Niamh Baly: Art Journaling with Abstract StencilGirl® Stencils

Hi everyone,

I am so excited to be here on the StencilGirl® blog again today as a guest designer. My name is Niamh Baly and I am a Primary (elementary) school teacher from Tasmania, Australia, a content creator and mum to two gorgeous girls. I am also stencil addict! Stencils are such an amazing tool to help produce fabulous artwork and are so simple to use. They are one of the most important tools that I use in my art journal pages, and nearly every page I create has a stenciled image or texture on it. In this project we will be using stencils to create a quirky abstract journal page using lots of mark making. I find pages like this very relaxing to make, and great pieces for days when you want to paint – but aren’t sure what to make. Below you will find a full process video as well if you want to see this page from start to finish.

To begin, paint a number of different colours in your background. I tend to use analogous colours (colours that sit together on the colour wheel) as they blend nicely together – in this case I used warm colours. I tend to apply the colour in threes on my page to create visual triangles. Once dry I then create drama by applying black gesso through the monoprint stencil by Rae Missigman. This allows any marks applied over the top to really sing against the stark black.

Adding marks to a page can be daunting but take a leap and have fun. I use different paint brushes in a variety of shapes and sizes to create my marks, and often the cheaper the brush the better – as you don’t mind squishing it into your page. I tend to repeat colours from the background again to create repetition or chose a contrasting colour (opposite on the colour wheel from the background colours) to create a focus. You can also use paint pens and stamps to add extra marks and interest to your background.

Finally, I wanted to add a focal image to my page. I chose to stencil the bold flower stencils in a number of different sizes to create movement. I used the lapis blue to stencil to give a huge pop of contrasting colour, but also as the blue is semi-transparent, so you can still see the marks and colours from the background peeping through. I then lettered on the words – just breathe, as I found while I was creating this page I felt relaxed, at peace and able to just breathe after a crazy week at work.

Here is a video of the full process creating this page:

Here is a close up of the details in this page.

Here is a list of the StencilGirl® stencils I have used in this project:
Monoprint Stencils and Masks Set
Bold Flower Stencils

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog. I hope that this has inspired you to get into your journals and create something beautiful.

Happy Creating,
Niamh
Instagram
YouTube