creativityUNLEASHED by traci bautista

{exploring} san francisco bay trail

Over the Memorial Day weekend we spent an afternoon exploring  San Francisco Bay Trail. In the past I've shared our local trail explorations,  day road trips and weekend getaways. We are always on the lookout for new places to take little Indie hiking. Tyler discovered this gem by the water searching online. We explored the section of the trail on the border of San Mateo and Foster City in the Bay Area, CA.

It was a very warm but breezy day, there is a large off leash dirt{no grass} dog park which has a walking trail around the outer edge. Throughout the trail you'll find a lot of dry sea vegetation..sea grass, wild sea peas, california wild flowers and interesting looking weeds.

I really love finding the beauty in the weeds and while walking the trail a large monarch butterfly fluttered through the dry grass and I was able to capture it's beautiful dance on video.

There are large metal sculptures and interesting wind mills plus you can see the huge electrical towers and power lines that drape the edge of the ocean. Along the trail there are information boards that talk about the history of the bridges, vegetation and wildlife that surrounds.

This part of the trail is right along the flight path to SFO, so you can watch multiple planes on the approach to the airport.

Recently, I discovered a new free iphone app Magisto which makes creates a beautiful collage montage of the videos and photos. In the freee version, you choose 10 photos and 10 videos, music and a title..then Magisto does it magic and puts together a mash-up of your media. Here's a video of our SF Bay trail exploration set to music by Zee Avi "Bag of Gold"...

here are a few ideas on how to use your explorations to inspire your art...

• spend a little time exploring your local trails, take photos/videos
• write about your day exploring in your art journal
• record your favorite sites, flora, wildlife you find during your visit
• obtain a map of the site and add in into your journal or draw a map in your sketchbook
• sketch the vegetation you see
• create a color palette from the photos you take
• take selfies in interesting angles to show the local sights
• look for the beauty in the weeds..the buds, the shape, the colors and leaves can be great inspiration for sketching and doodling
• use the self timer app {I use TimerCamera} to capture photos of yourself and loved ones.
• look up and shoot images of the sky
• btw..my hat is a limited edition HiLife trucker cap from my friends store in Hawaii :)

happy exploring...xoxo~Traci

dina wakley media tutorial + blog hop

As we celebrate Memorial Day in the USA today, I'd like to take a moment to honor all our fallen heroes, the service men and women who served our country and sacrificed their lives so we could live a life of freedom. My thoughts go out their families and loved ones. Thank you for your service.

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Today I'm helping my art pal Dina Wakley kick off the launch of her new Dina Wakley Media line by Ranger. Dina is the author of Art Journal Freedom and her second book, Art Journal Courage, is coming November 2014. We both taught at Art Journaling LIVE last October and she also took part in my Doodles Unleashed blog tour. I LOVE her colorful, juicy layered art journal pages. I'm honored that she asked me to be part of her blog hop.

I got to catch up with this lovely lady at CHA in January..here's Dina at CHA demoing her new line...

CHA 2014 peek at Dina's Ranger line and samples...

Now about the paints...I had so much fun working with them. The colorful paints are vibrant and creamy with a matte finish, perfect for your art journal! Since the paints dry matte, the pages won't stick together and are a great base for drawing and doodling. I really LOVED mixing them to produce my own color palette. My FAVE is the Black Gesso...

I HEART the BLACK GESSO!

As you might know, I've been working a lot on surface design lately, so I created patterns and backgrounds for art journal covers. For the base of all these paintings I used Strathmore Mixed Media 400 series paper. I started with a large 18" x 24" sheet and tore it into smaller random sized pieces using a metal straight edge. It's 140 lb paper and perfect for heavy body acrylic paint. 

Here's a simple and fun tutorial for creating pattern inspiration cards...

STEP ONE | Paint Black Gesso. Brush a thick layer of Black Gesso onto the mixed media paper. I chose not to cover the entire piece to let some of the white show through. Sgraffito {scratch} into the wet paint with the bottom of the paint brush.

STEP TWO | MIX colors. create tints and shades with your favorite colors. To create the steel blue color, I mixed Lime + Lapis + a little Night {my FAVE color in the line}. To create the lilac color mix Blackberry Violet + White. Apply the paint mixtures loosely around the page with a flat brush.

