Oversized Magazine Mixed Media Art Journal Spread with ArtFoamies and a Technique Bonus - Nina Fickett

I’m excited to share with you one of my favorite ArtFoamies texture methods as well as an opportunity to play in one of my oversized magazine art journals.

Today I will be working with the following ArtFoamies:

• Mixed Up Numbers designed by Donna Downey
• Building Blocks Small designed by Donna Downey
• Gibberish designed by ArtFoamies

This mixed media art journal is huge. Each page is 10 1/2” x 13 7/8”. Its base is a magazine so the pages are semi-glossy and very light weight. As a result, I have pre-glued up to three pages together so it can withstand all my mixed media mediums. I always use gesso on the pages to ensure things adhere well to the surface and it also adds some strength.

After I’ve gessoed my pages I go in with collage elements. The collage fodder adds texture and is an easy way to break up the blank page. Today I’ve used some old color road maps as well as text papers. I’m feeling ready to travel with these pages.

Once my first layers are dry, I come in with my first ArtFoamies stamp: Mixed Up Numbers. I randomly stamp this over my layout using a Ranger archival ink in cobalt. I love to layer things up on the page before I make any final design decisions. As I layer the bottom layers will sometimes peek through telling a story.

I found that I kept seeing areas that interested me. Areas where the stamping converged with the text and map collage pieces. This led me to focus on these areas, so I pulled out a Stabilo All pencil in black and a circle template. I decided to trace different sized circles onto the layout, like a camera lens focusing on points on a map.

I activated the Stabilo All circle marks using a water saturated round brush and pulled the black into the circle.

At this point the circles began to feel like floating orbs, so I decided to ground them more. The orbs reminded me of the trees from Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax. I know it may seem like a big leap, but it’s the way my brain works when I’m arting. So using a Higgins brush pen loaded with black India ink mixed with shellac I created these “Dr. Seuss” like pedestals for my orbs.

My next step was to do a little technique I call a “foamie press”. You can watch the details of this technique over on my YouTube channel HERE.

Essentially you press your very water saturated ArtFoamies stamp into some TCW Light & Fluffy modeling paste.

It is important to clean the stamp immediately in warm sudsy water. For my layout I added the TCW Light & Fluffy to the inside of the pedestals and then did the “foamie press”. Here you can really see the texture I got from the Building Blocks small ArtFoamie.

Next, I applied some white gesso to the background. While applying I concentrated on pushing back some of the collage and highlighting the right side of the orb/pedestal shapes. I let the TCW Light & Fluffy dry fully while I added Cobalt acrylic paint using my fingers.

I concentrated on the left side of the orb/pedestal shapes, which created a shadow for them.

Using multiple shades of blues and oranges I began to color the foamie press modeling paste texture. I wanted the color to get down into the grooves and catch the texture. To achieve this, I first painted the areas. Then I went in with a slightly darker color that I had thinned down with water to catch in all the grooves.

Next, I went in again with more gesso to push more of the background back. Once the gesso dried, I went in with a Ranger Distress Archival ink in Black Soot and the ArtFoamies Gibberish stamp. I made sketchy circular marks around the orbs with more of the Stabilo All pencil and activated it. Then I went in with a white paint pen to create a highlight on the orbs.

Finally, it was time to create a focal point. I decided a quote from Dr. Seuss would be perfect here. As I worked, I used a piece of cheesecloth to sop up the extra paint and it ended up being a great layer for my focal point.

You can watch the full process in the video this video.

If this has inspired, you to play with your ArtFoamies please tag your posts with #artfoamies. If you have tried your hand using the foamie press technique, tag me @nina_fickett on Instagram. I’d love to see what you have created.


-Nina

www.ninafickettdesigns.com