I finally got around to getting set up on Webshots. I thought my board book scrapbook might be of interest. I scanned only four of the many pages in the book because I wanted to show the background...although it's less visible on the first page.
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It's made from a child's board book, one of those stiff, heavy cardboard books for very young children. The preparation was *extremely* time-consuming, but well worth it, and I've gotten a number of compliments on the technique. I used to be a tole painter (decorative painting on wood), so I have oodles of Delta acrylic paints (at least 100). I first used gesso to cover each page of the book. Gesso is what painters use to prepare their canvases for painting. It's thick and white, and covers up the bright drawings of the child's book. I painted a background color (some paints are more transparent than others, so I had to do two coats of some colors). When it was dry, I painted on--actually "glopped" would be a better word--a thick coat of a coordinating color in the center part of the page, then used a quick flicking and lifting motion with the brush to feather out the paint along the edges. I used a very cheap brush that didn't have stiff bristles. If you're very exacting in your work, you may not want to try this out, but if you're willing to be loose in your painting, you'll probably have a lot of fun with it.
What made it so time-consuming was waiting for each coat to dry, but setting the book in front of a fan cut the time somewhat.
Angie
ladyblue AT newsguy dot com