2023 Topic 8 : Master Colour Wheel - Triadic Colours {by Autumn Clark} with Sara Naumann stamps

Hi everyone it's Autumn Clark from SewPaperPaint with you today and I'm totally delighted to share a really fun upcycling project with you.  When thinking of how to highlight the Tetrads topic and incorporate Transparent elements, my immediate thought was to create a painty junk journal with fun window elements.  I really enjoyed this creative time and exploration into the topics and hope you will follow along and get inspired to create a flip flop folio of your own, using the humble file folder as a substrate.

I truly adore Sara Naumann's gorgeous newest stamps and how they softly stepped out of the busy, yet mild backgrounds of this album.

When I sat down to create I realized I did not order PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Acrylic in Aqua Duck Egg, which was the basis for the entire topic of this color theory post.  I had no choice but to swap in a new paint color and chose Lake Wanaka to compliment the other two colors, Butter and Candy Floss.  I kind of freaked my freak, so to say, but had to breathe and just let it go.  I'm so happy I pressed forward because I truly loved the palette created and was so pleased with the truer blue of Lake Wanaka versus the greener variation in Aqua Duck Egg...

I chose a beautiful pair of PaperArtsy stamps by Sara Naumann, {ESN66 and ESN64} and a few background stamps by Tracy Scott {TSM08 (formerly EM64), TSM05 (formerly EM61) and TSM02 (formerly EM58)}.

Because I went with a bluer primary color, using Lake Wanaka, I ended up with a more blue green version of of color 10 and a less pinky purple of color 8.  It's not a very dramatic change, but it just goes to show how easily you can make variations in color using whatever Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics you have on hand.  I painted out my color wheel using the free template you can find HERE in the PaperArtsy People Facebook Group.

Here you can see my actual mixed paints.  I was just so pleased and welcomed by the beautiful pastels.

I decided to go for a Triad scheme with three spaces apart, the most equidistance achievable.  Here were my four choices for that route and the one I chose is highlighted.  I picked the three colors because they are out of my normal "go to" scheme and I thought it would be a fun experiment.

Now it was time to get my file folder folio base cut and folded.  I cut away the portion nearest to the file label to square the folder, then folded it into 8 equal sections, using the center fold as a guide.  I cut away portions of the file folder, indicated by the slashed lines and used those to assemble the flaps and pockets, as demonstrated in the video tutorial at the bottom of the post.  Next, I printed the front and back of all the file folder pieces, starting with gesso and continuing with my mixed colors.

   

I lifted my chosen tetrads with a palette knife onto my 12x14" Gel Press printing plate and then brayered them loosely with a small brayer, taking care not to over mix the colors and let them touch but not blend.

Here you can see one of my layers of the printing process.  I repeated with printing until I was pleased.

As I show in the video, I incorporated PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic in Cloud 9 by brayering some paint onto the side of my gel plate and using it as an "ink pad" for stamping using a beautiful combination of dotty stamps from PaperArtsy Eclectica Mini Stamps by Tracy Scott {TSM08 (formerly EM64), TSM05 (formerly EM61) and TSM02 (formerly EM58)}.

I used more Cloud 9 to lift the layers of paint remaining on my gel plate onto Tracy Scott Lace Booklet 4 (TSLB04).  I tore pieces of my printed Lace Booklet and layered over my printed file folder for a subtle texture and contrast.

 

Once I had my folder painted completely, it was time to dive into the stamping!  I had a blast incorporating PaperArtsy stamp set by Sara Naumann (ESN66) as the focus of my folio.  Here is the left notebook flap.  I adhered the two-panel cut off section of my file folder to the left after stapling a bundle of tea-dyed notebook paper inside to make a little book.

The panel opens to stamping from PaperArtsy stamp set by Sara Naumann (ESN64).  I used a white Uniball pen to add highlighting and journaling.

