Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[PeppiPatty]

Oops it’s just the preliminary drawings and I haven’t included the beach or stuff but you can get what I’m beginning to think about ..... 

I still so so wish I was at University ..... 

[outlander]

@Faith-and-Hope
The directions youve given here as to how to start your pages, is that how you would start the love heart one? Id love to.make something similar to it....

[Faith-and-Hope]

Yes @outlander.  You can write something in lines across the base colour you have printed or pasted or painted onto the page ..... or you can start with written text, magazine or newspaper text and paint on top of that. Then cut out the hearts and position where you want the before gluing them down, then outline them with a marker when they are dry.

You can write something else on top of all of that if you want, or cut out letters from magazine pages and glue thin on to make the text you want ..... and that can be outlined in white or coloured gel pens too it you want.  Just keep layering it up until you’re happy with it ..... and then you can draw a border around the edge of the page to provide a finish, or if you coat it all with matt medium, you can use blending textas to smudge a darker colour of what you have already used around the edges of the page, like a smokey grey-blue for instance ..... or make it brighter, like pink, teal, or mauve.

[outlander]

Of all things that pop up on my fb this morning this is what it is. It sounds about right! Everytime i come to the art thread this is what happens lol @Faith-and-Hope

Im going to have to find some  newspapers and mazagines! Is watercolour or acrylic better to use? 

[Faith-and-Hope]

I find that acrylic is better to use if you want to create layers with the matt medium.  It creates a protective barrier and changes the paper from porous to non-porous, meaning that inks won’t “bleeed” into the surface of the paper, and you can work on top if it like fixitive @outlander ...... but painting matt medium over watercolour will cause it to mess up ...... I have heard that PVA glue works the same, if you paint it over the whole lot, and it dries clear, but I haven’t used it like that.

If you don’t want to sew the work, then watercolours are fine too.

[Former-Member]

[Former-Member]

Hi @Former-Member & @Faith-and-Hope, missing yas
Not being a ‘carer’ anymore is like a divorce- everything changes 🌸💕

[Faith-and-Hope]

Hi @Former-Member ....

Hearing you Hon.  I know you are keeping busy in whichever ways you can, and that is so important.  You are going through another grief cycle of separation, even though your Dad is still around.

We are here for you.  Keep posting about how you feel.  It is really important to express that to help you move forward and find a new path, new interests.

Keep up with your artwork, and if you are travelling a bit in your kitted-out car, look for art and craft classes to attend at local community centres, or art centres.  Even attending one here and there will introduce you to new people, and you can have some fun and interesting times as you develop skills.  Plan day trips to where you can do art.  It's just a suggestion, but I hope it works for you.  There can be a sense of freedom and healing in it .....

Hugs Hon 🌷💜

[Former-Member]

Thanks F&H, I have a problem with the art book, gluing pages together has caused the paper to crease like buckle and folds. Not fair! I’d prefer a smooth surface to work on 😞 maybe the glue was wrong type / too liquidy, put me off. What to do?

[Faith-and-Hope]

Try using a glue stick to glue an ordinary piece of paper onto the page when you want to work on it ..... not do the whole book at once, just one page.  That one should stay smooth, but the ones underneath that you have glued together will make the pages thicker, more solid, and easier to work on.  It will also make the book thicker, so perhaps gently tear out each third glued page as you go, just to thin the book back out a bit.

@Former-Member