Turn an "old" journal page into a beautiful new one!

I know you all are anxious to see the final result of the girl I've posted the other day on Instagram. The truth is that I've been waiting to draw on that journal page, as I'm waiting to paint on the rest of the pages that are not blank. I think the color splash, stencils, stamps or just cleaning the brayer makes the page more interesting and gives depth to the drawing, painting or whatever you add on. And when you work with watercolor, the colors behind show, altering the result.

Here is the page where I started to draw some flowers with a black permanent micro pen:

And I continued with a larger flower that I didn't liked so much at first, but then it started to look amazing when I added the face:

And look at it! The page already looking pretty good, isn't it?
But wait, I had to continue adding more color until I could add water to it, so here is how I did it:

Here is when I started to really really love it! Her hair growing longer and the combination with the flower on her neck and face give her a mysterious look. And the locks of hair - just a suggestion to how her hair looks like and how long is it.

But the fun is only now about to start, because this is the moment when I added water and all the colors turned to magnificent creations! Oh, how I love these ink pencils! Inktense pencils from Derwent are delicious to try. Chocolate of art supplies or maybe a chocolate cake. But to define this drawing/painting I had to make use of my neocolor 2 watersoluble crayons for the white of the eyes...

And after more layers of color on her face, I came with this result. I'm not really sure if this is it, because her hair looks a little bit incomplete, but hey, I don't want to add too much color on her hair and make it look too busy to the eye. I shall see! But for now, I just LOVE LOVE her look! 

As I said, I've used neocolor2 for the white of the eyes, which is not really white, but a light cream called light lemon yellow. In my opinion, this color has nothing to do with what you think when reading lemon yellow, it's rather a very light cream - like vanilla white - than a lemon yellow.

Well, that's is it. I'll leave you enjoy it. 

See you soon!

Much love,

Cristina

Geranium flower illustrated in watercolor Inktense pencils

This flower has a special meaning to me. After my grandfather died back in 2007, all his flowers went into my mother custody, but unfortunately most of them have died over the years. This one here is the only one left and it's again in bloom! I have painted a pot in my journal, but the reality is that the flower is sitting in a glass with water. My mother says it doesn't need to have roots to plant it in a pot with soil. Probably I will find a pretty pot for it these days, so it has a nice 'home'.

As the title suggests, I've used watercolor Inktense pencils from Derwent, using poppy red for the flowers, of course, and a combination of greens for leaves. The pot has burnt sienna and mustard painted on.

I've also heard that geraniums are good for impatient people and helps calming down those who are restless.

see you soon,

much love,

Cristina

Portrait sketch using INKtense pencils from Derwent

Today I woke up to a cloudy sky. Half of the light intensity I was expecting to see when I opened my eyes. I was tired after fighting with allergy symptoms last night that caught me up until about 3 AM in the morning. Not long after, the rain started. Clean and kinda cold air. After my husband went out for work, I said to myself that it's time to get up and do something that I really love. So I took one of my art journals and an INKtense pencil and started to draw a face. I chose to use Derwent pencils because they cannot be erased with the eraser, so I won't be tempted to go back and erase the face and start over. If I'm going to mix it up, I'll just have to move on and see if I can continue or add some gesso to cover it.

This is what I came up with after 10 minutes. I really love to sketch with colored pencils, especially if they are watercolor: when adding water, the color will blend with the area right next and the effect is gorgeous! And because I absolutely love colorful pages, I decided that I should go for some color and added all kind of INKtense colors on her face. 

Yeah, this reminds me of Fauvist style, a style that I'm drawn by a lot, and I see beautiful results even with watercolor (ink) pencils, not only with acrylics or oils. 

At this point, I wasn't sure I want to add any water to it, she was already looking stunning. But you know me, I have to go beyond my comfort zone and try something new every day, so I went ahead and added water. 

And boom! the result was amazing! I couldn't believe my eyes how gorgeous she turned out! Oh, wait, I do believe it! :)

I worked on a sketching art journal paper, so the pages are not quite suitable for watercolor, but hey, after bending a little, the page came to it's original shape in the end. And this is just a watercolor sketch, but it's one that looks amazing! That's only a reminder that i should sketch faces more often, no matter if it's watercolor, acrylics or oil pastels.

