Annie Ruffles

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending three wonderful days on an art journalling retreat run by Art Workshops. The teachers were Birgit Koopsen and Nathalie Kalbach.
Wow! Did they ignite a fresh creative spark in me!

This piece of work is an amalgamation of inspiration from these two ladies and from Laly Mille, who has also had a great influence upon my work.

Here we go with a lowdown on my creation, which, incidentally, I completed this afternoon and evening.

First, I selected a canvas, 20"x16", and I wrote freely about my lovely Grandma Barnes, my paternal Granny. Didn't worry about grammar, punctuation etc. Just wrote from the heart using a Pitt pen  which is waterproof.

Next, I selected a range of fragile papers and collaged over the top, using matte medium; finger painted some neutral colours and stained it with acrylic inks.

I gradually built up a background, leaving some of my writing visible. I used some of Nathalie Kalbach's Foamy stamps to build up my background.

Next, I placed the photo of my Grandma onto the canvas.

I glued the pic down and sealed the very glossy photo with clear gesso and painted over her with a selection of acrylic paints. I also added some drippage to the top of the canvas and some inks in the bottom left corner for foliage.
I added some darkness around the frame using a black stabilo pencil with a wash and some distress stain.

It looked unfinished somehow, I knew that the sky needed something else. Over to my large box of leaves and some lovely Acer leaves from my garden that I pressed last year. they echo the colours on my Grandma's coat really well.
A few close ups.

In this photo, you can see that I drew in the missing pieces of the tyres.

So, the final piece. I am so relieved that it turned out so well. It meant so much to me to use this wonderful photograph.

Thanks for looking. This has been one of those pieces that makes my heart beat faster.