Hi Everyone Welcome to my blog! I'm so delighted to have been asked by the lovely Sandi Keene to be the Documented Life Project™ featured artist for April 11th. I have a fun project you are sure to enjoy and to add to your art journals.

The theme for this month is Color Safari: Exploring Inks and Paints. The art challenge for this week is Acrylics, and the prompt is Cry Me a River.

When I found out Cry Me River was my prompt, the first thing I did was do a Google search. What popped up right away were song videos by various artists over the years, different words but the same title Cry Me a River and all of them songs about lost loves.

So based on those videos, I thought it would be interesting to make this art journal project into sort of a therapy for letting go and moving on. Follow along as we go through the process.

Supplies you will need: Acrylic paint in blues, teals, light green and white. Sharpie poster paint pens, Golden Regular Gel Matte, Golden Light Molding Paste, paint palette full of dried up paint and your art journal.

Working in your journal write or print with a Sharpie pen using your non dominant hand a message to yourself of what you would like to overcome. I wrote, "I cried a river over you! You nearly drove me out of my head." taken from one of the versions of Cry Me a River. By using the non dominate hand it helps us to realize we can't always be in control and the importance of letting go of things we can not change. Note: If your journal pages are thin you may need to do this project on thicker paper then glue the finished pages into your journal.

In addition to acrylic paints, here are the two Golden Medium products we'll be using.

Now cover up your message with a layer of Light Molding Paste. In other words leave the past behind. Let this layer dry.

While the molding paste layer is drying, dip your paint water bucket into a nearby river and use the water to paint your project symbolizing washing away and all the goodness of nature.

When the molding layer is dry, paint a river of water to wash away your tears. Use watered down blue, teal and white acrylic paint for a watery look. The molding paste layer causes the paint to spread run and leaves a nice effect.

Finish off your river by adding a few light green highlights.

When the paint has dried completely, once again using your non dominant hand write a positive message to yourself about overcoming your sadness. My message reads, "...cry yourself a river of tears when your heart is broken then build a bridge and get over it." (Not sure who said this, let me know if you do.)

The final embellishment to our project is grab your layered paint palette and spray it with water. Let it set for about 30 minutes...

Then with a palette knife scrape off the paint chip layers. In most cases you should be able to lift the paint right off your palettee. Soaking it with water really helps loosen it.

Pick out the prettiest pieces to decorate your pages. You'll want to use the thin pieces since you are using them in a book. Sometimes the prettiest side is the underside.

Use gel medium to "glue" your pretty paint chips in place.

And here's the finished journal.

Thank you for stopping in and giving me an opportunity to share this little demo with you. Let me know in the comments below how your project turned out or if you have any questions about the demo, I'm happy to answer them.

I just finished up a new series of flower paintings that are listed in my shop. If you like what you see, help me spread the word to your friends.

Finally, I'd love to stay in touch and invite you to join me on Facebook and Instagram.

See you soon. xoBlenda

Featured Artist for DLP