Sunday, September 23, 2018

Mermaids in the bath


Today I'm here with another Art Journal Journey spread meant for Yvonne from Meggy's Way's theme which is A World of Fantasy.  And although I hadn't planned it, I'm also linking to Try it on Tuesday, whose theme this fortnight is Slap it on.

This spread is a disaster to try to photograph.  I used two glazes and two metallic paints, along with some regular acrylic craft paint.  In return, my camera (and my scanner) rebelled.

These were the first two colors I started with, then just kept adding more and more colors, slapping them on at random.

When I went in for a close-up, the metallic greens and die cuts turned purple and the golds took on a grotesque appearance.

Further, this was supposed to read "Mermaids in the bath," but before I realized it, the sentiment turned into "Mermaid at the bath."

I'll let you peruse these at your discretion.





The scan was even worse color wise than the photos, but I liked how it showed the mermaids better along with their underwater flora.


I started this page by laying down three metallic green paints.  I added the mermaids, then some regular acrylic paint.  I had some clear and gold glazes I added, and that is when my camera rebelled.  The die cuts were from Chris, the mermaids from the internet, and the words written using two metallic gel pens.

Thank you for visiting.  The incredibly loyal Bleubeard and I are delighted you chose to spend some time here today and hope to also see you at Art Journal Journey, as well as Try it on Tuesday.   Again, I apologize for this page that turned out to be a nightmare to photograph.

For those of you who asked, I wanted to visit the Eisenhower Library, Museum, and boyhood home in Abilene, Kansas, but because the museum was being renovated, Sally, who I invited to join me for Museum Day, didn't want to travel that far and only see a part of the exhibits.  I plan to go next year, even if I have to go alone!  For those of you who don't know, Eisenhower was our (the U.S.) 34th President.  He was also a five-star general in the United States Army and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe.  He called all the plays and was in charge of D-Day.  

Instead, I let Sally pick where she wanted to go, and she wanted to see the World Museum of Treasures.  Photos as soon as I can go through the over 600 I took yesterday,


22 thoughtful remarks:

Helen said...

the green and grey thing in the photo from the walkway, is one of the engravings that are dotted about telling you about the trees you can see from the walkway. I photographed them years ago when the walkway opened, so tend not to really look at them now! (I didn't keep the camera dry but kept drying it off with my lens cloth.)

Look forward to your museum trip! You are very good to Sally, you invite her to go with you and she chooses the destination! I am sure it will be worth waiting whilst you sort your photos... 600.. makes me sound quite like I barely take any (300 yesterday in the rain!)

Jackie PN said...

Wow what a beautiful page! I just love the underwater fantasy world you created and agree how the scanner photo shows the scene much clearer. Great element layout, you tied everything together so well Elizabeth, I feel like I down deep there with them while viewing this!
Happy Sunday!
Jackie xo

Mia said...

Well, I think that your page is GORGEOUS, Elizabeth. I love how it turned out and I do not see any problem of the photo. Lovely scene and a very artistic and inspiring theme. Kisses, my friend.

Meggymay said...

Absolutely beautiful, it is a magical fantasy page. It is wonderful relaxing tranquil under the sea scene.
The shimmer of the metallic colours you used looks amazing, I am thinking ripples on the water with the sun shining on it.
I also agree these shimmer colours are awful to get good photos , I never scan, the colours never look right for me. However you did a super job with your photos Elizabeth.
Thank you for creating this fantasy for Art Journal Journey and for adding it to Try it on Tuesdays as well.
Yvonne xx

froebelsternchen said...

This page is fantastic Elizabeth! WOW! I love the shine and sparkle and the underwater plants you have created are out of this world beautiful! A unique entry, not just for AJJ but also for Try It On Tuesday. I am looking forward to the museum's photos! I was at a lovely Abbey and ancient library nearby yesterday with my neighbour and friend Maria,a Cistercian monastery located just 16 km far from my home : (German: Stift Zwettl)
No photos from me as always - but they didn't allow to take much photos and to be honest I was so impressed and it was such a wonderful mood that I totally forgot to take photos.

Thank you very much for joining Try It On Tueday dear Elizabeth and thank you for all the amazing inspiration you link to AJJ this month again.
I don't find my muse just now - I really fear she is on a vacation far away for longer time!