STEP THREE| Add dots. Paint directly on the page with the bottle. Squeeze the bottle lightly and with a dabbing motion apply the paint right onto the surface. Make sure to hold back or cut off the cap so it doesn't accidentally scrape the paint.

STEP FOUR| Paint dot pattern. With the tip of a round brush paint a dot pattern and add more circles to the page. Here I added Lime paint. Set aside to dry.

STEP FIVE| Paint florals. Mix a little water with White paint in a palette, the consistency of the paint should be like ink. This will allow the paint to flow better when painting fine lines. Paint flower designs with a small, thin round brush. 

STEP SIX| Doodle patterns. Experiment with Prismacolor pencils, choose bright colors that will contrast and pop over the paint. I draw with a very heavy hand and make sure all my pencils are sharp. Draw patterns, shapes, dots, crosses, lines, etc.

STEP SEVEN| white pen doodles. Draw more patterns or write mantras or inspirational words. Add finishing touches with a white gel pen.

more paint tips and ideas...

• paint straight from the bottle for a thick application. apply paint to the surface squeezing the bottle and drawing directly onto the surface. this will probably take overnight to dry
• squeeze and draw with the paint bottle onto a piece of dura-lar, transparency or deli paper, then take a monoprint
• use black gesso as the first layer to prime the page; experiement painting fabric like drill cloth
• use the tutorial technique to paint pages in your art journal
• mix a little white paint to a color for an added brightness, it helps the color pop off the black background
• use the white and black gesso to mask out shapes on the page
• experiment with mixing the colors to create your own unique color palette
• create a swatch library--->use deli paper as your mixing palette, then cut out the swatches and tape/glue them into your art journal. write the paint recipes next to the swatches, so you'll have a record of the colors you create.
• work on multiple pieces at once. I cut my large paper into 15 smaller pieces ranging from 6"x6" to 8.5'x11", adding paint and patterns to each once simultaneously. This keeps your fresh and not overworking one piece.
• use the pattern inspiration cards as art journal/idea book covers
• use paint pens and white out pens to add doodles and details over the black gesso
• scribble with Prismacolor pencils and gel pens over the top.

Make sure to head over to Dina's blog, she's giving away two full sets of the paints.

Visit the fabulous artists participating in the Dina Wakley Media blog hop for more ideas and inspiration...

Dina Wakley
Dyan Reaveley
Roben-Marie Smith
Mystele Kirkeeng
Dawn Sokol
Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
Nathalie Kalbach
Kirsten Varga
Traci Bautista ~ you are here!

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*some products in this blog post were provided compliments of the manufacturers. I only share products that I truly believe in and have used in my artwork. Some of the product links above are affiliate links, meaning I am minimally compensated for the sale. Read my disclosure policy here.

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p.s. PRE-ORDER a limited edition signed copy of my new book Printmaking Unleashed! 

p.s.s. join me for my new mixed media e-course series---> Printmaking Unleashed LIVE! For more details + watch a video preview visit e-course info.

art journaling video + memorial day weekend SALE

Memorial weekend is here, I can't believe how fast this year has flown by. It's almost SUMMER vacation..take some time for yourself and spend your break taking one of my 25 self-guided e-courses!

PLUS..a special BONUS...I will be hosting a special, exclusive FREE live stream Q & A event in June for all my online students. Details for the live event will be posted in the online classrooms soon.

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SAVE $15 on ALL e-courses

mixed media. creative business. art journaling. doodling. 

handmade books. printmaking. painting.

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enjoy a FREE preview of a BONUS video from my art.journal.PLAY live stream workshop...

Head on over to my shoppe and visit the e-courses to find out class details

SAVE $15 on all e-courses!

Choose from a variety of self-guided painting, creative business, art journaling, doodling, printmaking and collage workshops, including my new art.journal.PLAY LIVE streaming workshops series. All workshops have numerous HD videos lessons PLUS printable PDF workbooks and collage sheets. All e-courses are self-guided and have forever 24/7 access. come and PLAY!

