Painted Papers X Art Journey

Painted papers are super easy and fun to create! This technique is beginner friendly as there's no wrong way to paint and it's great for those more experienced as it's also a great creative block unblocking exercise because it's freeing to paint however you wish; the perfectionist approach doesn't apply with this method, you don't need to overthink about colour schemes or worry about being all neat just dive into painting and let the piece surprise you!

Any paint type and any paper quality can be used but I recommend getting a cheap paper pad A3 size as they're readily available from most places and you'll feel more able to take risks with colour choices and ways of painting. This technique would work on any size paper but the bigger the better really as you'll be cutting it up. 

 This technique is great for using up any almost finished paint or paint that's leftover in your palette from doing a project. You can also clean your brush off onto the paper and paint the paper that way, it may take a while but the results are interesting. Any brush can be used too, no matter how "broken" because it gives it texture and adds character to your painted paper. 

Once you're happy with your painted paper(s) leave it to dry and then after it has dried you can cut it up into sections, this can be random of different sizes and/or shapes. Turn the sections around and figure out which way round you like it, you may prefer it upside down for example. 

You can also separate the cut out sections/painted papers into piles of leave as they are and any sections that look like they could be drawn on top of and then doodle on the ones selected. 

The painted papers can be used in art journals just as they are, doodled/written on or turned into reverse painting where you draw on top and paint around your drawings with black, but that won't work for all sections cut as some will be too pretty to cover up most of it with black acrylic.

An effortless way of getting inspiration is having lots of painted papers, they're great for getting inspired to create other pieces, especially if you drew on top of them.

Have you ever tried making painted papers before? If so, let me know in the comments what your favourite type of paint to use for creating them is - mines gouache. 

Till next time,

Stevie x