Post is scheduled expect of the linky already!
Happy Sunday!
Susi

Valerie-Jael said...

Wonderful page. It's always hard to take photos of metallics. Glad you enjoyed your museum. Valerie

CJ Kennedy said...

Photographing metallic is so difficult. The color shifts you posted remind me of the different colors that are seen in the ocean depending on the light. Maybe the color shifts weave a bit of realism in your beautiful fantasy page.

Cindy McMath said...

This looks very pretty - I would love to see the actual colours as I bet it’s even more beautiful. I’m glad you got my card - LOL - I got a kick out of your note that you can’t get ahead of me. You’ll note it wasn’t a thank you note, and that’s because I mailed it just before my lovely journal arrived. I thought you’d like to see one of my bingo cards up close and it sounds like you enjoyed it!

My name is Erika. said...

I love the mermaids. I know metallics (and for some reason lots of red) don't photograph well and I don't know enough about photography to know why. But it is on my list of something I want to learn. :) But I do think this page is really dreamy and feels like the ocean in so many ways. But especially with the metallics it is like the sun shining down on the water. And I can't wait to see your museum photos. I got the husband on board yesterday and we went to 2-since we each have an email-both small- in the town right next to ours. He got to pick the Antique Boat Museum and I picked a natural history museum which I think he actually quite enjoyed also. It was great because the natural history museum has been on my list for a long time but usually I have the dogs or it is closed or something that prevents me from going. Sounds like it worked out for all of us and hopefully next year you'll make it to the Presidential Library. I bet it is great. But ally is correct. Why drive such a ong way and not get to see much. Happy Sunday. Hugs-Erika

Divers and Sundry said...

I love a mermaid fantasy, and I think I can picture it even though it didn't photograph well because you shared a variety of pics. That really helps get a sense of it.

Lookin' forward to your museum trip post :)

RO said...

Very cool that you and Sally can visit all these really neat places, and you already know that I'm looking forward to those pics. When I was younger, I was the person that everyone called for road trips because I was up for just about any new adventure. That's not so much the case these days.(lol) I love reading about mermaids in romance novels and you did a really great job with the colors. Somehow they all work together to look so nice. Happy Sunday! RO

Sami said...

I can imagine that photographing metallic colours would be difficult, but the page looks beautiful Elizabeth.
Have a great week :)

Cath Wilson said...

You can really see the layers here, Elizabeth - I bet it's amazing in real life. Wow! Lots of layers and slapping on!!!

Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful art with us over at TIOT this week. Hope to see you again.

Cath x

Marfi-topia said...

What a wonderful work of art you have created here!
It's pretty cool how the scanner made the details so intense.
Love it!!

Marjut said...

Beautiful page. Thank you for joining us at TioT.

pearshapedcrafting said...

How funny that we should both post a mermaid page on the same day!! Shimmer is so hard to capture - I never scan and usually take my photos next to my craft room window and sometimes it still just doesn't pick it up!! So pleased you joined us at Try It On Tuesday! Chrisxx

Eileen The Artful Crafter said...

Wow, I'd really like to see it in person. It looks quite stunning in some of the photos, but I know you can never capture all the brilliance and shimmer in a photo.

Let's Art Journal said...

Wow, what beautiful mermaid pages! The metallic paints look amazing and I look like they have even more shimmer up close 😁. Thanks so much for joining us at Try it on Tuesday! J 😊 x

Rike said...

I love your mermaid page! The green metallic acrylics and the gold glaze are fantastic, I can imagine how it looks in nature! The photos are good enogh to show the glittering and glance!
What a great page!
Wish you a happy day! Rike xx

Jeanie said...

This is impressive, Elizabeth. I really love the metallics and gold -- this has to be drop dead in person! I'd say this one is quite and accomplishment.

Joan said...

Fab fantasy piece, love the colours

Thanks for joining us at Try It On Tuesday challenge

Joan

Caty said...

This is a WONDERFUL mermaids page Elizabeth !! Really I love it, love the mermaids, the plants, and the lovely colours you have got, Sometimes, we don´t know the result of our painting.... till we finish it, and this your artwork is just amazing !!
I wish you a very nice afternoon, take care, big hugss, Caty