Our theme this quarter on the PaperArtsy blog is Transparency, so I thought it would be a great accent to the overall book to had a flap/window and cut out a circle and glued in a larger vellum circle for my transparent contribution.  I was really drawn in by the subtle nature of these colors and thought the vellum gave an angelic halo to the stamped bird.  I adhered the focal circle from my Lace Booklet over this tag to further frame the bird image.

 

Here is the front of the notebook that folds out on the right side of the folio.  I just love the contrast and texture created from adding in small bits of music sheet and the printed Lace Booklet.

 

 

Last of all, I worked on a tag for the pocket for the front cover of my folio.  I decided to use Distress Oxide in Dusty Concord with Distress Ink in Tea Dye and Evergreen Bough to color the tag.  These colors are very close to my mixed palette, but were a little more vibrant and I thought it was nice for the pull out to have a punch.

I layered with my final remnant of the printed Lace Booklet for the two-sided tag.

 

Here is the back cover of my book.  You can see I used my paint cloth, which I wiped my palette knife upon repeatedly throughout the process and then stamped with more Dusty Concord Oxide using TSM02 (formerly EM58) to create a closure for the book.

 

And here is the whole folio folded out.  It's just so much fun to flip through!  And it will be a great journaling space for me.

I always love getting paints smooshed on my gel plate and had a blast working in these muted tones.  Creating books from file folders has become somewhat of a fetish for me in recent years and this one is one of my favorites yet!  There is just something about using non-precious things to create art that is both liberating and joyful.  And it always makes me super happy to dip my stamps into paint.  Is that something common in your art practice?  I'd love to know!  I truly hope this little flip flop folio has inspired you to get creative today!

xx, Autumn

To find out how to create the folio, please visit my video HERE.  I do go into detail on the printing process and finish with a flip through of the folio.  I hope you'll enjoy it!

Blog: SewPaperPaint

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2023 Topic 02: Tetradic Colours {by Jenny Maples} with Sara Naumann Stamps

Hi everyone Jenny (Pushing The Right Buttons) here with you today. The first theme of 2023, 'Tracks', immediately made me think of my home town which used to be criss-crossed by a network of brewery railway lines. You can walk a trail around the town and see the historic Georgian and Victorian industrial buildings which remain from those times. Flocks of birds are a familiar sight, perched on the spider's web of power lines which still connect the rows of terraced houses. These are very reminiscent of Sara Naumann's designs, and it got me thinking about creating a journal recording some of this architectural history.

I really enjoyed taking the time to walk around my home town taking photos of a few of the buildings and hope it inspires you to go out and do the same!

The part that often puts people off is the idea of attempting to draw/paint buildings and I totally get that; it can take time and even then you may be unhappy with the results. So I used a simple trick learned from an amazing artist called Brittany Soucy which makes the whole process much more achievable. Going forward I will definitely be using it a lot more for adding architectural elements in new journals!

My starting point for this journal was choosing the colour scheme, in this case a tetradic one based on the results from playing with a PaperArtsy Colour Wheel. I'd chosen one of Sara Naumann's newer PaperArtsy stamp sets and a couple of her stencils but confess to pulling out a couple of her older stamp sets too because they worked together so well. I would always encourage you to delve into the PaperArtsy stamp sets and stencils you already have in your stash whenever you begin planning your projects - you may be amazed by what you find!

If you haven't already, make sure to read the comprehensive introduction to the Tetradic Colours topic HERE; I was fascinated to find I've used this type of colour combination many times before - clearly it's intuitively a favourite! Do you find yourself drawn to certain colours too? After creating a colour wheel, I colour-matched the results choosing existing PaperArtsy paint colours close to my chosen 4 on the wheel made from Mustard Pickle, Mahogany and Blue Bayou.

I went with a 'slim rectangle' selection of colours partly driven by the need for a brick red shade for the buildings; this included PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints in 'Waterfall', 'Blue Bayou', 'Brown Shed' and 'Autumn Fire'.

