Weekend Lessons

This series will help me track what I'm learning and where I want to direct those lessons next.

Jane Davies DVD is out in just a few short weeks (you can PreOrder it right now and save $5)

Jane Davies does some neat things with stamps, and it's a good reminder for me to pull mine out and get creative.

I know I have a mental block against using stamps with acrylic paint. Stamps are expensive. They need to be cleaned immediately after use. It feels like I'm wasting paint when I use them. Small ones require a lot of STAMPING.

But in light of all of these reasons to be hesitant, I've been holding onto stamps for 10 years now and have never used them in card making. I'm not going to ruin them from a higher purpose. Time to get them dirty and see what they can do. (Note to self: Stop being so precious about your art tools!)

What I've done:
Here are some of the papers that I've started with a 2" striped stamp and a titan buff + burnt umber (although not much) mix. (Opaque) I like that it creates the beginnings of a plaid feel. It's encouraging me to cut a larger stamp of my own so that I can do more plaids in the future.

Next Steps:
Cover many of these papers with a dark transparent blue. I might try a paynes gray with matte medium. Maybe after that try the same process with a titan buff mixture that is a bit more transparent.

What I want to learn:
How do lighter paints resist? What are the positive and negative results? How do I think I can use those results to make papers I like? How will a transparent wash affect the high contrast papers versus the not high contrast papers?

What I've learned so far:
It helps me to think about smaller stamps as tools to make texture rather than pattern.That way I don't need to feel like my lines need to be clean. It takes some of the pressure off.

Papers:
I have papers where both the stamped layer is the first layer. I also have some where it is the second or third layer.