The Magical Journal Journey continues again in 2014 as myself and eight other artists continue to send our books around the globe to share our art.
This year our theme is Inspired by... Each of us chose an artist we love and that we felt would provide suitable creative lessons to our friends. We are studying their work closely then producing our own from the inspiration gleaned
I took Matisse as my maestro.
Kat Wright, whose journal I received first, chose a living artist who fresh, lively and fun work she felt truly drawn to.
Jennifer Judd-McGee is passionate about nature and her patterns.
Now, here is confession time. I looked at her work and thought it would be easy to create something inspired by it. I couldn't have been more wrong! I laboured long and hard to create this first spread. I pulled my hair out as nothing quite sat right next to each other or fit. I pulled off collage and layered more. I swore... I know, naughty me... I got really angry when my base layer of book page came unstuck too!
Things got a bit better on the other side, but I still wasn't entirely happy:
But then finally I felt I got into my stride. I stopped looking too closely at Jennifer's work and let my Muse pull the strings. We'd soaked ourselves in JJM tea and now it was simply time to pour.
It's a fine line to tread between copying the style and being influenced it - "making it your own" as TV talent show judges are so fond of saying! I'm not entirely sure where this work ended up but it was a challenge from which I learnt about the power of the line, the 'doodle', positioning and colour choice.
I loved the organic shapes of her work and the simplicity which hid a carefully planned composition.
Jennifer Judd-McGee - I am your newest fan!
Final part of the project promises to be the most nerve-wracking - we are collaborating on painting the covers of the journal. I guess I was lucky to have a blank canvas so didn't have to put anything over anyone's work. Although, I did cover up Kat's painstaking layers of gesso with a sheet of paper I had created a mono-print on... Sorry Kat!
I wonder what my artist friends will add to this! I felt it was the kind of background Jennifer would approve of!
Before I go, I thought I'd also share these greetings cards made once the inspiration was fully flowing through my veins.
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