What do you think of her? I would like to read your thoughts in the comments below!

See you soon,
Cristina

Watercolor illustration of a profile woman

Lately, I find myself digging so much into illustrations and watercolor. Although I love to get messy and splash the acrylic paint on my art journal pages, sometimes I feel an urge to create some simple, fast illustrations. Why I love illustrations? Because they are fast to draw, not looking for perfection in any way, and are clean and neat. Whenever you have a very small amount of time, it's great to go for some fast watercolor sketch that drys quickly and you are ready to move on.

So the other day I posted this on Instagram:

Wasn't really sure what to do next, because I loved her so much just the way it was at first: a pencil sketch. But then I was also in the mood for some watercolor splash, so I thought why not give it a try? 

Being afraid I could mess this up, I started to add a little bit of skin tone and then another, and so on, until I got this:

And wow, it looks really good! Like I want to paint more of this! Which is what I did, but I don't have photos just yet. What I do have are a lot of other photos from the pencils sketches I did, photos that are also posted on Instagram. 

This sketch was made after a photo I found on Google searching for profile faces. It looks pretty much as the model, but maybe I'm just subjective. What do you think? The model can be found here. Please leave your comments below, I would love to hear from you!

See you soon,
Cristina

Hand-bound art journal

One of my followers on Instagram, Anne-Laure Jacquart, asked me how I bound the art journal I have posted on Instagram. The truth is that it takes some time and ability to bound a hand-book, but it's nothing very fancy, really.

The idea to make a hand-bound art journal came to me when I realized that where I live there are not so many alternatives when it comes to art journaling. This art journaling current is fairly new around here, so only recently I saw that Ranger ink pads are on the market, for example. But when it comes to art journals, there are not so many alternatives. So I decided to look for alternatives, like reusing and repurpose materials, and I found an old watercolor block I had bought long time ago....I tore the pages away and used the sheets to bind them in a brand-new art journal. (see below)

The method of binding can be found in here. It is very simple, although at first it may seem complicated. But once you get the steps, you find that all you need is time and patience. On the second page you´ll find an explication image with a diagram showing how the sewing goes. 

If you try this technique, I would love to hear from you! Please comment below or on Instagram how your final result came out and what you think of the whole process. Is it worth to bind your own art journal or buy one already bound?

Until next time,

***much love***

Cristina

A piece of Bucharest

Tonight I took the time to do some watercolor painting in my art journal. And as I did paint after a photo taken in Barcelona, I thought I should do the same painting after a photo that pictures the old city of Bucharest, using a photo I found on internet.

This is the "old town" center of the city, where all the fun and parties are at home! The photo was taken by night, on a rainy day, and you can see the people hurry to seek shelter.

It was sketched this on May 26th, but only got the chance to add some color. At first I thought I should leave it as it is, just a sketch, but then I said why not add color? I thought that even if it's not going to be perfect, I'll know I have tried. But I guess I love the result!
This is just one of the pages illustrating Bucharest, there are more to follow!

Have a great week,
Cristina

A piece of Barcelona

If I were to talk about my journey to Barcelona, I couldn't do it otherwise but in drawings. I love to sketch different moments spent in Catalonia's capital. They all come to life when you draw the pictures into a paper and add some watercolor to it. Just a splash of color, not too much. And what a better way to remember Barcelona if not by flipping an art journal? 

This is just a photo illustrated in my journal from so many others waiting to come alive into my pages. I'm only getting started, so this is not quite perfect, but only by practicing every day will become better and better. I'll let you with this journal page.

See you soon,
Cristina

Whimsical animals

These days I feel I need to try everything when it comes to art: if it's not painting, it is drawing, if it;s not real, it;s whimsical! So here it's my first whimsical dog I ever did. And to tell you the truth, I love it so much!

