Guest Designer Frieda Oxenham

Sometimes all it takes to start a page in an art journal is a line read in a magazine. In this case the line “ahead of the curve” coincided with the arrival of the recent  StencilClub stencils for November.

Here is the tutorial:

1.     Using an 8 x 10” gelli plate add one or more colours of acrylic paint to it and take prints on copy and deli paper. 

2.      Add more acrylic paints to your plate, then add one or more of the stencils named below to the plate, take prints onto the papers made in step 1, and then remove the stencils, take more prints onto other papers from step 1. Here are some examples. L901 Map Pattern,  L885 Connection, S899 Rippled Water, L969 Squiggle Doodle.

3.   Keep overprinting like this using all the above stencils (and more) on your already printed papers. 

4.     You will end up with far more papers than you’ll need but it is good to have lots of choices and anyway, we all love a good painted paper stash, right!

5.     Working in your choice of art journal (I’m using a huge A3 (11.7 x 16.5”) one) start collaging on the page without gluing anything down yet. Simple select a rectangle from one of your favourite printed pages, put it in any of the corners (I started top right) and take it from there, based on what looks good together, varying large and small pieces and balancing the colours. You have plenty of papers so cut or tear them to your heart’s content. I used a metal ruler to tear my papers. Keep playing around till you have an arrangement that you like.

6.     Now glue down the pieces but first take a quick picture on your phone to remind yourself of your arrangement.

7.     Once you have this background glued down start adding smaller pieces as the next layer.

8.     Using one of the stencils form the November 2023 StencilClub and white acrylic paint add circles to the page as shown.

9.     Using the other stencil from the November 2023 StencilClub, stencil the bicycle with red acrylic paint onto deli paper, cut it out and glue it to the page at bottom right.

10.  Using the same stencil as in step 9 add small circles to the page with red and metallic bronze paint.

11.  Glue on your chosen text, cut from magazines. Mine reads: “Find your imagination, ahead of the curve”.

12.  With light blue paint and the same stencil as in step 8 add more of the large circles on the page.

13.  Using a mix of Stabilo All black pencil and water soluble oil pastels, outline the large circles, bike and text and scribble randomly with the pencil. 

©Frieda Oxenham 2024