Friday Pages - What I'm working on.

Well it's Friday and that means one thing! Friday Pages...Showing off what I'm working on between the pages of my little art journal! 

 

playing with my art supplies on video this page still has a long way to go before shes finished, but I am enjoying the crazy mess that's coming together at the moment!

 

playing with little creatures in amongst the paint and ink! this little love popped up holding onto the heart.

 

altering photos is my upcoming artgeeks prompt! turning ourselves into whimsy creatures to give a little fun to our photos! I am currently waiting for a spare moment to myself to get some self portraits sorted so you can see what works for this technique! so simple, and yet so much fun! 

and using some of my spare photos that I'd printed out and just having fun with colour and tapes! They are so simple, and yet these are some of my fave pages, the background is using Gelli plate prints I'd done in the past! 

speaking of which...here is one of my altered gelli plate images

and one of the previous images...before I started altering myself into a bunny

thats all from me! I'll have another friday pages post next week with some new work I've been working on! have a fantastic day!
I am thinking of turning friday pages, into a journal meme! so you can sign up on fridays, showing off your pages, I love a good page perve!
xx Courtney

Watercolour my Heart Day 7 Blogtober!

Big weekend is coming to an end, and I am one tired little lovely, but I know I said I would blog...so here I am! nice short and sweet blog post today, so I can go and have a long relaxing hot shower.

Its a weekend for kissing deer shoes...I heart them so much!

right! onto the reason that you stop by for! The supplies! now my next supply cost me $10AUD..that's right, its the one supply I get asked the most during my videos..ohhh that watercolour set..where did you get it from...I have been asked that more times than I care to count for you..and my reply..a chain store called BIG W. Its a budget set in the art section by a low price art brand called Micador. you can get them in a smaller size than this one..but value for money, this size beats the other 10 or so colours. The colour range is very very good for its price, I give them a good spray with my water bottle let them get juicy and away I go, worked wonderfully with an aqua brush as well. Very bright vivid colour. Just because they are cheap doesn't meant they have crappy pigment.  As you can see, my palette has had some use...and broke in half lol...but doesn't stop them being used and abused on a day to day basis. The following pages have ALL been created with the 10 Dollar wonders.

this page here, the faces in particular were all done using the watercolours, the background green is an acrylic ink...which will be a supply for another day.  But all face colours and the lovely yellow hue..is all the watercolours I speak of.

using the colours not so wet and juice, using just a damp brush this girl below was created. This girl is just on normal fabriano 300GSM paper, no watercolour papers are used in my journals (too pricey lol) you can see that you can get varying shades of the same colour just by going over them a few times, the colours blend well aswell.

 this girl was painted with no pencil drawing, all done with watercolour then outlined later with a black pitt pen. You can do bright and vivid..or soft and subtle. This set is a fantastic set for people who want to play with watercolours but dont like the pricetag of the fancy ones ( I lust after the fancy ones..but on my mumma budget, out of my league)

 

The below image is my traveling watercolour set...yes you heard right this is my Peerless watercolour. They are my expensive ones, that were a gift from my boyfriend. They watercolour comes on a card and each card is a different colour, so I followed the video by the lovely Jane if these watercolours intrigue you do click on the link in Jane's name..it will take you to a video she created to highlight the wonderfulness of these watercolours. My palette slots into the back of my journal ready to be accessed at anytime while I'm out and about!

If you have any questions about any of my supplies please do ask

of if there is something I haven't covered yet and you are dying to know...do ask me! I'm always happy to give readers what they like, But don't get me wrong, if you ask about something and I don't use it...I will tell the truth. There are a lot of supplies I just don't use...I am a budget artist for sure. 

xx have a lovely night

Courtney

Day 6!!! arty play and white pens.

The weekend is in full swing here at the Brook-Diaz house with daylight savings about to hit us, we have been packing boxes and de-cluttering for our impending move! I thought I would start my post with a quick snap of my dinner! garlic prawns, fresh strawberries a few almonds and a few roasted coconut chips! it was..devine. We are a paleo family for 2 months now and I can never see us looking back.

