I recently joined a new art swap group. One of the first swaps I signed up for was to complete 2 ATCs with the theme of sky, sand and seagulls. I finished my cards and thought I would share.
This is a happy little gull based on a photograph I took when visiting the Oregon Coast. The seagulls often sit on the fence near the picnic area waiting for people to feed them.
The card was created on 140 lb watercolor paper. The sky, and sea were painted using watercolor paints. The sand is Martha Stewart Texture Paste that feels and looks like sand. I drew the fence on brown craft paper and then added texture by stamping with the stamp pad over the whole thing. The shadows were added using a brown marker. I cut it out and attached it to the card. I drew in the grasses behind it to add interest. I wished I had drawn them first but I didn't think of it until it was too late :-). Next I drew the seagull on card stock, colored it and cut it out. It is adhered to the card using pop dots. The card was very heavy so I adhered it to a piece of cereal box.
This card was also inspired by a photograph I took at the beach. This card is heavy card stock. I started by creating the sky using a technique I saw on YouTube. I tore a paper towel and used blue stamp ink from Studio G to color the edges. As I moved down the card, I turned the paper towel slightly and continued until I had enough sky. I liked how the sky turned out so I decided to try the same strategy for the sand. I tore a second piece of paper towel but slanted it . The ink is Vintage from Colorbox Mixed Media. Again, I just flipped the whole container over and used it like a sponge. I liked how the edge of the ink pad made slight variations in the sand. I used an olive green ink and a floral stamp from Studio G for the grasses. I drew, colored and cut out the seagull. It is attached using foam tape. This bird looks a little more serious.
These were fun to make and as summer comes to an end, it was nice to revisit the trips to the coast.