Now it's time to get some colour and texture on the pages of your journal. By spreading a layer of heavy body white gesso over a painted background it gives you the option to make some of your own marks with a wooden skewer (or similar) on each page; train tracks were an obvious choice for my journal but you could use other shapes, flowers, lines, etc. to fit with your theme.

Here's the clever bit if you feel less confident with drawing or are simply lacking time; trace over your photo with a permanent ink pen and cut out the image! You can choose to leave out fiddly details or change the drawing to personalise it even more. Once cut out stick your image onto the page. I used a gel medium but you could also experiment with a sticky glue stick, adhesive sheets or similar, making sure the tracing paper remains stuck down securely on your painted background.

You can always add those trickier, finer details directly on your page when your building is stuck down and painted.

 

When the glue holding your image is dry it's time to start painting. I added layers of  PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paint in 'Brown Shed' and 'Autumn Fire', making use of their translucency to make some shaded parts darker than other lighter areas. Use your original photo as a reference but don't be afraid to put your own spin on it!

Finish painting your building and add in any of the details you may have lost with the same permanent ink marker. I also decided to add a couple of neutrals into my colour palette, using PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints in 'Blue Bayou', 'Slate' and 'Snowflake' to complete the windows, roof, doors and window frames. Paint pens with a fine nib/tip can also prove helpful with this bit.

At this point you'll have a set of journal pages with colour, texture and a focal point, but embellishment with your stamps, stencils and more is always going to add interest to the finished book/journal.

 

Start with your stencils and don't be afraid to combine images on the page for more impact. Here I used different parts of PaperArtsy PS090 Stencil by Sara Naumann to sit the bird on a telegraph pole. Later on I stamped a script image over the bird with a grey permanent ink.

Talking of stamps, that script image can be found included in PaperArtsy ESN51 Stamp Set by Sara Naumann and it was the bird from that set which found it's way onto the first page of my finished book. Sara's collage style stamp designs cleverly combine images which is why I love to use them on painted pages.

And remember how it's always worth diving through your stash for older stamp sets... sure enough, you can find another bird included in PaperArtsy ESN52 Stamp Set by Sara Naumann.

It was the birds on the wire from PaperArtsy ESN64 Stamp Set by Sara Naumann that was part of the original inspiration for this project and they combine beautifully with the measurement image from ESN51, in this case extending the branch image and replicating part of the bridge I had to look over to get the photo of this warehouse.

 

We've seen stencils used for adding images to the pages and now it's time to use them in a more decorative way.

At this point you have the focal points and additional images in place and these can begin to compete for attention. It's important to ensure the viewers are initially drawn to the main building when they first look at the page. One way of doing this is by adding extra stencilling around it using a colour which blends well with the background.

Don't just think of using paint with your stencils, particularly when they are a simple geometric design like PaperArtsy PS363 Stencil by Sara Naumann. I found a matching colour embroidery thread which could be stitched through the page following the stencilled lines.

With the pages almost complete it's time for those finishing touches.

Bind your pages into a book using fabric (as I showed HERE) or paper and add your covers. My covers were created in the same way as the pages and I tore away parts of the pages to insert a little glimpse of lace behind. It's at this point you finally get to see what your pages look like sat together as a book and I decided to add some extra trims to them. If you don't have the correct colours to hand try dyeing them with Paper Artsy Infusions. The 'Rusty Car' shade worked well, contrasting nicely against the aqua coloured 'Waterfall' background.

With the book complete it's time for a final flick through of the finished pages. Not shown here are the 'blank' pages where I've written a little about the brewing history of the town and some personal observations. And if you are wondering why I added the title '32 Crossings' to the front of the book that refers to the 32 level crossings which used to cover the town!

It's good to reflect on what you enjoyed (or didn't!) after completing a project to help steer you in the direction of future experiments. I for one will be taking what I've learned about tracing images into my future book/journal making adventures and hopefully you will be able to take some ideas from this post too.

Jenny

Blog: https://pushingtherightbuttons.blogspot.com/

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