Whether you’re a writer, painter, musician, or any other kind of creative soul, you know that creative block can be a struggle. It can strike at the most inconvenient times, leaving us feeling helpless and questioning our artistic abilities. However, I’m sharing my best practice that helps reignite my spark of imagination. Today, I’m showing you how I create mixed media art tags and how that helps me break down that creative block!
Start small with a tag journal (PS – these are on sale in my shop right now!) and grab some pages out of it. Grab painter’s tape and tape off the edges of your paper. I’ll be doing some mixed media art and watercolor art on my three pages.
I am adding white gesso to two of my tag pages. These will be my mixed media pieces. For my third page, I am using watercolors on my third page and adding lots of green and blues to my background
For one of my gesso-prepped pages, I am going to use a pretty tulip stencil. Tape down your stencil and apply a thicker gesso over top. Dry with a heat tool.
Finally, for my last tag page, I’m using acrylic paint – Irish Moss, Laguna, and Prussian Blue Hue. I’m blending and adding those colors to the background. Dry with a heat tool.
Now I have three prepped pieces of art! I’m going to take my tulip art piece and paint in those tulips with magenta and red. Then, I’ll fill in my background with some light green and yellow. Dry with a heat tool.
I’m going to grab some Carbon Black and a liner brush and outline my tulips and paint my stems. Then, I’ll take an archival ink pad in Rustic Wilderness and apply it to my background with my finger. Dry with a heat tool and remove your painter’s tape.
Next, I’ll take my acrylic paint background tag and we’re going to stamp on it! I’ll take some black acrylic paint and create dots with the end of my paintbrush. Then, I’ll paint some petals around my flower center, add some detail lines to those petals, and finish it off with a stem.
I’m grabbing a stamp that says “Be happy, be bright, be you” and applying that with some black archival ink. I’ll add some white paint to accent my flower petals too. Dry with a heat tool and remove your painter’s tape.
For my watercolor tag book page, I’m going to add some dots in a circle with white acrylic paint and the end of my paintbrush. Then, I’ll paint some petals around that circle and add some detail lines in the petals. Dry with a heat tool and remove your painter’s tape.
My secret is to use tag books for fun and fast ideas to work through a creative block. I use maybe three pieces of my tag paper and just create. Starting small and using different techniques always helps me get out of that rut and spark my creativity. Hope this helps you too!
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Supply List:
- Watercolor Tag Journals
- Painter’s Tape
- DecoArt Chalky Gesso (White)
- Decoart Americana Colors: Laguna, Irish Moss, Diarylide Yellow, Titanium White, Primary Red, Carbon Black, Prussian Blue Hue
- Stencil: GelliArts Tulip
- GelliArts CODE: TracyW Save 10%
- DecoArt Sealer: DecoArt Matte
- Stamp: Totally Tracy TT18024 Tiger Lilies
- Ink: Ranger Archival Black
- Tracy’s Resources Page
