Doodling is a form of visual storytelling, and the story begins with the background. The graffiti-inspired backgrounds I create are a mash-up of scratches, splashes of vibrant colors and marks made with found tools and collage. Creating these marks and layers of scribbles is my way of telling stories. There are days when my marks are slow and controlled and others when they are wildly strewn, sprayed and scribbled over the surface. In this chapter we will focus on creating colorful layers and backgrounds to tell our stories and inspire marks.
Nothing is off limits when it comes to choosing surfaces. I paint and doodle on traditional surfaces like fabric, wood and paper, as well as found and recycled papers like cardboard and heavy mailing envelopes. My collection includes interesting postcards, receipts, tags, stickers and free newspapers. I’m always on the hunt for paper treasures and scour thrift stores for unique surfaces I can cover with collage. Don’t limit yourself to a blank sheet of paper!
As I create, it’s important that every aspect of my art, down to the collage elements, be created by me. I make photocopies of my original artwork and use them as collage sheets to ensure that my pieces are completely “mine.” Collage sheets can be created from painted and collaged backgrounds, typefaces, stamped patterns and any marked or lettered background.
With my background in graphic design, the computer has always been an integral part of my creative process. Altering, painting and doodling on the computer enhances my handmade creations. The iPhone has also become a standard in my creative toolbox. I use the photographs I take on it to create digitally merged surfaces for collage and painting.
Creating, gathering and hunting for unique surfaces is part of the creative process. Explore all the possibilities.
Think outside the box when it comes to surfaces and backgrounds to use in your artwork. You can doodle and draw on just about any recycled surface—mailing envelopes, paper grocery bags, muslin—and over most painted or collaged backgrounds. Here are some examples of the possibilities.
Circle monoprints
Stamps, sequin waste and hand-cut stencil prints with acrylic paint on tissue paper
Graffiti layers on a brown paper bag
Fingerpainted background
Pour a few colors of paint onto your palette. Apply the paint to a journal page in blocks. Use different brushes for different colors, or clean your brush before switching colors. Your brush should not be wet so you can achieve an opaque layer of paint.
Journal blocks and painted paper stitched together
Random stamps and doodles made with sequin waste and hand-cut stencils
Craft metal with doodles
Challenge yourself! Create seven different backgrounds in ten minutes.
CRAFT METAL IS A UNIQUE SURFACE TO EMBELLISH WITH DOODLES. CREATE AN ENTIRE BACKGROUND, THEN STAIN IT WITH PAINT OR INK. THESE METAL SHEETS ALSO MAKE GREAT COLLAGE PIECES AND EMBELLISHMENTS THAT YOU CAN STITCH TO ART JOURNAL COVERS. WATCH A DEMONSTRATION ON DOODLING ON CRAFT METAL AT WWW.CREATEMIXEDMEDIA.COM/DOODLES-METAL.
A simple black line can be exquisitely embellished to create vibrant layers of repetitive patterns. After drawing the basic repetitive doodle, add more detail with thicker black lines and contrasting shades of markers. It’s exciting to work randomly throughout the painting. See the adjacent page for just a few possibilities.
Sumi ink painted on watercolor paper with a round brush and skewer
Gesso painted over an acrylic paint background with black sumi ink flowers painted over top
Acrylic paint stamped and painted in circular shapes and flower patterns drawn with India ink on drill cloth
Circles drawn with India ink using a small brush on handmade papyrus paper, with a portion covered in a mixture of paint and gesso
Paint sprayed through circular needlepoint canvas and chipboard stencils with scribbles of oil pastels and colored pencils
Dots created by paint through sequin waste, with larger circles, lines and boxes painted in contrasting colors
Paint wash on a paper bag with a transparency monoprint of circles over the top
Black lines drawn with an oil-based paint marker
Scribbles and doodles from various markers, a correction fluid pen, black glaze, and chisel-tip and fine-tip permanent markers over a painted monoprint
Repeating a simple circular pattern can yield interesting results. Create collage papers or backgrounds in paintings using repetitive patterns.
CIRCULAR STAMPING TOOLS (SPOOL OF THREAD, PAINT BOTTLES)
COLORED PENCILS
DAUBER FOAM BRUSH
GREEN AND RED SHADES OF ACRYLIC PAINT
HANDMADE PAPER
INDIA INK
SIZE 1 LINER PAINTBRUSH
DIMENSIONAL FABRIC PAINT (TULIP SLICK)
Paint circles on handmade paper with India ink and a size 1 liner paintbrush.
Apply two to three shades of green acrylic paint to the surface with a dauber foam brush.
Add circle doodles with colored pencils.
Stamp red paint onto the surface with circular tools, such as the bottom of a spool of thread or paint bottle. Draw circles with dimensional fabric paint.