 

 today I jumped onto the Gulfsprite Ning to have a look at the beautiful Stardust course, Christy had urged me to give it a go, so I looked it over, got the image printed for it, and will be doing one on canvas, and a smaller version in my art journal. Can never have enough face drawings by the lovely Christy in my life.

my eclectic art journal is bulking up! I love flicking through to see the miss matched papers and the splashes of colour that are in my boarder bits.

Only a quick supply post tonight, White pens...as an avid doodler I use my black and my white pens, so many times a day, for those little details...highlights outlines and so forth. I have more than these three white pens, I just cant seem to track them down! so for now I'll talk about these ones. The sharpie poster paint with a fine tip is my fave for my finer details, the eye highlights mostly, there have been a few spillages because I've pushed too hard (be gentle handling this) next is the Sakura brand Gelly Roll white gel pen. This is a japanese brand of pen and is beautiful to work with! If I could buy a stack of these pens in different colours I would in a heartbeat! when you first start using the gelly pen I thought omg its not working! but as it dries it goes a beautiful stark white...also gives a little raised feel where it has been used so lovely for the textural factor. The last pen is my dot maker. a Posca paint pen, with a big chunky round tip. Posca make their pens in different colours and I am yet to try them, but if they are as good as their white pens, I'm all for them. Like I said I use this pen to make my dots and for my chunky highlights.

and a quick peak at my pencil case that goes everywhere with me, a lot of black pens of varying sizes and inks, a few bright coloured sharpie pens, a couple of highlighters, my white pens, a mechanical pencil, a little eraser, glue stick, scissors and a bone folder.

these things go everywhere with me, so that I can draw, and add quick details and pops of colour with no problems at all, meaning I can create art whenever I am out and about and have a spare moment to myself.

enjoy your night loves!

xx Courtney

Blogtober Day 5!

Day 5 upon us of blogging everyday in october, and its been a hot one.

Since spring ins now in full swing, out little garden the could..is doing just that...growing day by day we have onions, zucchini, carrots, strawberries beans and a few others...its been mine and the kids daily chore to go out and water them...amazing watching them grow from just seeds!

on the art front, I'm still working on building my pages of my eclectic art journal, bit by bit, last night I attacked an pizza add that came in the mail..no bit of paper is safe!!! I also used the odd bits of paper I was testing my foam stamps on and turned it into boarder sheets with a little bit of highlighter, a sharpie and some paint!

 I've left my post a bit late today, lots of cleaning and packing boxes and of course my workout for the day which leaves me feeling like I've been hit by a mack truck most nights... but it's for a good cause. I should make one hot bride one day...one day.

so onto supplies...today is Pencils..but not just any pencils...prismacolour pencils. Another one of my supplies I literally had to save for. I bought the box of 72 I think from memory and I haven't regretted them a day I've also bought a few new colours singly from an art store. So I dub these another investment supply. I've had them for about 3 years and only had to replace my white as it does all my blending. 

Prismacolour are a very waxy pencil, highly pigmented and go onto a page like butter. They have an amazing array of colours that would keep any artist happy.

because these pencils are so waxy blending with a light coloured pencil gives you a softened look without those pencil marks that most harder leaded colour pencils have to them. You can also use a  blending marker or a solvent to break down the wax to create an almost paint like effect. This part is magic! I have fun using my copic blending marker to smooth out all the lines to give a more polished effect.

a tip I found out from Jane, you can draw onto fabric with your prismacolour pencils,  using ur iron and heat set the pencil making it permanent! I haven't tried this tip yet, but I've seen a finished product and was highly impressed.

I have a couple of pencils that I take in my pencil case at all times, to add little touches, mostly face tint colours...they are the rolls royce of pencils! I don't have my expensive 'label' branded supplies but the ones I do have...are totally worth it.

 

enjoy your nights my darlings 

xx Courtney

 

Foam Stamps of Win!

