2016 #17 Abstract Flower Garden {by Anneke de Clerck}

 2016 Topic 17: Making Marks

Hi everyone Anneke here.   

I'm happy to be back here tonight with a post about "Making Marks". For this topic I've created a spread in my Art Journal using some of my favorite supplies such as Grunge Paste, Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics and Kim Dellow stamps. During the process I'll show you a few ways to add marks. I worked with a skewer, paint markers and stamps but I did the stamping without ink or paint... 
I love making marks, it's a simple way to add interest to my spreads!
Let's get started.

1. Making marks with a skewer
I started by applying an even layer of Grunge Paste to the pages with my palette knife. I randomly scratched vertical lines into the paste with a wooden skewer.

2. Making marks with stamps
Next I pressed several stamps into the wet paste. I used stamps from the EKD 01 and  EKD 02 set. Love this "stamping without ink" technique :) 

EKD 01

EKD 02 

I did one page at a time and let everything air dry before moving on to the next page. I wanted to avoid messing up the finished (wet) page while working on the other.

I continued by coloring the spread with Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics Mermaid, Nougat, Buff and Snowflake. I prefer to paint with my fingers but of course you can use a flat brush if you like.

Next I added a layer of glaze to the spread. I put a puddle of Fresco Finish French Roast on my palette, mixed it with the same amount of Golden Acrylic Glazing Liquid. I applied this mixture to the spread with a big flat brush.

I let this layer sit for a few minutes, then wiped it back with baby wipes. I used a lot of wipes in order to remove most of the paint. Love the way the glaze seeped into the carved lines. This technique highlights all the marks I've made beautifully.

3. Making marks with paint markers.

I added details to the spread with a big white paint marker. I stamped rows of rectangles with the marker.

I used smaller acrylic markers to put on contrasting orange and fuchsia marks.

I decorated the spread with a collection of flowers from the EKD 01 stamp set. I stamped the flowers on Ranger watercolor paper using Archival Ink Jet Black and colored them with Ripe Persimmon and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink using a water brush.

I did some black stamping randomly.

To finish the spread off I added details with a black fineliner and a white pen.

I hope you enjoy playing in your Art Journal as much as I do. In my opinion an Art Journal is the perfect medium to try things out, to exercise, to experiment...without worrying to much about the outcome.

For this spread I worked on/in Grunge Paste but you could easily replace this by modeling paste, heavy gesso or even a thick layer of paint. 

As the PaperArtsy stamps are perfectly cut out (the cuts follow the shape of the image) and the rubber is deeply etched they are perfect to use for this mark making = stamping without ink technique. Just make sure to rinse your stamps immediately after using them on Grunge Paste, paint or gesso.

Stamping in wet Grunge Paste can't go wrong. Not happy with the result? Take your palette knife, apply a fresh layer of paste and start all over.

So pick your favorite mark making tool/technique and join the challenge. I would love to see what you come up with! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Anneke

My blog: somefiddlingonthekitchentable

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Thanks for joining us Anneke, I love the ink-free stamping. Grunge paste is just the perfect medium for mark making. The French Roast in the marks highlights them brilliantly and makes a great backdrop for the bolder focal images. ~Darcy

We would love to see how you interpret this Making Marks topic by linking what you make to our 2016 Challenge #17: Making Marks, on this page HERE.

All of our bloggers love to see your twist on their ideas,  particularly if you were inspired directly by their post. 

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Making Marks link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Sept 18th 2016. The winner will be announced 2  hours later at 19:00.