sketchbook journal - update

I stayed close to home this holiday weekend to keep an eye on the nearby fire in La Tuna Canyon. The upside was that I had time to finish some sketches. I have been creating in the small (8"x6") artist made sketchbook journal because the size lends itself to quicker sketches. More posts here and here. 

This 2 page sketch that I posted as WIP here. I added some black acrylic paint around the main circular elements to define the shape and focal point.

This is another sketch posted here as a WIP. It was created out of my interest in using red and green without evoking a Christmas theme. Adding the swipes of brown paint helped. 

This 2 page sketch is a cruciform collage that falls into my comfort zone. The pink acrylic paint was leftover from another sketch. I'm very happy with the way this sketch turned out. Probably due to the fact that it's in a style that I'm comfortable creating and that's okay. 

 

Now this 2 page sketch is outside my comfort zone. Layers of heavily painted and marked. I still haven't decided if I like it or not. 

Creating in a sketchbook journal allows me to play around with techniques. I have seen this technique of painting a ground, allowing it to dry then painting over the whole ground then scrapping away the top layer to reveal some of the ground. This sketch didn't turn out the way I had hoped because the ground color barely shows. I'm thinking the top layer dried too quickly that's why I wasn't able to scrap enough of the paint. I do like the texture that was created. I'll probably try this technique again. 

Thanks for stopping by!