I have been a very, VERY bad blogger lately...
...and I'm REALLY sorry....
...but after coming back from Harrogate...
...sorting out all the "stuff" that had piled-up in the living room....
....and getting my head into gear for the next push....
...the time-consuming fairy has been around BIG TIME!!
Mostly because what I'm doing now is very time-consuming indeed....
...and also felt very strange when I started.
Usually, the holiday/travel sketchbook gets prepared before I go...
...and then filled up "on location".
However, because circumstances dictate, I've had to do the "on location" bit here at home...
...seeing as I need the book done to inspire folk in my classes when I'm there!
Thank the Rusty Plank for the internet ....
...and kind friends with photos I could use to work from!
So, as you know from
here I had sprayed and splattered my pages with Brusho powders and sprays...
...slopped on some gesso....
...and then sprayed some more, making delicious now-non-blank pages to work into.
I spent AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaGES mooching through photos looking for suitable ones that I could use both on paper and then on fabric afterwards.
I found plenty!......probably enough for more than one sketchbook actually...
...and made a start...
Man! Have I LOVED doing this!!!!!
It's like.....I'm there already...before I go....and there for ages....instead of a few hours!
I could NEVER get this amount of detail down on pages on location, without losing time really looking at lots more.
I've totally immersed myself in the art and gathered as much info as I can, and then spent many wonderful hours at my desk with glass dip pen and
Brusho paints. Pure enjoyment - and lots of it!
OK....gush over now.....
After sorting out how I wanted the pages to look, I then had to get the same effect on fabric....
....so, after applying some surface treatment to
Empress calico ...
...I used Brusho sprays to get the "sketchbook page look" to stitch onto.
Thank the Rusty Plank for Pfaff machines too...
...don't know how I EVER managed without that "needle-down" facility, especially for doing this kind of tight stitching.
It took hours, but I love the result.
I'm in creative heaven...........:-)))))
(Hope you are too)
x C