Hello hello!!! lots of pictures today, got carried away with images representation of my supplies. Today while I sat again avoiding my workout...I was in my scrap bind and found some fun foam. Now I only have this because of an art geeks video I watched quite a while ago now! but I thought why not have a play, so I started cutting...and using a ballpoint pen to indent a pattern into them.

above is just cutouts..and below is using the pen to make a design etched into it. I backed the foam onto some thick chipboard and away I went! making random prints for the basis of my eclectic journal.

I used paint with them first, but wasnt crisp enough, my favourite was using a black stazon ink pad with the 'stamps' they came out much clearer almost tribal like.

 

I am also low on patterned stencils, where its just a pattern not just one element....so I thought to myself, make my own very diy basic one out of scrapbooking paper. I mean its pretty rough but it was fun playing with it. little bit of paint and a sponge and you've got me entertained for a least an hour.

I did crack open my raindrops stencil which doesnt get used often but sometimes I give it a run

 

 And today's supply...is Markers! yes I am still a novice when it comes to markers! as I only learnt to really wield them last year I think...but I do have a small collection of them due to an awesome marker club I used to be in, getting 7 colours a month shipped to me...so I have a little stash.  Now dont get me wrong...markers are flippin pricey! the copics which many call the creme de la creme range from $9 to $11 AUD depending on where you are buying them! and for me...thats pretty epic. If I wasnt in the marker club..doing it monthly...I would not have as many as I do, I was lucky.

there are many cheaper just as awesome brands that are now readily available...such as the letraset markers and the spectrum noir pens, also distress markers have busted onto the scene just recently. 

all fantastic and great quality. Much of a muchness. 

 I store mine lying down in an ikea tub, which isnt ideal but hey what you gonna do. My collection is all copics except for a few Touch markers I got from an aussie art store. They are dual tipped, a brush tip and a chisel tip. very very juicey and very vibrant. (can you see a theme here with my supplies it has to bust open with colour or I'm not interested)

 

 see dodgy photo of the tips, the light is shocking but you get what I mean. I have several shades of the one colour family to help with the blending aspect of these markers, and blending is where they come into their own. Miss Jane Davenport taught me how to use markers in Supplies me..and I've grown from there here are some of my works using my markers both alcohol based and watercolour based

 laying the colour down then using a slightly darker shade they blend on the page as you work, giving your drawings depth and a richness that I cant go past.

 I worked alot with these markers in my fashion drawing class with Jane, I loved how solid and deep they looked at the same time, I use them at least once a day even if its just for a little doodling on my page.

above are some of the Touch markers I own, costing me around $6 on sale at the time.

Some of my first faces during my learning of them...using up to 4-5 shades in the one face! it blew my mind when it all started coming together.

and leaving you with a face that was part of a gulfsprite course but was hand coloured by me with my markers.
If you are considering markers, and you draw portraits, my suggestion is to get a few base skin colours and an eye and lip colour. Don't think you need the whole range, start with a few colours get your bearings learn to blend them and then expand your collection...these markers are an investment and they arent cheap...but they are beautiful
xx Courtney

Eclectic Journals Blogtober Day 3

Hello again!

Day three of Blogtober, and I am busy at work playing in the papers! I am currently taking a class by one of my favourite teachers who if you havent checked out go do it now! Gulfsprite she has just opened her own ning full of all her courses! I am currently immersing myself in her Eclectic Art journal class, which by the way is sooo good! I was ment to work out today ( I did finally get around to it) but it took me ages to go and actually work out, I started watching the first vid before I know it I was scrap bin diving looking for an old catalog to start using to alter! 

I have a scrap bin and a half, so this class is perfect for it...above is the start of mine, I've only done a few pages..workout interrupted my play! but it is very fun!!

I found old book pages, letters, scrapbooking paper..an index card with some free motion sewing on it, magazine pages...you name it! I even rushed out to buy myself a glue stick...(yes I didnt own one) so I could get right into it! Below is just the top of my scrap bin...eye spy the fabulous wallpaper that Tinniegirl sent me...which I now covet to death.