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coupon code: memorial15

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www.treicdesignsdigitals.com

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To take advantage of the sale price, head on over to treiCdesigns digitals shoppe and place the any of the e-courses in your cart. You will be prompted to checkout, enter your info {you won't be charged yet}, then you will be taken back to the shopping cart where you can enter the coupon code: memorial15 and then complete the checkout process. This sale applies to e-courses only. If you purchase multiple e-courses each one will be discounted $15. You will receive a confirmation email when you register, then a separate classroom invite will be sent within 72 hours. SALE ends 5/27/14 at 11:59pm.

happy memorial day!!...xo~Traci

surface pattern design + creative prompts

Surtex and the National Stationery Show are happening in NYC this week, I've seen a bunch of my artist friends post all the colorful inspiration from booths at the shows..super inspiring. I thought it would be fun to share with you what I've been up to designing patterns, with the goal of exhibiting at Surtex in 2015.

Over the past year in between all my other projects, I've been working on building my surface pattern design portfolio and educating myself on the opportunities involved in expanding more of my business into art licensing. I have a few licensed products I've developed including Collage Pauge, my Stampington Graffiti Glam stamps, DVDs, {kol*LaJ] paper & stationery, my books and a NEW StencilGirl collection {coming in July!!}.

Diving into the world of licensing for surface pattern design has been on my goal list since 2006 {I really want to design a line of fabrics} but I always keep putting it off due to all my other teaching, writing and design projects. I started designing collections in 2012 but put them aside to finish writing my last two books. So I've made the commitment to work hard through the rest of 2014 to launch my art licensing business. My patterns are a mixture of handmade paintings and digital artwork. I start with mixed media mark-making and various printmaking techniques then scan them into the computer and create pattern collections using Photoshop.

I thought I'd share a little behind the scenes of all the colorful patterns, handmade printmaking tools and mixed media artwork I've been creating and provide you with creative jumpstarts to encourage you to work in your journal or sketchbook.

Here are some fun tips and ideas for your sketchbook or art journal inspired by my artwork...

• work on plain white cardstock, mixed media, deli or found paper. I do this quite a bit when working on pages for my art journal. I love working on separate sheets of various papers then binding them into handmade books.
• dip a script liner sumi brushes/00 paintbrush or pointed calligraphy nib into india ink. handletter the alphabet. brainstorm a list of words about travel. draw a face.
• take photos of flora and nature on your walks and use them to inspire your paintings. draw and paint the shapes and lines you see in the flowers.
• cut apart a strawberry or tomato basket to use as a mask or stencil
• add Golden Titanium White fluid acrylic paint to your paint to give it a little pop {tint} of color over a dark background
• make handmade tools/paintbrushes with found objects..wrap raffia around a chopstick and secure with a rubberband.
• paint blocks of color then draw doodles and mark-making with colored pencils
• I recommend Golden Open paints for stamping, plexiglas prints and printing with a Gelli Plate. The Open paints have slower drying time and are great for printmaking.
• paint Golden High Flow onto a plexiglas sheet or gel plate then take a print.
• make pattern stamps with craft foam and paint patterns by repeating the stamp impression
• draw lines on fabric - place the tip of the Golden High Flow bottle on the fabric and move it across the surface quickly.  
• place Golden High Flow Phthalo Turquoise in a fine tip applicator and draw fine lines over paint.
• if you don't have time to pull out all the paints, paint in ArtRage or Procrate on the iPad. get loads of digital mixed media tips and numerous how-to videos in my digitalCANVAS e-course.
• learn more mark-making and art journaling techniques in my art.journal.PLAY online workshops which are now self-guided, access 24/7 work at your own pace.

I hope this peek inside my studio has inspired you to pick up a paintbrush, marker or pencil.

happy creating...xoxo~Traci

join me for Printmaking Unleashed in Chicago

I'm kicking off my Printmaking Unleashed book tour on the road in Chicago! Join me for two mixed media workshops and visit the amazing colorful quilt exhibits, attend lectures and shop for your favorite art quilting supplies at...

International Quilt Festival Chicago

June 19 - 21, 2014

Donald E. Stevens Convention Center ~ Rosemont, IL

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Printmaking Unleashed ---> Friday, June 20 ~ Explore alternative printmaking techniques from my new book! This is all about expressive mark-making. Experiment with plexiglas monoprints working with handmade stamps and stencils to build layers on fabric and paper. We'll start the class building and creating numerous handmade printing tools. You'll work with a huge amount of materials and mixed media supplies including my favorite paints/mediums from Golden and ILoveTo Create, markers/pens and more!

