With the hot sunny days we have been enjoying of late, my page captures light and shade with colourful dragonflies dancing over the water.
I always love to experiment and try different techniques so I had a play around with acrylic paints and stamping to create the background which was fun, therefore my page also serves as a reminder of our 10th Birthday Party at Try it on Tuesday where I hope that you will join in the celebrations and share the art you love to create too!
I started by painting the background with Swedish Blue, Navy, Christmas Green and Cadmium Yellow Liquitex acrylic paint horizontally across the page using a paintbrush. Then I had fun applying the paints again using a scrunched up baby wipe, dabbing the paint onto the page to create light and shade. I stamped some background foliage at the top and bottom of the page which included a reed stamp from Gumpanian using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink, a foliage stamp from Eco Green Crafts using Peeled Paint Distress Ink, and leaves from Simon Says Stamp using Pine Needles and Twisted Citron Distress Ink. To add extra depth, I die cut some Tim Holtz thinlets out of a black patterned paper stock; they are edged with Black Soot Distress Ink and a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck into place in the foreground using a Zig Memory System glue pen. Next I added all the dragonflies which are rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel and some small gems to add a little sparkle which finished the page.
Today we are revisiting the Tolkien Trail on a sunshiny day; this walk is called the Toilkien Trail as J.R.R Tolkien stayed in the area whilst writing The Lord of the Rings. It’s a lovely walk with beautiful views of the English countryside and it is said that the author was influenced by the landscape around Stonyhurst College where he wrote his book. For example a number of names which occur in ‘The Lord of The Rings’ are similar to those found locally including Shire Lane (in Hurst Green) and River Shirebourn (similar to the family name which built Stonyhurst).
J.R.R. Tolkien was renowned for his love of nature and wooded landscapes and this walk takes you though some beautiful woodland. Here we are walking down over one of the many bridges that we encountered along the way …
… and I think Gollum may live under this bridge (grin!).
We walked along the river a few times on the walk, it was so magical and I can just imagine dragonflies dancing over the water during summer too (grin!).
Challenges
I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:
I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from the blog BioArtGal and her In the Sky/In the Air challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my Dancing Dragonflies page.
I’m pleased to be able to join the Opposites challenge over at Country View Challenges with the “light” and “shade” depicted on my art journal page.
I’m happy to join in the fun over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog and their Creative Artiste’s #49th Challenge: Anything Mixed Media Goes with my mixed media art journal page (which included acrylic, inks, papers, markers and rub-ons).
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
- Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Swedish Blue, Navy, Christmas Green, Cadmium Yellow Medium)
- Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peeled Paint, Pine Needles, Twisted Citron, Black Soot)
- Tsukineko Memento Ink (Rich Cocoa)
- Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
- Gummiapan Stamp (Reed Plant 14091107)
- Simon Says Stamp Clear Stamp Set (Leaves And Scribbles SSS101445)
- Eco Green Crafts Recycled Rubber Stamps (Petal Party)
- Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz Alterations (Garden Greens 661206 , Wildflowers 661190)
- Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (ROY1643G)
- The Works (Rhinestone Flowers)
- Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Jo, I really love your page. It looks like a magical faerie meadow in the woods. Tolkien had a lovely working environment, but your scene would tempt him. 😉 xoxo
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Thanks so much for joining in at Art Journal Journey and my challenge. I really appreciate the support and I love the dragonfly page. They are really playful looking and work so well with your beautiful nature background. And that looks like a fantastic place to walk. And a beautiful day. I can’t wait to retire so I can out and do more walking on these gorgeous spring days. (One more year. Hurrah) I hope you have a super weekend. Hugs-Erika
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You page is so Summery. I love watching the dragonflies zip along. Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite stories. Such a beautiful are to take a walk. The bottom of the gate reminds me of the round door on Bilbo’s house, and I can see Gollum living under that bridge. Enjoy your day
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What a cute birdie birthday page and the dragonfly page is amazing! love the colors as always!
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Thanks very much 😀. Happy Friday and wishing you a happy weekend too! J 😊 x
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I am absolutely in awe of this amazing scene – what a wonderful page Jo and I enjoyed seeing this fabulous impressions of the Tolkien Trail! WOW!!!!
A fantastic entry for Erika’s topic at AJJ! Thank you very much for joining in again and thank you for another wonderful shout out for our TioT’s celebration fortnightly topic! You really never ever cease to amaze with your postings and pages! Gorgeous!
Happy weekend artful friend!
Lots of LOVE
from Susi
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Wonderful Art journal page Jo !! Absolutely Amazing ! I love the colours of the background, they are very bright and happy, and the dragonflies are stunning.. Love the beautiful stamps too. Great !
Your visit was fantastic in the world of Tolkien, thanks so much for those lovely photographs.
I wish you a very nice weekend,
Big hugs, Caty
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All those dragonflies filling the air. I’d enjoy that in real life as I do in your art 🙂 The name Tolkien Trail would be enough for me, but your photos make me realize how truly wonderful it’d be to walk where he did in this place.
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Jo its a fabulous page, the dragon flies give it a magical feeling, a scene you could sit and look at for a long time and feel the peace it portrays.
The photos from your walk looked lovely, it is a beautiful area you shared with us today.
Have a good weekend.
Yvonne xx
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Jo this is a very beautiful creation, those dragonflies are having a glorious time dancing around amongst that colour. A glorious place to visit and walk amongst and I too could imagine those dragonflies dancing across the river!! Hugs for the weekend Tracey xx
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Such a pretty page! I love dragonflies! The Tolkien Trail looks like a lovely walk.
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Thanks so much! We’ve been having sunny weather here this week so lots of gardening and walks 😁. I hope you’ve had a good week too and wishing you a wonderful weekend! Jo x
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Your dancing dragonflies are absolutely gorgeous! What a wonderful background you have created!
And beautiful photos of this Toilkien Trail, you had a nice walk through this fabulous wood!
Wish you a happy weekend! Rike xx
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What amazing dragonflies, Jo. I love the entire entry, from the way you swiped the background, then pounced paint using the baby wipe. You stamp well, too. I can’t do that on the page I’m working on. I need to stamp on something other than the actual page. Thank you for once again being so supportive of Art Journal Journey and Erika’s theme. We really, really appreciate your support.
I was super impressed with your walk on the Tolkien Trail. You took some incredible photos, too.
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Beautiful happy page, Jo. You’re so multi-talented. I earn a lot of techniques from you 😉 Gorgeous photos of your walk. I can’t believe how green the grass is! It’s easy to see how those landscapes could inspire a writer or an artist. Eileen xx
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Gorgeous! I was going to say “painting” because it looks very painterly, reminiscent of impressionists. Great work, Jo! Thanks for sharing with us at Country View Challenges.
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beautiful painting of dragonflies…love it
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Amazing page, dear Jo, so very atmospheric, nearly can smell the summer!
Thank you so much for joining in with us at Country View Crafts this month! Have a wonderful time.
Evelyn xx
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Photos are beautiful! 🙂
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Thanks so much! Jo x
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What a beautiful piece Jo, the dragonflies are so beautiful and they look amazing on the background you’ve created for them. Thank you so much for joining in with us at Country View Crafts, and for being our guest designer. Have a very happy week, Sue xx
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What a very pretty journal page. Thank you so much for joining our Opposites challenge at Country View Challenges. Good luck and hope to see you again. Teresa (DT) xx
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What a gorgeous piece this is-loving the lively background and the magical dragonflies! So glad you joined us at Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog this month!
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