Hi Friends,
Happy Thursday! This has been a really fast week so far and I am in need of more time to get things done. So today is National Black Cat Day here in the UK and of course that is something to celebrate, especially since I have two beautiful black cats. Did you know that they are often the last cats to be adopted simply because of their colour? I would adopt them all if I could, they are very beautiful house panthers. Here are the stars of the show…
Miss Lily on the left and Mr G on the right.
Miss P is not a black cat but she is two thirds black so she also deserves a shoutout so she doesn’t get jealous.
Today’s Art . . .
Today’s art is another page using my Day 27 prompt: Black Cat
Does anyone know what I used for this page? Any guesses? I will let you know further down the post.
It’s another double page spread today, in fact the rest of the pages for this month will also be doubles so I can finish the journal that I made for this month and not leave any blank pages.
My journal still doesn’t have a cover, but I’ve been mulling it over trying to decide what I want it to look like – something in keeping with the theme of course.
The background of my page is painted with black gesso and then decorated with white dots using a big Posca.
Have you worked out the rest yet? I used two pieces of this magic scratch paper to draw my black cats and my text. This is glossy coloured card that is coated with this black substance that you scratch off to reveal the colours underneath – a bit like a lottery scratchcard. When I was a kid I used to this all the time using my crayons – I used to go through so many crayons doing this as first you have to put down a layer of rainbow colours and then cover the whole thing with a black crayon layer thick enough so you can scratch through it and reveal the colours below. But now they have invented a less fun but also less time consuming way to do it. This paper comes in packs with some stencils and some wooden sticks for the scratching. It’s a kid’s art supply but it has awesome bright colours underneath so I had to play with it.
Hope you feel inspired to join in the challenge this month and have fun with it!
Let me know what you think in the comments. As always, thanks for reading!
Ingredients
my handmade journal, watercolour paper, watercolour, neoclours, pitt artist pens, black pen,
Challenges
Art Journal Journey – Fairytales, Folklore & Fables
Daily Prompts
Here are the prompts I will be using and you can probably tell that a lot of them are related to fairytales, but you don’t have to use them that way or you don’t have to use them at all. I will be attempting all 31 days but I may not make it and that’s OK too. The prompts are there if you feel stuck or in need of extra inspiration. I just respond well to a daily prompt and I will also be sharing my pages on Instagram. If you share your work on Instagram there is a hashtag. Please note, that to enter the Art Journal Journey challenge using the Mr Linky tool, you will have to link from a blog since it is a blog challenge.
Or you can ignore the daily prompts completely and focus on the overarching theme for the month. The daily prompts are there if you want to make more pages but need some extra prompting.
I love your black cats Elle, the real ones and the painted ones on their fabulous psychedelic backgrounds.
When I volunteered at a local animal rescue, even the black rabbits were the least likely to be adopted.
Hope you’re having a good weekend,
Alison
I LOVE your beautiful black cat pages! The black cats over the rainbow is a wonderful effect. And your actual black cats are lovely! I had my own mini panther years ago.
I’ve made scratch art before, but not with that magic paper. It is amazing and so are your black cats. The ones on the pages AND the ones that rule your home.
I have no doubt black cats are the last to be adopted. There is so much superstition attached to them.
I didn’t know that black cats are the last to be adopted, but I know there are places here in the US where black dogs hardly ever get adopted. It is so sad, since I have a black dog and like you and your cats, I love him to death. I do love your art today Elle. I like how you used lots of bright fluorescent colors with the black. It works great! I can’t believe the month is winding down as I now have a whole list of pages I want to make. (I can do that anyhow I guess.) Have a great weekend and National Black Cat Day too. hugs-Erika
I used to get the kids at school doing that scratch card, great fun and lovely results.
Love your pages and so topical as it is Black Cat Day – never heard of it before I must confess but as you have these “panthers” (love that description) you must be correct.
The shape of the cats are fabulous and I just love the eyes.
Your two – three – are lovely. When I got my Tabitha she had a brother who was black but i chose her because she was so pretty and she cried so much for me to pick her up. Had her 19 years and often wondered what happened to her brother. Wish now I had got the two of them but I didn’t. They had been abandoned in a decorative chimney pot on a farm with a tin of cat food. Tabs was so tiny she couldn’t have eaten it anyway. Ah well, I miss her so much and she went a long time ago. I get too attached.
Hugs, Neet xx
Yes. I read people don´t want vlack cats because taking pics of them is difficult.
Excuse me???? Glad those cats don´t end up at such people, sad for the ones who do!
And you just proved them wrong anyways 🙂
Your pages are magic, I have no idea! Did you take LSD? 😉
Scratch paper? Hm. New to me! Cool! xx