Donna B Miller

All Things Gypsy

There must be a gypsy somewhere in my background. I love rich bohemian tapestries, jewel colors, and travel. Anytime a gypsy-themed digital kit or photo collection becomes available, I have to add it to my stash. 

Last year, I showed you the Gypsy Diary that I made as part of Tangie Baxter's Gypsy Diaries Mixed Media Worskhop. Since then, I've been scouring the shops for all things gypsy to use on the inside pages. Two of my favorite digital kits are Tangie's Gypsy Rhapsody and Pink Lotty's Gypsy Caravan. 

Imagine my excitement when I saw that Deviant Scrap has but together a store-wide collaboration celebrating all things bohemian, La Vie Boheme.  Here are a couple of pages that I put together using Tumble Fish Studio's kit. 

And Now for Something Completely Different

As much as I love Photoshop and digital art, there are times when I just need to play with paint and paper. That's when I work on my projects for Paper Traders, a Yahoo group that offers challenges, swaps, and fellowship for artists of all levels of experience.

This year, I'm participating in a word prompt challenge in which we're offered a theme and technique to incorporate into a monthly art journal page. This month's prompt was "Give More"and the requirement was to use graphitti style lettering in the design.

Graffitti-style lettering? Does that mean using spray paint? Yes! I finally had a use for that can of black Liquitex spray paint that had been sitting on the shelf gathering dust.

I started off by loosely applying adhesive letters to the page and spray painting that area. After pulling off the letters, I added acrylic paints in a variety of oranges, yellows and reds. Nancy Baumiller's collage images worked perfectly for the page, and I finished it off with gelatos, adding color and shading. It's not my typical page, but I like it. I think I'll be buying more spray paints, and I promise they won't be sitting on the shelf.

On Art Journaling and Authenticity

A good friend recently told me that she didn't recognize my art journaling pages anymore. And she's right, they have been going in a whole new direction. After years of studying the styles of my mixed media idols (Teesha Moore, Tangie Baxter, Marsha Jorgenson, and Ingrid Djikers), I am finally finding a style that incorporates many of the styles and techniques that I have learned, but that feels authentic to me.

Like me, my new art is little vintage and a little funky. Inspired by words, quotes, and my own life experiences, my journal pages finally feel "real" to me, and isn't that the most important thing of all?

This first one was featured on this week's Art Journal Caravan blog.

And this one was featured on yesterday's Gallery Standouts.

Credits: Sissy Sparrow's Room 19 Project 4 and Burn Thistles Mini, Tumble Fish Studio's Winter Junque (girl), and Christina Renee's Build a Blossom. The font is CK Deco.

Here's another one combining vintage images with grunge.

Credits: Captivated Vision's Another Man's Treasure and I Believe in Second Chances; Rucola Designs Wacky 13 hand (used as template) and Tumble Fish Studio's Random Favorites (glasses) and Etcetera (woman). The font is Acoustic Bass.

And then, there's my personal favorite.

Credits: Tangie Baxter's BE kit and Collage Fodder-Eyes, Mouths, Tumble Fish Studio's Autumn Junque and Captivated Vision's Colour Rage. The fonts are 1942 Report and Rage Italic.