LifeBook Week49: Be Brave (painting on cardboard)

We're nearing the end of the year and thus the end of LifeBook 2016! It went so incredibly fast! But Tam's still got a few more lessons for us in store. This one was taught by Jenny Grant, who brought us the fantastic Inner Wizard page earlier this year. Her second lesson was awesome as well. It's a form of intuitive painting on a large piece of scrap cardboard, titled 'Be Brave'. We all know that it's so much easier to be brave on scrap materials than in an expensive journal, so I tried to let go of my inhibitions. I documented my process in the photos below:

Large piece of cardboard roughly gessoed with a pallette knife

Charcoal scribbles and collage pieces added plus more gesso on top

Fluid acrylics and inks added

At this point, we were encouraged to explore interesting areas of the surface to develop further and then cut the cardboard into smaller pieces. As my cardboard wasn't that big to start with (about 13" X 20"), I decided to keep it in one piece, but I did take photos of smaller areas, which you can see below. The tissue paper created some amazing textures!

At this point, I turned my cardboard on its side and sketched a rough composition with white charcoal, which I then outlined with white ink, sprayed with water and let it drip. This didn't give me the contrast I was looking for, so I outlined the shapes with some black ink as well with a fineline applicator. I added some lines and splatters with acrylic paint to complete the painting. This must be the biggest piece I've ever worked on so far. Close up, you can still see all the underlying textures.

I think that's enough photos for now LOL! I really enjoyed this process and it brought me a step closer to understanding the intuitive and brave painting concept. I think I will make a print of this piece so I can still include it in my bound LifeBook at the end of the year. 

Happy creating!