Olympics and art

 hi everyone. I haven't been around very much lately.  I wasn't feeling great the last week or so, then I got hooked on the Olympics,  lol! Now I wish I had seen more of the events, but when it started, I said I wouldn't be watching anything. Today is the last event, the men's hockey featuring the US and Canada. It will be great no matter the outcome. It will be nice to be back to normal after today though.

Artwise, yesterday I ruined another of my drawings on vintage paper....and believe me, I had some choice curse words about that! The drawing itself I liked, it was simple, kind of gothic, and then I went to spray a varnish protector on it. Well, I ended up with spots on the paper, and there is nothing I can do about it. I will keep it for myself since you can only see the spots close up , and will re-do it again.
So learn from my mistake folks...never use a spray varnish on paper unless you test it first!

This weekend I created a couple of ACEOs on black paper. I had done a bunch a couple of years ago which I liked, but it's amazing how much you grow and improve. These ones I think, turned out much better...this one is Caroline, the racoon we 'met' last summer which I blogged about here.

 I will leave you with one tip I discovered helps me in my art journaling... I have a very hard time working on my journal, as the whole process doesn't flow for me. What I started doing is prepping the pages in advance with color combinations I got from this fantastic book called the Color Scheme Bible.  Pick a color combo you like, and use it to put down colors. I do several pages at a time. Then I have a pile of clippings from magazines I just went through, so I pick images that appeal to me and glue them down on the page that I think they work with. Then, just journal. Write down how your day is going or any interesting thoughts you have.

I realised that if you don't write down your moments,  they are soon forgotten, and life really is lived in the moments. Why not put them down while they are fresh in your mind? Believe me, I have never consistently  done art journaling, but I will be making an effort now...I was hung up on feeling like the pages had to be artistic, or creative. The important thing is to just get your life down on the page.
Using a book with color ideas already planned out has made all the difference in the world, since color theory is not something I am good at.  The hard work is done by others who do understand color. Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can...the more you do, the more confident and creative you become.

Here is a page I did yesteday, and today I will be journaling on it.