The Business of Life Art Journal by Renae Davis

The beginning of a new year and the cold fronts that sweep the western part of the world, January feels like a very contemplative blue month. Maybe that’s just me! At any rate, I wanted to document a time of reflective thinking for new season that’s upon us.

Supplies:

• Donna Downey | Two Birds | Foam Stamps - Set of 2
• Balzer Designs | Writer's Block | Foam Stamp
• Donna Downey | Hollyhocks | Foam Stamp
• Red Tin Roof | Film Strip | Foam Stamp
Maxi Moon | Branch Out | Foam Stamps - Set of 2
• Acrylic Paints in: Metallic Silver, Blue Gray, Prussian Blue, Metallic Black
• Distress Ink Oxide Sprays (Weathered Wood, Chipped Sapphire, Hickory Smoke)
• Black Gesso

STEP 1: For the background, I sprayed a light amount of Distress Oxide Ink Sprays (Weathered Wood, Chipped Sapphire, Hickory Smoke) blended with water across the two page layout in my art journal. I sprayed the bottom and side edges with blue to frame the layout.

STEP 2: I applied a generous layer of metallic silver acrylic paint onto Writer’s Block Foam Stamp by Balzer Designs using a brayer and stamped over most of the entire layout.

 
STEP 3 AND 3.2: I applied a thin layer of black metallic acrylic paint onto Film Strip Foam Stamp by Red Tin Roof using a brayer and stamped over the entire left edge side of the layout as well as the bottom right corner in an angled direction.

 
STEP 4: I stamped across the entire bottom layout with Hollyhocks Foam Stamp by Donna Downey with a heavy body blue gray acrylic paint. This layer will serve as a shadow background for the next layer of flowers.

 
STEP 5: To add more flowers to the front of the layout, I stamped the same Hollyhocks Foam Stamp in a dark Prussian Blue by bringing down the stamp a few inches from the light blue layer in the back.

 
STEP 6: For the focal images, I applied a thick layer of black gesso with a brayer onto both of the Two Birds Foam Stamp set by Donna Downey and stamped them on the middle left side of the layout. I then drew a thin black line underneath them to ground them to the layout.

 
STEP 7: Using the same black gesso and brayer, I applied thin layers of gesso onto both of the leaves from Branch Out Foam Stamp Set by Maxi Moon and stamped them around the border of the entire layout.

STEP 8: To lighten up the page a bit from being so dark, I added a thick layer of heavy body silver acrylic as a border around the layout and filled in the circle ends of the brands from the branch stamps.
I finished the layout by adding a quote in the middle and adding splashes of black and silver acrylic paint over the layout.

YouTube Process Video Link: https://youtu.be/Pj9PsD1gRKw

Renae

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