Happy Sunday, creative friends! 💙
It’s time for another little peek into the creative world of Lisa Oxley, our talented Curated Collective Team member.
This week, Lisa has created a striking mixed-media art journal page filled with beautiful shades of blue, expressive mark-making, layers of texture and a captivating central portrait.
There is something incredibly atmospheric about this page. The cool blue palette immediately draws you in, while the girl's expressive eyes become the focal point. Look a little closer and you'll discover layers of paint, scribbled marks, patterns, text and tiny details that give the artwork plenty of depth.
Let's take a closer look at how all those elements come together.
Starting with a Sea of Blue
Blue is definitely the star of this page.
Lisa has worked with a gorgeous range of turquoise, aqua, pale blue and deeper navy tones, creating a cool and almost dreamy atmosphere.
The paint has been applied in lots of different ways. Some areas are soft and washed back, while others are bold and heavily layered.
You can see brush marks, patches of colour and areas where darker tones have been added over the lighter layers.
This kind of background is perfect for mixed-media work because you don't have to know exactly where you're going from the beginning.
Start with your colours, move them around the page and see what happens.
Building the Background
Rather than creating one solid painted background, Lisa has allowed lots of different textures and marks to develop.
There are areas of turquoise paint alongside pale blue, white and deeper blue.
Dark brown and black marks provide contrast, while small white dots create another repeating detail around the edges.
There are also sections of horizontal and vertical marks that give the background a slightly graphic quality.
This is where layering becomes so much fun.
You can paint over an area, add another colour, scratch or draw into it, and then add something else on top.
Every layer doesn't have to remain visible.
Sometimes the little glimpses underneath are what make the final background so interesting.
Bringing in the Portrait
Once the background has developed, the beautiful portrait becomes the focal point.
The girl's face immediately captures your attention, particularly those striking golden-brown eyes.
Her dark hair creates a strong contrast against the blues surrounding her, helping to bring her forward from the background.
The portrait also has an intriguing cracked effect across the face, giving the image an aged, textured appearance and adding another layer of visual storytelling.
It's a wonderful contrast to the loose, expressive marks surrounding her.
Letting the Image Become Part of the Artwork
One of the things that works particularly well here is the way the portrait isn't simply sitting on top of the background.
Lisa has continued her mixed-media treatment around and over the image, allowing the colours and marks to become part of the overall composition.
The blue tones appear across the clothing and surrounding areas, helping everything feel connected.
This is a great technique to remember when working with a focal image.
Instead of treating it as a separate piece, think about how you can pull your background colours into and around the image.
Texture, Texture and More Texture
There is so much to discover in this page when you look closely.
Lisa has combined painted areas with what appear to be printed or stamped text, scribbled lines, graphic shapes and repeated dots.
The result is a wonderfully tactile-looking surface.
Some areas are heavily worked, while others are quieter.
That contrast gives the page plenty of visual movement without overwhelming the central portrait.
And that's one of the joys of mixed media—you can combine techniques that might seem completely unrelated and somehow make them work together.
The Power of Black Marks
The darker elements are particularly important in this artwork.
Black and deep brown appear around the edges, through the background and in the loose hand-drawn marks.
There are expressive scribbles, shapes and lines winding through the painted areas.
These marks add energy and movement and provide a strong contrast against all those beautiful blues.
If you're ever working with a predominantly light or pastel colour palette and feel that your page needs a little more definition, try adding some bold darker marks.
They can completely change the feel of the composition.
Adding Words to the Story
Another beautiful detail is the text incorporated into the figure's clothing.
The words become part of the artwork rather than simply sitting separately from it.
Text is such a wonderful addition to art journaling because it can add another layer of meaning without needing to explain the entire story.
You can use:
Printed text
Book pages
Magazine snippets
Stamped words
Handwriting
Quotes
Old paper
Repeated lettering
Sometimes the words are easy to read.
Other times they become almost another texture.
Both approaches can work beautifully.
Those Little White Dots
Look around the edges of the page and you'll notice the repeated white dots.
They're a small detail, but they add rhythm and help frame the artwork.
Repeating a simple shape throughout a page is an easy way to create cohesion.
You don't need dozens of different embellishments.
Sometimes one repeated mark is all you need.
When the Layers Start Talking to Each Other
What I love about this page is the way the different elements begin to interact.
The blues of the background appear again in the figure.
The dark marks from the edges continue into the background.
The text becomes part of the clothing.
The white dots repeat around the border.
The scribbled lines travel through different sections.
Nothing feels completely isolated.
Instead, the elements visually talk to each other and create one cohesive piece of artwork.
A Little Sunday Creative Inspiration
Lisa's page is a beautiful reminder that mixed-media art journaling is all about the layers.
You don't have to create everything in one sitting.
Start with some paint.
Add another colour.
Make a few marks.
Add texture.
Introduce your focal image.
Then look at the page again and decide what it needs next.
Perhaps it's some darker contrast.
Maybe a little stamping.
Some handwritten marks.
A few dots.
A piece of text.
Or perhaps it doesn't need anything at all!
Knowing when to stop can be just as important as knowing what to add.
Your Turn to Play
If Lisa's page has inspired you this Sunday, why not reach for a limited colour palette and see where it takes you?
Try choosing three or four shades and building your background entirely from those colours.
Add a focal image, then use your chosen colours around it to help bring everything together.
And don't be afraid to make marks over your carefully painted background.
That's part of the fun!
Your page doesn't have to look like Lisa's.
Let her artwork inspire you, then take the idea somewhere completely your own.
