2018 #9 Vintage Neutrals: Nautical Notebook with ESC {by Autumn Clark}

2018 Topic 9: Vintage Neutrals

Autumn is on a 'Sponge Bob' roll of late with her underwater, nautical posts. It's an enduring theme, timeless, and great for those looking for a 'less feminine' theme. Off white with soft blues is a very peaceful and calming colour scheme and autumn has created a journal cover full of touchy-feely texture! Amazing how she creates her peeled paint effect!~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Autumn Clark with you today, and I'd like to share my tutorial for a planked wood background.  

When this topic was announced my mind instantly went towards a neutral chippy planked background, which I knew would be the perfect base for a nautical collage with the incredible new PaperArtsy Eclectica³ {Scrapcosy} Collection.  

I am a huge fan of muted palettes and "white space" or openness in design.  It was so rewarding to see this piece come to life.  I cannot wait to fill the pages of this book with sketches for new works!  But first, let me share this simple process...

I cut several "planks" down to size and adhered them to a gessoed greyboard that was cut to size for my graph paper pages.  I scraped Grunge Paste on the boards randomly for a rough natural look.  I added some tiny brads to each corner to resemble nail heads.  I painted a layer of Fresco Acrylic Paint in Blue Oyster then added some highlights in Taupe.  Next, I scraped on a layer of gloss gel medium.  Then I painted over more Fresco Acrylic Paint in Stone then added highlights in Chalk.  I allowed each layer to dry before the next layer was added.

When everything was sufficiently dry, I went in with my awl or paper piercer and scratched off the top layers of paint to reveal the blues and browns beneath.  The glossy gel both seals the base layer and allows the top coat to be scratched off.  I went back in with Distress Crayons and added some earthy tints here and there.

My stage was set to build my collage bundle.  I stamped my octopus and ship on scraps of gel-printed paper from my post HERE.  The other elements include die cut Distress Oxide inky paper, a chipboard anchor, paper flower, sisal fibers and Art Stones, and a couple of metal charms.  I made the "submarine window" to frame my focal creature with Seth Apter's  new Baked Texture embossing powder in Deep Sea and added some gold wax to help it blend with the tiny brads.  

Every tutorial I've read for creating planked backgrounds has been different.  And each time I've made my own they have been different.  But I must say, scratching into these painted layers to reveal slight undertones was my favorite process thus far!  It's truly good ole messy fun!   Perhaps you can try these techniques in a different way, on background or die cut frame maybe?  You will love the matte, vintage finish achieved with PaperArtsy Fresco Acrylics - no doubt!

Cheers, Autumn Clark

Blog: SewPaperPaint
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You must complete step 1 AND 2 to be entered into the draw. 

To join our challenge:
1. Leave a comment on the Topic Introduction Post and go in the draw to win a PaperArtsy Apron. 
2. Make something arty relevant to the topic, and link your creation from any social URL (eg. Instagram, Pinterest, Blog Post etc) sharing your original make to this challenge page

The current topic link Topic 9: Vintage Neutrals will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, May 27th 2018, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.