Textures & Patterns

One of the great things about visual journaling is that you can experiment with techniques without worrying about screwing up. In fact, it's the best place to play for my creative child. I am pretty stripped down and simple when it comes to this process. I am not interested in having hundreds of dollars worth of stamps and inks and stencils etc. I like to recycle and use things that might otherwise go to the landfill like bubble wrap and mesh onion bags. 

Here you can see a sample of purple, puffy paint that squirts out of a pointy, little bottle and makes lines and swirls. Then there are the green dots made by spreading heavy-body acrylic paint through a stencil using an old credit card. There is also a laser print transfer of a thimble that was done by glueing it face down with acrylic medium, letting it dry overnight, and then wetting the paper and rubbing it off with my finger revealing only the ink in the acrylic medium. A great way to get some neat details. I just printed out the thumbnails of free clip art I found on google. Last but not least, there is the reverse print of the green dots by turning over the stencil and rubbing the dirty stencil on the paper, basically using it as a stamp. One of the things I love the most is making textural pages that feel really interesting to rub my hands over, which makes it a full body experience. Then later on I can use these tried and true techniques on more finished images.