In a Scrape is the challenge over at Michelle Ward‘s Street Team Crusade this month. And I faced this challenge with excitement – I’ve done something a bit like this before, so it isn’t as scary as some of Michelle’s past challenges (see Strip Ease and Pulling Prints, not to mention the ones I didn’t complete).
I started by tearing various text pages into squares (using a ruler) and sticking them onto an art journal spread using a glue stick.
Then I started the paint scraping. I had an idea in my mind so I began with light blue and put the paint directly onto the credit card. I started at the top fo the page, then lifted the card when I was half way down the page. I was going for a fading effect.
Then I added brown across the bottom.
I continues with a few layers of light blue and then a few of straight white, starting from the brown section up to try and enhance the fading. The white also took away some of the darkness in the brown.
I wasn’t happy with the blue contrasting, so I added two darker shades of blue across the top. I was very careful to make sure I only added a little at a time.
To blend these in, I added more light blue and white.
And I was finally happy with the overall results. I love this method as the print dries really quickly (even in the cold weather) so it is easy to add lots of layers in a short amount of time.
To finish off the piece, I created a stencil from a photo I had taken and printed on plain paper. After mixing up some grey paint, I sponged on the trees (no paint brush here!)
To create the layers and depth of the trees, I added more black paint into the grey, adding more trees until I was out of room. I also used the negative stencil but didn’t like that effect as much as the positive stencil trees.
Here is more of the detail. You can still see the underlying text paper and the darker blue.
This is the photo I had in my mind while creating this layout.
This was taken at Lake Mulwala, New South Wales, where the Murry River has been dammed and is full of dead trees. It makes such an eerie sight, early in the morning, but the expanse of blue sky and the reflection was breathtaking. (Taken June 2010)
So that’s it for another month ~ thanks for getting to the end of the post. I would love for you to leave a comment, fellow Crusaders and general blog wanders alike.
Happy Creating,
Michelle















Go Make Something
Posted by Michelle Ward on September 10, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Michelle – thanks for the photos of your process. I admit that at first I wondered why you halted the scraping – limiting yourself to the top and bottom only. But when I got to the end I can see where you drew your inspiration. Your interpretation of the photo is superb – very much your own and yet we can see why you chose your colors and shapes. Love the various shades of gray to create the depth with the trees. Nicely done! And love that you used text squares to get started. Bravo, and thanks for sharing with the team!
P.S. nice observation that the paint dries quickly, allowing you to continue adding layers.
Posted by rachel27b on September 10, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Thank you for visiting my site and leaving your comment.
I love your page. It has worked really well. I also love the photo that inspired you to paint/scrape your page. The scenery reminds me of Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe. In fact, it looks exactly the same with the dead trees sticking up out of the water.
Rachel.
Posted by Jessica Walthall on September 11, 2010 at 3:56 am
Wow! i love what you did with this month’s crusade. Using text from books as a background is a very cool idea. The trees are awesome! Nice job.
Posted by iHanna on September 11, 2010 at 5:05 am
Hi Michelle! Thanks for sharing all the stages of this page! I love how the trees in the back are bleak and the once in the front stronger and “closer” – very cool effect and use of colour.
Cruise on girl!
Posted by Karen on September 11, 2010 at 6:46 pm
Wow! When I started at the top of the post I never imagined what was going to be at the bottom! I never quite know what/where I am going…. your work really impresses me
Thanks for the showing the stages…..
Posted by Cindi P on September 12, 2010 at 6:54 am
Wow – what a cool design! It looks very ethereal and haunting – much like your picture. Thanks for sharing your steps – I would never have known that the trees were not painted with a brush. Very cool…..
Cindi
Posted by Cath Sheard on September 12, 2010 at 1:53 pm
OMG that’s so cool. Love the way you interpreted the challenge and made it your own. What a lovely photo too, by the way.
Posted by Kim Tedrow on September 13, 2010 at 5:00 am
It is so great to see both your process and your inspiration…I love how you utilized the technique (the fading especially) to achieve the effect you wanted. Great work, lovely interpretation of the inspiration. -Kim
Posted by Kim Mailhot on September 13, 2010 at 6:01 am
I love the look on the printed page ! You created a gorgeous piece of art. Thanks for sharing your process with us ! Cheers !
Posted by Steph on September 13, 2010 at 9:11 am
Thanks for showing the process, Michelle… these pages are awesome!!!
Posted by jean on September 13, 2010 at 11:08 am
cool cool cool!!!
Posted by Brigitte on September 13, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Beautiful ! Love how you got inspired by that beautiful photo, and you’ve translated it so well !
Posted by Jane on September 13, 2010 at 10:32 pm
Great pages! Thank you for the step-by-step. I love seeing what inspired you and how it evolved.
Posted by scrapmedia on September 14, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Absolutely fantastic!!!! Your interpretation was perfect. A piece of art!
Posted by Kari on September 15, 2010 at 12:30 pm
I love your interpretation of this month’s challenge. What a great idea to use text as the background! Thanks for sharing your process and the photo.
Posted by Rosie on September 15, 2010 at 10:34 pm
What a beautiful result Michelle! It IS an eerie place, judging by your photo… You rocked this one!!
Posted by allmimsey on September 18, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Love the piece and no wonder you were inspired by the photo! Both of the images remind me of one of my favorite artists Wolf Kahn–he has a different style, but the structure is similar and it’s amazing how many times it can be revisited in different ways.
Posted by Glenda on September 19, 2010 at 3:58 am
HI Michelle. Awesome work. I love Lake Mulwala, used to go there often when we lived in Shepparton.
Well done
Posted by Helen on September 21, 2010 at 6:13 am
I think it is fantastic how you built your page, thank you for showing all the steps.
Posted by TJ on September 28, 2010 at 8:51 pm
WOW – I love how you turned the scraping into a magic water landscape. It’s stunning. Happy creations from germany, tj
Posted by sheila on October 1, 2010 at 7:03 am
I really love what you have done with this challenge and the finished result. The tree stencils are just great. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Esther on October 2, 2010 at 6:15 am
I love this! love the depth and the stenciling! wow!