Watercolor & Ink Altered Barn Owl Print - Simon Says Stamp Blog Challenge

Hello Everyone!  I normally do not blog twice in a single day, but I want to post a special watercolor print I created for the Simon Says Stamp Blog Challenge.  This print was created using a really bad artist proof from my signed and numbered "Barn Owl" edition.  The original Barn owl prints were created using a hand carved linoleum block and an oil based ink on Reeves BFK cold pressed paper. During the printing process, I ended up with several artist's proofs (prints with mistakes, different colored inks, smudges, etc.).  As an artist, I never throw away any art or paper.  You never know when those "junk" papers will come in handy!

I think that the finished print above turned out BEAUTIFUL!  I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out because I was using water based paint and ink over an oil ink print, but I love the effects and colors.

This print is the original black and white "Barn Owl" print.  Like the print I used to create the watercolor print above, this too is an artist's proof due to imperfect printing (uneven ink, unintentional white spots, and smudging within the feathers).  The artist proof I used for the watercolor print had lots of background areas that were poorly inked resulting in a lighter, splotchy background.

The materials used include:
 - artist's proof linocut print
 - tracing paper (to create a mask over the owl)
 -  black permanent marker
 - Dylusions ink spray in colors White Linen, Pure Sunshine, London Blue, After Midnight, Cherry Pie, and Cut Grass
 - Distress paint in colors Black Soot, Mowed Lawn, Chipped Sapphire, and Salty Ocean
 - Distress Ink in colors Peacock Feathers,Picked Raspberry, and Faded Jeans
 - Archival Black Ink Pad
 - Water in a spray bottle
 - Masking tape
 - Stamp with script
 - Fineline masking fluid
 - Workable fixative
 - White Gelli Roll pen

The first thing I did was create a mask for the main owl. I also used a little masking fluid and masking tape to preserve key white areas without over doing it.  I did not perfectly mask the owl because I wanted the colors to bleed and drip into the image a bit. I then started to layer areas of distress paint on the print and sprayed the print with water to get the colors to move. When that layer was dry, I started to spray Dylusions ink spray over certain areas of the image. I blotted some spots right away, and other spots I sprayed with water to create drips.  My After Midnight ink sprayer was clogged a bit, so I accidentally created large splatters on the image. I ended up using other colors to purposely create splatters similar to the After midnight spots. I let the image dry and removed the masks. I decided to use a workable fixative at this point so I could add more layers of color without disturbing the layers of paint and ink underneath. I ended up blending distress ink into the background and into the owl's feathers to get rid of a bit of the stark white. I also added a bit of Chipped Sapphire Distress Paint to the shadow areas of the feathers to bring more color into the owl image. I ended up layering colors until I was happy with the print.  I then stamped some script on the image using black Archival ink. The last thing I did was use a white Gelli Roll Pen to add back a few of the white details in the feathers. Viola, the altered print is complete!

In the end, I loved how the different mediums interacted with each other.  The distress paint worked well on the oil based ink, but the Dylusions Ink spray and Distress Ink seemed to avoid those inked areas and preferred to seep into the Reeves paper. I absolutely love how this altered print turned out and can't wait to try this technique again!

This image is being entered into the watercolor challenge at  Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog.  I am apologizing in advance if I do not post to the blog for a couple days. I have been physically exhausted all week due to returning to work after a six month medical leave. Despite my surgery being successful, my ankle continues to be extremely painful and swollen.  Anyway, I will try to post to the blog and create art if my body allows it.  I hope all of you have a fantastic Thursday tomorrow. Take care. ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Weekend Art Journal Page

Hello everyone.  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.  I got to spend some time with my family this warm autumn weekend. I also got to enjoy the Green Bay Packer football game this afternoon and made a few cream pies. Finally back home and able to post to the blog.

Tonight I just wanted to share a mixed media art journal page that I created this weekend. I created this page using dylusions ink sprays, acrylic gel medium, scrap paper, gel pens, a face cut out from a magazine ad, and a black permanent marker.  This page was inspired by a magazine makeup ad. I was thinking that all women should be proud of who they are and show their true colors.  We are all beautiful people and should not change who we are to fit into society's idea of beauty.  I love how this art journal page turned out, but wish the magazine paper wouldn't have wrinkled so much when adhering it into my dylusions journal.