I just started to sketch this sweet dog without having the final result in my mind. Then I thought it would look good with some splash color all over his face and body. SO I took my acrylic paints and started to add color. And this is the result: I'm loving every bit of it!

I started drawing on a page I no longer liked. In fact, this was a page I didn't liked any more so I added glue and then paper collage. In the end I added color (blue) and on some other day, golden acrylic paint using a gorgeous technique I'm not going to talk about right now. And because of that collage, the page became thiker than the rest of the pages, just perfect to add even more layers of color.
I think perfection comes with practicing. JUST draw something today! Right now!

See you soon,
Cristina

Abstract painting

Justa quick note! Abstract painting is in the house again. I´ve found inspiration in so many online websites that I had to try painting something abstract once again. It´s been a while since my last abstract try, and I´m happy with the result I got.

This is just a detail cut from the big picture. I just wanted to upload this first until I get the chance to show you the final result.

Raining cats and dogs in Bucharest

Streets are rivers here and everywhere you look, you see apocalyptic images.  

See video here

And this is nothing...the water is above knees in many areas.

I am in love...again! - letter of the week 15

Middle of the week. Hope you're not bored or tired...just yet! I mean, I hope you're not bored at all, because that would be a big problem to be solved. If you're bored, it means something isn't quite right. Right? :)

I wake up today thinking about what I shall write in my journal, and I opened Louise Hay positive affirmations to just listen in the background. I instantly loaded with positiveness and good inspiring thoughts. A new day begins, what are you going to do to make it awesome?


I don't know how the shift happened, but it did. I think I was browsing the internet for some beautiful art inspiration when I saw some drawings and paintings completed with soft pastels. And I don't even know what the technique being use is called, but I love they way those paintings are looking! It was then when I realized that I was unfair to the "poor" soft pastels. I thought they are too chalky for me and that I could never create something with them. BUT I was wrong. It was probably the poor quality of the pastels I tried to use that left the impression on me that I don't like soft pastels.

{ I took a break from writing here and when I came back, I found a comment to one of my paintings on a group I belong saying: "I really like the fauvist style of this piece.". It was just what I needed to know. The fauvist style it is the technique I was talking about earlier! It all come to me just when I need them!}

Have an amazing Wednesday! 

Dreaming of summer days

Inspired by Jane Davenport online class, I drew this beauty into my journal-book. A journal book with hard cover and glossy pages, but perfect to add gesso on them and then color with acrylics.

Here you can see the name of the book on the right page. I just added more color and completely transformed the page, so can no longer read "master chef".

Ink sketching is fabulous!

Even "ugly" faces can become famous!

Ink sketch in my Canson A5 art journal. 

Handmade paper stencils

 The leaves you see on the left page are handmade stencils I made.

This girl you see here was painted on my A4 art journaling, a journal with sketching paper from Derwent, who still takes water very well. 110lbs/ 165grm is more than OK for me, because I gesson my pages most of the time, and even if I don't it's still OK. And when you build layer after layer, even better!

And after using the paper stencils once or twice, you can create collages in your art journal. Imagine this stencil on a complementary color background! Just lovely!

I've also used this stencil to draw with my Inktense pencils. And look how gorgeous it came out!

Recording life

Recording life by cristinalove11 featuring a wooden clock

Pier 1 Imports buddha wall art / Spicher and Company black home decor / Spicher and Company black home decor / Green Leaf Art wooden clock / John Derian glass tray, $140 / Bird poster / MikeyLins by Petal Lane home decor / Wooden wall art / Pier 1 Imports Enjoy the Ride Journal / Ladurée Set of 6 Pencils, $21

The Documented |Life - Week 3 - Insert an envelope

For this week, most of the participants to the project have only inserted envelops without painting over them, but I feel the need to get dirty in the name of art, and started to add color and collage over it.

As you can see, I've done this again directly on my agenda, which has very thin pages. I've manage to stick to pages on the right side. In the left, the selfie backside was strong and heavy enough to hold the paint and collage.

