprays to put color everywhere as my foundation. The neat thing with selecting this Mixed Media Journal is that I did not have to prep anything... just dive right in spreading color.
The background color, though still soft does show up better in real life.

VIDEO:    Faber-Castell Design
Creating a watercolor palette using slices of Gelatos in a watercolor tray

RECIPE:
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & SU Melon Mambo
Gelatos: Pink, Violet, Lavender
Stamps:
Hero Arts (heart & Eiffel tower), Stampede (Love), InkaDinkaDo (script & post)
SU Garden Collage

Gelato Technique

I’m finally getting some time to play with the Gelatos and show them off.
These particular Gelatos are from Faber-Castell. FC makes a wide array of products… everything from a basic #2 pencil to expensive pens. But when it comes to their art product, like SU, they make them to work together. Whether you’re working with their colored pencils, makers or Gelatos, you can go back and forth from one to the other. However, FC is more of an ‘artist’ quality. Think the difference between Copic and Marvey markers. Gelatos have a very creamy texture, allowing them to keep their intensity.

You may purchase Gelatos in a variety of ways… by the entire color set, which includes glittery tones, as a 2pk coordinating (comes with a clear stamp so you can play right away!) or as a set with a matching pencil and marker combination. I first found the 2 packs at HL and Michaels. Of course, I now have all of them except the glitter tones. I was thrilled to find the complete set of all their colors at the stamp show in August, but couldn’t justify buying the entire set (around $60) just to get the 5 or 6 colors I don’t have. I’ll have to purchase those separately later.

As opposed to an actual project this time around, I chose to show the difference in ‘watercolor’ mediums… Derwent WC pencils, Gelatos, SU WC crayons.

Working with any of the three is very simple, but you will get different grades of effect from each. I've drawn three ovals on a sheet of paper pre-coated with white Gesso. You may skip the Gesso step by using a watercolor paper. I just have a stack of this paper I need to use so it's my 'test' paper. I'll use the ovals in future art journals. I kept to BLUE as it was the most easily matched between the three mediums.

The first one, I started with the Derwent WC pencil. I colored the entire oval in lightly, then went back over it with the water brush. You can see how the intensity changes by adding the liquid.

WC pencil

Completely filled in

With the pencil you get a nice tone but it's also 'watery'. If you tone down the water, you don't get the intensity. It's a trade-off depending on what you're after

Next I used the SU WC crayons. I believe it is Brilliant Blue

blended techniques

I went 2 different ways. As you can see the bottom part of the circle is darker. I created the darker tone by coloring directly to the paper the same way I did with the pencils. The top is a bit lighter - created by brushing the water brush across the crayon then applying it to the paper, pallet style.

And finally, the Gelato.  This is my favorite because of the creaminess. They don't lose their intensity with the water. 

Gelato

I used the same technique for the Gelato as I did the crayon. The bottom have is direct-to-paper while the top half is brush-to-stick. Notice the difference in the intensity between this and the crayon. Crayons consist of wax - wax and water don't mix. Whereas, Gelatos are a creamy paste and blend well without getting 'washed out'. If I'd played with this a bit more you would be able to see a shading/ blending from the the dark to the light as being almost seemless. Picture using this in reverse as a sky reflected in the water kind of thing.

One of the best YouTubes I've found is by thefrugalcrafter. This gal is just awesome. I love a lot of her techniques in the stamping/ art field. In this particular link, I think I liked the background better before she blended it around. But what an awesome addition to using your EB folders on solid CS. She also shows how to make your own Washi tape using masking tape and Gelatos.

As I put projects together with my Gelatos, I'll show them.
Creative Blessings!
~Kelly