Art Quilt Journal ----> Saturday, June 21 ~ Experiment with mixed media, painting, printmaking and fabric collage techniques to create a one-of-a-kind art journal. We will start with painting fabric and paper, create a collage cover, then bind a handmade fabric collage journal wrapped with embellished fibers and yarns. You will leave feeling inspired to fill your new handmade book with techniques I share about building colorful mixed media layers on the page.

For more details and to register visit International Quilt Festival

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Take a peek inside Printmaking Unleashed and pre-order your signed copy today!

a peek inside Printmaking Unleashed

It's here!! This weekend I received an advance copy of my NEW book Printmaking Unleashed!

I'm so excited to share a sneak peek with you. This project was truly a labor of love and it's finally great to see the printed book. I worked on it through a very tough year, personally I went through a few setbacks with various health issues and had to postpone deadlines twice. So to see it in print...so colorful, bursting with ideas and inspiration is super exciting.

This is my third book published with FW Media, it continues in the theme of the previous titles...Collage Unleashed and Doodles Unleashed,  I encourage you to creatively UNLEASH your inner artist and dive into Printmaking Unleashed!

I've been experimenting with some form of printmaking in my art since I was in college. In the book I share numerous mark-making ideas and over 60 step-by-step tutorials for creating non-traditional tools from objects like kids wood blocks, craft foam, zip ties, crocheted yarn and sink mats to name a few. Then use them to create colorful surface designs and patterns.

There's a little mix of digital printmaking ideas, monoprinting with acrylic skins and plexiglas, mixed media collage, art journal pages, handmade Collage Pauge silkscreens and my popular technique of creating your very own hot glue stencil masks.

Flip through the pages and learn how anything with interesting texture or shape can be incorporated into printmaking for exciting, unique effects. You'll never look at a toothpick, freezer bag or plastic zip tie in the same way again!

Each chapter concludes with color palettes showcasing a variety of painted artwork, photography inspiration images, stamped patterns and even a peek inside my studio.

The final chapter shares lots of colorful inspiration with samples of my artwork and creative jumpstarts along with a couple project tutorials. It's a celebration of Mark Making!

I started brainstorming this project in March 2013 and dove into creating artwork last summer. It took hundreds of hours...I shot over 1400 photos, wrote 33,348 words, reworked content, edited over 700 images..overall lots of dedication and hard work to complete the book. Not only did I create all the artwork and words, I designed the lettering for the title treatment using handmade stamps and stencils, along with shooting videos while I painted the projects in my studio.

I put my heart and soul into this...I'm so proud to share it with you! 

A big thanks...There is so much behind the scenes work that goes on during every step of the process, I want to give a big shout out to the AMAZING team at FW Media that helped pitch the initial idea to sales through pulling together the final design, content and layout. I worked closely with my fabulous editor, Sarah, to refine the content and put the finishing touches. The team at FW Media was fantastic to work with and helped me create a beautiful content-rich book, that I hope you will LOVE.

coming soon...

To celebrate the book release, I have a lot of exciting things planned in the coming months...

THE MAKING of Printmaking Unleashed--->Over the next few months I will be sharing a little of the behind the scenes of the creation of the book on the blog.

Printmaking UNLEASHED online workshop series---> A new 3-part e-course series and live stream workshops which will go LIVE in August. Be the first to know...join the list!

live stream+ in-person events---> I am planning a few in-person and virtual live streaming Printmaking Unleashed book events and signings throughout 2014. If  you are interested in having me come out to teach a workshop, demo or signing for your store or group, please contact me.

LAUNCH TEAM---->We are looking for a spirited group of artists/bloggers to help promote and share about the book. This is something new that I will be detailing in another post. This team will be an integral part of the promotion of the book. stay tuned for more details.

#31daysofPrintmakingUnleashed--->I'll be sharing more peeks, ideas and creative jumpstarts on Instagram. follow me on IG @treiCdesigns.

AUTOGRAPHED copy --->get your very own SIGNED copy which includes a limited edition handmade floral BLOSSOM stencil mask and collage sheets. There is a limited supply of signed books and kits which are only available through my digital shoppe.

PRE-ORDER your signed copy of Printmaking Unleashed today!

 happy printmaking...xoxo~Traci