Art Journal Page: I Feel Pretty

I sketched this little girl while engaging in some work avoidance activity yesterday. Then, after I completed the work I was avoiding, I couldn't resist creating a journal page with her.

First I sketched her, then filled in the face coloring and details with watersoluble crayons and a black pen. For her hair I first put down a wash of watercolor in black, then added the highlights with stamps and the imprint of bubble wrap painted with black.

For the background I used tissue paper and sheet music from the play West Side Story. I chose sections from the song I Feel Pretty since it seemed to fit the mood of this page best.

Once I was happy with her I decided to add a little more visual interest over the whole page by putting some paint splatters on. I use a carefully placed sheet of paper to cover the face when I do this, since I want the splatters to just go on the background.

The finishing touch is a little word or quote I add to almost all of my pages. The "Amazing you" is from a sticker set I had in my long-neglected scrapbooking stash.

I am having fun sketching faces and trying to improve my skills in this area - I still struggle with eyes and expressions. I am also learning how difficult it is to blend skin tones to achieve the right shade for the ethnicity you're trying to convey. I tend to blend so much that the watercolor paper starts to pill, which can make it even more difficult to get the colors right. It's all a learning process though, and I'm having so much fun along the way. 

In case you are also interested in the videos I'm using to learn shading/blending techniques here are just a  few on You Tube I've found extremely helpful - even if they do make it look like a piece of cake!

• How to paint skin tones in acrylic part 1
• Tutorial with Copics: 7 different skin colors
• Watercolor techniques: creating flesh tones part 1

Happy painting!

CGM