March 2018 Blog Illustration #1

After I posted my first "new" blog entry, I was asked to include more illustrations to clarify what I was discussing ... so I decided to start posting illustrations (cards) after the fact which will serve two purposes. The first is to as requested clarify the text and the second is to reiterate the contents and meaning of the text. I also have decided to select specific portions of the text to illustrate and repeat in hopes that this will  not only inform but also inspire. Most of my illustrations (cards) will be a combination of stickers and die cut pieces but the ideas work for all medias. So let's begin ... with this first card is to illustrate "composition".

First of all I look at each one of my cards as an individual painting and I treat as such. I also like to lay out my pieces before I actually finalize the card and adhere everything down. Using a size A2 card also provides me with a smaller "canvas" to cover.  So to begin I select an image and in this case I selected a 3D glittered sticker of a pitcher with flowers.  The colors on the image I selected being bright I wanted to soften them by providing a softer background. I started with a strip of texted paper on a green background card; which split the card and then added a white hand punched tag; which I centered on the overall card to re-establish a balance. 

Next I added the 3D glittered sticker of a pitcher with flowers. Off-setting an item is usually associated with a more modern style. Centering an item is usually associated with a more classical style and the image I was using was pretty bold and modern, so I opted for off-setting the sticker. When off-setting an item make sure the off-set is big enough to look like it was planned and part of the overall layout design rather than a misalignment or mistake. Looking at the layout so far, I realized that there was a rather long white "dead" space along the side of the card. To break this up I added a flower at the bottom and a text banner.

Composition is a way of controlling the viewers eyes around the canvas. In this case the weight of the 3D pitcher with flowers, pulls your eyes to the right, then the added flower at the bottom of the pitcher pull your eyes back over to the left, with the tag directly above pulling your eyes back up.