After the selfie, this could be my favorite! The leaves you see above are not a stamp, not a stencil. I drew them by hand, just right after I randomly added paint in the shape that was somehow close to a leaf. After letting all set and dry - I've come and added the contour of the leaves with a Black Pitt Pen (Faber Castell). Used a lot of light stamping and the gelatos  from Faber Castell (well, the gel sticks).

I haven't been doing too much of a real journaling, like writing about what was happening, a thing that I shall correct in the future. After all, the documented life it's about every day life, with simple - but so meaningful notes. :)

The documented Life Project - Week 2 - Serfie!

This Selfie received lots of Likes on Facebook, and I thank you for that. It was build on my agenda paper directly, after doing some collage using newspapers cuts. I've started to draw the face and the eyes, without thinking too much of the shape and if they are properly aligned. In fact, I believe the left pupil is bigger than the right one, but I just left it as it is. I do love the lips, though. They look more than perfect to me!

It is true that when you just draw or paint and don't think too much how the result is going to look like, in the end you'll gonna love what you've created. 

This picture has a little Instagram effects applied to it. I just loved the colors ans saturation. 

This was week 2 - I think the most loved prompt until now! Let's see what's next on week 3!

The documented Life Project - Week 1

Have also posted about my week 1 journal on my Bubblews account. 

YEY! here's week 1 from the documented life project! I'm behind with posting about it, the project is already on week 4, but as I told you I have done all the three previous weeks. Here is week 1!

For the week one we were supposed to paint, draw or attach a photo with the front door. My door pattern is pretty hard to draw, so I've tried to draw it as simple as possible. Oh yeah, I gotta tell you this was a real challenge for me! Still, this is the original door pattern, and I'm more then happy with the result. When I first started to draw it, I didn't thought it's going to come out so beautifully!

I did sketch after a photo I wanted to attach here, but I've decided not to. The illustration should be enough to make an idea about it. 

When I've started to add color, I could see the whole picture with color and everything turned into a beautiful illustration! I sure have to create other sketches and paint them with watercolor, it was so relaxing painting this, even if it took me more than one day, giving the fact that I had to stop multiple times. 

But it doesn't really matter, as long as I managed to finish it up! What do you think of it? Are you part of the documented life project? :) 

I also wrote about the documented Life on Bubblews.

The documented Life Project

Originally posted by me on Bubblews:
A new year is a perfect time for a new project, isn’t it? And if there is an art project, even better to me! I didn’t think twice when stepping into this wonderful project run by 5 magnificent talented young ladies that initiated the project. The documented Life Project is made up of 3 parts: one part planner, one art journal and other sketch book. I ended using a planner only, in which I am going to insert watercolor for the time when I need to journal. 

Hello, dear creative soul!

I'm back with The Documented Life Project, initiated by the 5 magnificent ladies who are so inspiring that I've decided to join the project in a blink! I've never been part of such a big challenge, I have to admit it, it's something BIG. It's a whole year of fascinating art and a self-discovering journey. And making this public online is even bigger to me. I've never published so often my art and never shared my art journals until recently, when I felt I want to share them with other amazing artists from all over the world.
SO there we go! I'm already behind with posting, we are on week 4 with the challenge, and for every week there will be a theme.

Here you can check the themes from week 1 to 4.

I've already finished week 1, 2, 3, but I haven't got the chance to write about it here. I know I will definitelly going to enjoy the week 4 challenge: write a secret message and paint over, showing only one key word!

Saying "Hi" to 2014

Good morning or good evening where ever you are, dear creative soul! I know I haven't been writing much on this blog, and it's mostly because I've been doing a lot of writing on another, publishing articles about life and personal development, finding your soul and practicing forgiveness. I'm on a journey, and I only now discovered how much I really enjoy to write.

I haven't been neglected my art journal, though - I have a lot of beautiful and inspiring journaling pages I'm going to post about in here, so bear with me. 

I'm gonna leave you with this art journal page while I get myself back to post about what has been going on in my life and with my art creating process.Until then, stay tuned on your way and keep that smile on your face, shining like nobody else can, but you!

Not perfect, just like me! Oh, but I love her ;)