Some new work and a little tutorial (not by me I should add)

Which is a jolly boring title for a blog post, but that's what this is about!

To start with, here's a great idea (and I was doing something similar in my Spanish sketch book)

Making Handmade Books: A Pen and a Water Brush: Pumpkin Tutorial:

This little tutorial explains how to use a simple pen (I used a paper mate) and water to create a bit of depth and character to a sketch - in this case a pumpkin.

I was using a similar technique in the summer.  Here is my wall - yes, I used a bit of watercolour, but once I had 'freed up' a bit with a pen and let it bleed into the water it all came together.

Talking of my Spanish wall, I think I told you that I made a print block (bit of cardboard from a cereal box and some soft foam sheet from the kids aisle at Hobby Craft).

It looked like this in my sketchbook/journal.

And so I then did a bit of mono printing - using a sheet of plastic, acrylic paint with acrylic retarder (to slow it 'down' - I did want to be able to lift the paper up after printing and not be left with a stuck mess!) and tissue paper.

That gave me this (subsequently stuck down onto rag paper with matt medium).

And I have been fiddling about with additional printing, sticking, inking, more sticking etc. And I have been using some gold paint, hence the rather glossy photos. 

And here is another one (or part of it anyway) using the same 'wall' block, printed tissue paper and over printing and sticking.  This is real 'mixed media'!) 

I feel I may be getting somewhere - so much so that tomorrow I am planning to get the sewing machine out and put a bit of stitch into them.