So  yesterday I said each day I would do a supply thing, and today is no different...I sat long and hard thinking about what I wanted to introduce next, that I use alot. I looked through the pages in my journal to find things that got used alot..and there was a clear winner. Distress Stains by Tim Holtz and the ranger label. I'm not one for label dropping, my craft paint resides at the dollar stores. Im not even sure what made me buy my first colour...I think my mum was the first to show me...then Jane Davenport rocked them aswell. I only have a handful of colours and that suits me just fine. They are like liquid watercolour in a bottle, with a dabber top for easy application. It swooshes onto a page very easily, and with several applications you can get varying shades of the colour. They do react with water, so if you put them down and use a wet paintbrush they will move about, just like watercolour. They go a long way. I am a colour girl, so my products need to be vibrant..and these babies are very pigmented and very bright.  The colour featured is Broken China...and it gets used and abused VERY heavily within my journal.

Below is an example of it being used in my art journal, as you can see, the layers of the colour give it more depth and darkness. I've used three stains on this little art card. I sloshed them onto the page then drew over it with an inky black pen. When you are looking to be lazy and want to get colour down fast, these are my go to.

So thats all from me, tomorrow I'll bring you more progress from my eclectic journal and bring you another supply favourite of mine.

Take care lovelies!

xx Courtney

Flue Ridden Artist.

With school holidays happening here in Australia, and the little teacup humans occupying alot of my time, I've barely had the time to blog or art! Then my darling boyfriend bought home the flue from work, and its knocked us all around! Please forgive the huge gap in since my last post, its been very up and down few weeks, I'm still sniffling and coughing but at least I can think a little now.

I've worked on a few things since my last post, a few art cards for trading on facebook with other artists. This has been the most fun I think out of all my art lately, its going to feel like pokemon! gotta catch them all heheh.

I finally got my easel out that my dad made for me, and made some art for our bare bedroom wall, I rather like her, took me a while to actually like the finished product, but she hangs beautifully on the wall, even if every so often shes a little crooked.

I got caught up on my project life folder, biting the bullet and getting a stack of my photos printed, cornered, sorted and then arranged to make the pages of my project life as accurate as I could.

I also started a crotchet project aswell to stop my fingers from turning blue of a night time...as strange as it sounds..its working.

and my darling man bought me these two books as a lovely gift a week ago, so I've been curling up on the couch paging through them, sighing contently as all the beautiful art and information. Soaking it up like the sunlight in summer.

hopefully my next post wont take me so long to get up, I think a few more days and our house should be flue free...*fingers crossed*

take care my darlings

xxox Courtney

oh where oh where have I been!

It's been a little while since my last post, and I am well aware of that! but where oh where have I been! I took a little adventure... one of my first alone in sydney and let me tell you..it was amazing.

I took a train...

and walked across the beautiful Sydney harbor to get to the entertainment center.

and I by chance, I fell into working alongside the lovely Jane Davenport. I helped Jane and her lovely hubby who had a bad back, so I stepped in, and what an experience it was! talking about art, and supplies, inspiring women at the craft and sewing show...it was some of the best times I've had in a long time....who wouldn't enjoy working amongst this!

 surrounded by beautiful artwork...

 working with a woman that has changed my life in many ways.

but dont fret, in my absence I have been arting, I haven't slacked off, my journal was on display with jane's at the show, but when I got her back into my hands, I opened her up and got lost in the pages again...here is some of my work from the last few days

catching up on some of my index cards, working on homework as a re take the I heart drawing class, to work out my issues with bodies and hands...

working on collages...to paint over

and finally being happy with a body shape!

and after having my peerless watercolours for over 6 months, I thought it was time I put them to use!

so while I've been gone...what have you been up to?

post your link in the comments I'd love to visit your blogs and see what you have been up to the last week! one of my favourite past times is blog hopping, with a bit of an art perve.

take care my lovelies

xx Courtney