Background journal pages

It's been 100% crazy around these parts- not enough hours in the day, not enough days in the week, not enough weeks in the month to get done all I need to. It seems that after a 18 day visit from the little, the house and studio are wrecked, the paperwork drudgery (like insurance & bills- I hate reading that stuff!) has piled up, my mojo is shot, and I'm having trouble finding my usual stride of getting things accomplished.
I'm busy developing new classes to propose, and getting together supplies for upcoming classes. I'm also trying to get a few outstanding swaps completed and in the mail.

These are some of the background pages I created for a journaling group I am in. I hope you enjoy them- they were a combination of pages I stamped and painted, then imported into photoshop to give them lighter centers to make it easier for my friends to journal on. I love finding new ways to re-use my own work. I hope you are all enjoying your summers too!

New ATC, new journal pages

Many of you know I've been sort of under the weather the last couple months, and have been very weak. I've tried to continue to work on art journal projects as I have the energy. I've been having to "work close" meaning I couldn't do projects that required lots of time on the computer or dealing with many different types of tools and materials. I actually think it's been good for me, as it's sort of forced me to revisit the basics once again. Sometimes I get so caught up in "new" products, I forget how much fun pens and pencils can be. I had sort of shelved all you can do with colored pencils or a simple set of watercolors. I feel like I'm reestablishing some basic skills.

With my job as an architectural photographer and graphic designer, precision is a highly required necessity. Sometimes, it inhibits my personal art, as I really adore whimsy. I like folksy, childlike fantasy characters that are free and fluid and sketchy. Many times I find it very difficult to let go and let flow. I'm trying to find that place in my art again. I think this time of being down will really help as I begin bigger projects again. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy some of the recent "basics" I've been playing with again.

A dragon inspired ATC