Art Journaling with Cynthia Silveri and StencilGirl® Products

For the Birds—An Art Journal Spread

One of my favorite things about winter in Michigan is watching the birds at the feeder. They never cease to hold my interest with their feeding antics and flitting back and forth from the nearby trees. While not all of the birds on the stencils I used for this art journal spread stay around all winter, it is an homage to the birds that visit throughout the year.

Materials:

Art Journal
Kraft paper
Collage papers from your stash (stenciled, of course!)
Acrylic Paints, any colors
Stencils—

Hummingbird and Friends L618
Crow Cedar Waxwing and Chickadee L571
Silveri ATC Mixup L747

Smudgee (or other sponge)
Mark making utensils—pencils, gel pens, Stabilo Woodies, etc.
Glue or acrylic matte medium
Scissors

Technique:

1. I started by cutting apart the bird and ATC stencils so they were easier to work with.
2. I layered the stencils: I put an ATC down on the kraft paper first, then placed a bird stencil over the top. Then I pounced on the acrylic paint color. This gave each bird a pattern. I also left a few unpatterned for variety.
3. I painted a wintery background using mainly white and a little bit of black gesso onto my art journal and let it dry.
4. Once the birds were dry, I cut them out.
5. I also cut out leaf shapes from some collage paper in my stash. (After I applied the leaves I used a while gel pen to create the veins).
6. I arranged the birds and leaves and glued them down with matte medium.
7. Then I drew in the tree branches and “painted” them blue using a Stabilo Woody which I wet with water and brushed out.
8. I decided to add the berries and the star which I cut out of collage paper stash.
9. Finally I embellished the birds by adding whites to their eyes, enhancing their beaks and outlining most of the elements with black fine point marker. I used some colored pencils on some of the unpatterned birds to give them a more three dimensional look. I scribbled a little yellow with a Stabilo Woody here and there to pick up the yellow in the star and some of the birds.