Thank you so much for visiting the blog tonight.  As always, feel free to share this post on social media or follow this blog.  Have a great night! ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤ 

An Intaglio Print Photoshoped On Scrapbook Paper

Hello Everyone.  Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  Its hard to believe that summer is almost over.  Labor day is right around the corner, and before you know it, Halloween will have come and gone.  Kids are returning to school and college this week, and it is nice that life is returning to normal again. I have nothing against summer, but I absolutely cannot wait for fall to get here.  I love sweater weather, and adore the bright autumn colors here in Wisconsin.  I also enjoy decorating the house for the autumn season and upcoming holidays.  The best part of fall is that my house will be scented with pumpkin spice (my all time favorite smell) and I can drink pumpkin shakes from a local custard shop once again.

The image below is an intaglio print I created in college. Intaglio printmaking is by far my favorite form of printmaking. I love etching copper and nickel plates with acid baths and and metal engraving tools to create lines and texture. I find that this style of printmaking is very time consuming and tends to not go as planned, but I absolutely enjoy the process of etching metal.  The printing of the metal plates is my favorite part.  The paper has to be wet when it is printed on so it is important to use a cold press archival paper like Reeves BFK. It would be impossible to actually print on scrapbook paper due to the quality and additives in the paper.  Unlike block printing or stamping, this type of printmaking makes a print when the ink settles in the groove of the metal plate.  When the plate is run through the press the ink is deposited from the groves onto the wet paper.  As you may have guessed, a print will not come out cleanly unless you meticulously clean the surface of the plate after inking it. This form of printmaking was common in the 18th and 19th century due to the longevity of the metal and it ability to stand up to the wear and tear of multiple printings.

In order to have this image on specialty paper or scrapbook paper, you must use Photoshop or a photo editing software.  I used Photoshop to achieve the results in the image above.  Instead of using the wand or eraser tool to remove the white areas of the picture, I was able to invert the white area with the digital scrapbook paper.  This technique is much faster and creates a cleaner appearance if you are simply looking to change the background appearance.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Monday.  Thanks for stopping by. ❤ Tia- Copper Blossom Paperie ❤

Fun Weekend Craft - Repaint Lawn Ornaments

Hello everyone.  I hope that all of you are having a great weekend so far.  I have been spending time at my brother's house today repainting lawn ornaments.  My sister-in-law had thought about throwing away all the old outdoor decorations that were faded and had chipped paint, but instead I repainted them.

I love this craft idea because you don't have to go out and buy new craft supplies.  The only materials you need is sandpaper, acrylic paint (or any medium you have that is permanent), paint brushes, and spray fixative.  

First you are going to need some old lawn ornaments.  Wood and ceramic decorations will work best. Anything metal will require enamel paint or spray paint.  After gathering the lawn decorations in desperate need of updating, you will want to scrape or sand off any paint that is chipping. You will also need to thoroughly clean the lawn ornaments.  Once clean, paint them how you like.  Be creative!  You don't have to paint it exactly like it was when you bought it. The bear above was originally a black bear until I turned him into a psychedelic masterpiece!  Experiment with different mediums and colors.  Try painting a trendy chevron print over an entire lawn ornament.  A super simple way to revive any lawn ornament is to use metallic or stone spray paint to create a bronze or stone statue effect. Lastly, when the paint is dry, spray a permanent fixative, clear spray paint, or other permanent sealant to preserve your work.

When you set these newly painted decorations out on the lawn, you will get tons of compliments and envious neighbors stalking your yard. My sister-in-law has had half the neighborhood stop by and ask her where she got the bear figure.

I hope you are inspired to try this project idea. Please comment below or share this blog post on social media if you enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by.  ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paper Gallery ❤

Throw Back Thursday- Art Journal Page!

First of all, I want to say thank you to everyone who is supporting my blog and artistic Journey.  I am so flattered to have such a vast audience from around the world!  Your support motivates me to keep working as an artist and sharing my work and ideas with all of you.

