Creating Journal Backgrounds

I am moving this post over from my other blog, Altered Spirit. I've put that blog on hold anyway and have all my art stuff here, so why not share here. I'm actually contemplating making that blog more of a personal journal, which will mean making it private, at least for now. I had the pleasure of attending an acrylic inks demo at Jerry's Artarama, lead by Ophelia Staton, and I showed this technique. I'm sure I read or saw this somewhere, but unfortunately cannot give proper credit since I can't remember where, but I still want to share. I have seen this taught in several books and on websites, but it consist of using baby wipes to transfer color to paper for a watercolor look. It calls for using inks or watercolor liquids, but I had neither, so my tutorial will be with using acrylic paint.

So, gather your supplies:

• paints. Just two or three colors. Any more than that and they'll end up too muddied
• container with water
• spray bottle with water in it.
• a few baby wipes. Any brand will do.
• disposable plate for paint
• paint brush
• paper, heavyweight. I used 90lb, but next time will probably get something heavier.

Place a few dollops of paint on your plate. Once again I lacked the foresight and just used a grocery bag to set my paint on, so if you don't already have plastic plates sitting around, by all means, use what you've got - no need to add expenses. Dipping your brush in the water container, pick up water to mix in with your acrylics and begin spreading around your plate without mixing them together. Place the baby wipe neatly and completely spread open on top of the paint. Tap the wipe into the paint. While the wipe is still on the paint, take the spray bottle and saturate the wipe with more water. You want it pretty soaked but not super drippy. Pick up the wipe gently and spread it onto your paper. Take a clean wipe and use it to dab on top of the wipe to evenly cover the paper below it. Continue picking up the wipe gentle and moving it around on your paper until it is completely covered in paint or covered how you desire. Don't get concerned while you are dabbing that the paint on the wipe is getting muddled. Once you remove it from your paper, you will see that it is not muddled. I managed to do 2 sheets with just one wipe and 3 colors, without the colors looking bad. Added bonus, when I was getting ready to clean my mess up, I had a bowl full of nasty looking water. I decided to take that water and use it on a sheet that I had gessoed a few days before and just painted the sheet with the water. Turned out pretty nice if I say so myself. The papers are way prettier in person that in the pictures. I will have to post once I've actually put them into a book and done something with them

Lay colored wipe on paper and dab with another wipe

End result, first paper.

Using leftover water for journal page

Second journal page