Starry, Starry Night by Frieda Oxenham

Having grown up in The Netherlands, Van Gogh was always around on posters, biscuit tins and postcards. It also provided me with the opportunity to see many of his works in person. There now is the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam but if you want to see more of him it’s worth paying a visit to the Kroller Muller Museum located in the heart of a Nature Reserve near to Arnhem. Few museums have such a beautiful setting and their collection of modern paintings and sculptures is world class.

But I had never set eyes on A Starry Night by Van Gogh until I found myself in the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York, two years ago. It was a very special moment! And together with the Starry, starry night song by Don McLean it inspired this art journal page.

Here is the step by step tutorial:

1.      Gesso two pieces of 9 x 12” watercolor paper (I used Langton 140lb or 300).

2.      Using  a variety of blue paints on one page as well as the Spirit Wind Mask stencil, remove paint through the stencil, after scrapping it on with an old credit or key card, using a baby wipe.

3.      Using a variety of yellows do the same for the other page but this time using Cutouts Inspired by Matisse stencil.

4.      Return to the blue page and using more varieties of blue paint repeat step 2. Also spray through the Spirit Wind Mask stencil with a turquoise mica spray paint and while it is still wet sprinkle some blue glitter over the page. Then added some spirals using a metallic paint and Batik stencil. This page is the background and is now finished.

5.      On the yellow page using more varieties of yellow paint and Impressionist Brush Textures repeat step 3. Also spray through this stencil using a gold mica spray and sprinkle some gold glitter over the page.

6.      Again on the yellow page we are going to add more interest and textures as this page will form the stars. There is no need to think about designing a pretty page as it will be cut up. So randomly add text with a gold ink pad, add a 3-D element in the form of Wendy Vecchi gold paste and X Rows stencil. Also add rubber stamping with a circular mandala stamp and an orange stamp pad. I used a stamp from Jane Davenport.

7.      Continue to add more interest to the yellow page by adding pieces of washi tape, and stenciling on little stars using white paint and StylizedFireworks.

8.      Then using the large stencil from the August 2017 StencilClub set, mark out stars in various sizes on the back of the yellow page. You can either mark around the stars (the masks) or use the stencil to mark around the inside of the star shapes. I found the latter the easiest. Cut out the stars. Then glue on the stars to the blue page, either as shown on my finished project, or in an arrangement that pleases you. I glued on my stars with matte gel and then stitched around them using a sewing machine, gold thread and a used needle (stitching on paper blunts a needle very quickly so save your old needles and use those!).

9.      Mark around the stars with a gold marker.

10.  Print out the words Starry, starry night on your computer, edge with a blue ink pad and glue on as shown in the finished project.

11.  Mark the edges of the page with a metallic blue marker.

12.  I glued on the moon detail of the photograph I took of the actual painting and wrote some text from the Don McLean song along the edges of the page with a white marker.

(C) Frieda Oxenham 2018. To see more of Frieda's work, please visit her BLOG.