But Mama, That's where the Fun Is!

July 7th
Hello summer! There's something about the 4th of July that officially brings on summer for me! The sunny, hot, long days and lots of playtime make these season so enjoyable.  Recently I discovered Unruly Paperarts- a wonderful wealth of online inspiration. Yesterday I read that 2 new RAQ challenges running July 1st to July 25th were in full swing! Featuring 4x6 postcard format, the first challenge called for edgy and artful 4x6 masterpieces. This fit perfectly with an idea that has been in my head for awhile. Inspired by Manfred Mann's Blinded by the Light song lyrics " Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun -But Mama! That's where the fun is!" Mamas tell children of dangers and children test the waters. Way it is and always has been. So I began to create a summer postcard artwork around this theme.
First I made a background with a little help from my inks ;) Using Tattered Angel spray inks of various red, orange and yellow hues I sprayed, misted and then heat set the 4x6 watercolor paper. Then I outlined with black marker my sun stencil from my collection- not sure what brand. Added doodling of my own and extra little bits of hexagon stenciling which is my favorite. Then I used my acrylic paints to highlight the design. Using some artsy rubber stamps I stamped designs to the rays of the sun and a few background areas, careful not to make the already full composition too busy. Another favorite are micro beads which I glued on for extra texture. Adding the song lyrics was tricky because I wanted them to be readable and  fit around the main design yet not be too dominating. Then I used a gold paint marker to highlight the sun rays...I have a love/hate thing with paint markers. They tend to blot where they shouldn't and be difficult to use. I want to believe the problem is in the pen not the user. I managed to smear my accidental blots and come to peace with the random lines I made.
Got this far and wasn't happy with my composition yet. I needed a splash of a third color-and happen to spy another misted aqua paper on my craft table. I cut it in a square and used it to back the highlighted words of the lyrics "fun" and "sun" which I stamped. . To make it balanced with the rule of thirds I also added the word " play". Going to my Tim Holtz stash of goodies, Glossy Accents, a clear sealer was applied to emphasize these  tiles. Pop-up dots applied to the back helped make these words "pop" further. Last, but not least, a black button with artsy fibers
was the perfect finishing touch.
Gotta admit I loved the finished postcard. It's for my sweet grown son ,Gregory. That's all I am saying.
Stop by Unruly Paper Arts for the guidelines of this fun challenge. It also features some examples by their columnists-one who's a special friend of mine. Her blog is what led me to this challenge.

If you'd like to leave feedback, please comment here. I appreciate your thoughts. Also thanks for being patient with my blogging. I am trying to get this blog up and running. Not sure of URL's, inserting pics etc.but I am committed to master these for my blog.
Until next time-
http://unrulypaperarts.blogspot.com/2013/07/july-2013-reader-art-quest-postcards.html