Art Journaling with a Splash

(Paint scraping of blue and black acrylic paint with water splotches)

Since I had mastered the art of paint scraping, I decided perhaps I had enough intelligence and skill to pull off a variation of the technique which L.K. Ludwig just so happens to provide.  So my bold, brave self chose to do a paint scraping with a little splash. 

This is simply where you do a basic paint scraping of two different colors and then throw some water on the page willy-nilly and blot up the water with a handkerchief, an easily accessible sleeve, or paper towel.  If one wishes cheap, easy clean up and a non-purple nose I would recommend the paper towel. The blotted up water allows the first color of paint to be displayed in a smattering of splotches across the surface. Mine turned out rather brilliant, if I do say so myself. 

So with this success I decided to try another paint scraping variation. This involved beginning with a simple paint scraping and then the use of a stencil and damp paper towel.  You use the damp paper towel to remove the first layer of paint within the stencil.  It sounds simple enough and to be honest, it probably is but, nevertheless, mine turned out to be more of a paint smear and not an attractive one at that.  

While this was disappointing, it showed how the world would not end if I screwed up a page.  It also taught me about the limits of certain techniques with certain mediums.  This was very important because up until this point I had really no experience with any of the stuff I was using besides a little practice with some everyday paint-by-numbers.

Luckily, my paint smudge did little to discourage me, and I plowed ahead, but now that I was gaining momentum.  I thought perhaps I should move beyond the paint and old debit card and see what other wonders were waiting for me out there.