CREATING BACKGROUNDS WITH ACRYLIC PAINTS

To start choose about 3 background colours to work with. It can be more, this is just a starting point. Paper towel, spritz bottle and a sponge for each colour for application.

I am working in my journal where the pages are a thick water colour paper.

Start dabbing the colours onto the page into different areas. Fill the page with colour blending slightly where they meet. Not too much or it could go muddy. Leave to dry.

When the page is full and dry you can add some mask or stencils and dab over them.

Here I have used a scroll dabbed over with translucent blue and below is with a crown and some red added over the top.

You can use your non stick craft mat to put the paints onto. I tend to ruin other pages when I do this as I get carried away and forget there is paint on it.

Now I have chosen a rubber stamp to use and have applied white acrylic paint to it and stamped with it.

The next stage I have dabbed through some sequin waste. I always love the way this adds a wonderful layer.

On the top left corner you can see that I have turned the sequin waste over and have created a subtle negative print from paint left on it. You need to do this before the paint dries.

I have then added some stamping, a little journaling and stamped a figure onto patterned paper, cut out and stuck on.

Here are some other backgrounds from the journal. Some not finished yet, but show how different colours work.

Just play with what you have to hand. This last page was coloured by using Adirondack sprays. This is a much quicker method and gives a different effect.