 I wasn't sure what I was going to post today, but decided I would show a page from my mixed media art journal.  My journal is the full size dylusions journal.  I absolutely love this journal but wasn't a fan of the price.  I ended up using a 50% off coupon at Hobby Lobby and paid $12.49 for the journal last winter.  This journal was a rare splurge for me, but I absolutely loved how big and sturdy it was.  In all honesty, an art journal can be made from a planner, old book, sketch book, or anything you have.  I also used dylusions ink, old scrapbook paper, spray fixative, glue, a black pen, and a white gel pen.  The dylusions inks I purchased on Joann's website when they were 50% off plus got an additional 20% off with coupon.  I am on Joann's mailing list and love receiving coupons... I rarely pay full price for art materials.  If you don't have dylusions inks, you can get the same effect using watercolors, watered down acrylic paint, or any dye ink.

First, I sprayed the page with lime and turquoise dylusions spray.  While that was air drying, I cut out two birds, a bunch of hexagons, and 2 Moroccan style windows out of scrapbook paper. When the ink was dry, I positioned all the cut out pieces on the page and glued them down.  I used a thin layer of tacky glue hoping it wouldn't warp the page, but it still warped a little bit.  I would recommend a glue stick or alternative adhesive. When the glue was dry, I sprayed midnight dylusions ink on the page, and added water to create drips.  When that step was dry, I outlined all the shapes with a permanent black pen and wrote the word color in the hexagons. I also drew in a few shapes and swirls. Next I sprayed the entire piece with a fixative prior to using a white gel pen.  I have found that if I use a gel pen directly on top of dylusions ink, the white pen will pull up the color from the paper.  Lastly, I created dimention by adding white gel pen to the tops of the shapes. I also created a border around the page and added 3D letter stickers to create the word Imagine.

I hope this has inspired you to start an art journal or new mixed media project.  Please feel free to comment or share this blog post with your friends. Thanks for stopping by! ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paper Gallery ❤

Making Old Art New Again

I have a ton of old screen prints, linocuts, and intaglio prints from college sitting around collecting dust. Many of these items are over 10 years old and have been sitting in the basement in art portfolios and storage bins. Most artists probably have similar issues.  Any art pieces you personally are not thrilled with get tucked away and forgotten about.  I was thinking to myself today, what should I do with some of these things?  I am a mixed media artist, and have been using a few prints in my dylusions art journal, but what about the rest?

I found one screen print in particular that I was always on the fence about.  It was close to being awesome, but never quite made it.  Today, I scanned that image into photoshop and posterized it into 3 colors. I then removed/cut out all of the lightest color so that those areas would be transparent. I have several digital scrapbook papers that I had purchased a while back, and decided to use one to fill in all the areas that were transparent.  There are several ways to do this depending on what photo software you use. I ended up compressing the layers into one image so I could remove/cut the other two colors from the image. All that remained was the digital scrapbook paper where the lightest colors in the image are.  I ended up printing this over the original screen print using my ink jet printer.  Viola.... the old art is new again!

I do want to point out a few things before you try this.  Firstly, do not attempt to put a painting, photograph, or non porous surface through your printer..... it will not print on that smooth of a surface and you will end up with a big mess.  This would work best for alcohol ink drawings, screen prints on paper (as long as the surface is smooth), and matte surfaces.  Secondly, the digital image will probably not match up perfectly with the piece of art.  My ink jet printer is a beast and as you can see from the image above, the digital image did not line up perfectly with the art.  I personally kind of like that for this type of project.  I wouldn't recommend this technique if you are looking for perfection. Thirdly, make sure you put your art in the printer the right way! If you have a printer that jams every time you try to print, I wouldn't try this technique. Lastly, ink from an ink jet printer is not permanent and will react with water.  It is best to use fixative on the art when the ink is dry.  The ink may take a little longer to dry since you are printing on an alternative surface.  For best results, let the ink completely dry overnight before applying spray fixative.  I like to use Krylon, but it is up to you.  Acrylic medium or Mod Podge may reactivate the ink and therefore might not be the best choice for sealing your project.

I hope you try out this idea!  Please comment and share your results.   ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paper Gallery ❤