PSALMS of HOPE

Tutorial by Linda Fields

I can’t create without first being inspired. The television was on, and with it, all the stinking garbage oozing from it – enough to kill a thousand dreams. Yeah, I gladly turned it off! I needed to create a timeless piece, one that would reflect my heartfelt prayers for those in dark places. I don’t know what you are, or have been, going through but I hope this might give you a moment of peace and love.

I dedicate this to the native people of Maui.

Materials

• Mechanical Pencil, Ruler & Compass
• Sakura Micron Drawing Pen
• Blending Stump & Kneaded Eraser
• Watercolor Paper
• Altenew Build-a-Garden: Grand Carnations Set
• Castle Art Colored Pencils
• Mysti Stamping Tool
• Archival Waterproof Ink Pad – Black
• Tim Holtz Distress Inks – Black Soot, Ground Espresso, Vintage Photo

Drawing It Out

If you look, you’ll see patterns everywhere. It’s this glue, a beautiful mathematical language, that binds us together in life. The very first thing I did was create a template. I wanted to make sure I had a balanced, structured design. There’s something so satisfying blending art and science together. Yea, my geeky side is showing… moving on…

As you might notice, I used the center as my focal point but it’s not enough to grabbed someone’s attention, you need to keep it! Don’t let their eyes wander off the page. You must guide them, moving them across your artwork to return to the beginning so they’ll repeat the pattern. Lines, shapes, light, shadow and color work together to achieve this.

Stamp & Leaf It

I grabbed my Mysti stamping tool. Now, if you don’t have one, you could always use a stamp block but a stamping tool will give you the freedom to stamp more than once to darken your lines without worry of missing the mark. I used the wonderful Grand Carnations Stamps by Altenew. It’s a Build-a-Garden set you’ll want in your craft box! I used a Micron drawing pen to write Psalm 73:26.

Graphite – Light & Shadow

I’m bringing the pencil back! There’s something so magical about the humble pencil. You don’t have to worry about making mistakes and you can layer as many shades of grey you wish to deepen the shadows. I used a kneaded eraser to remove pencil for highlights and to clean the paper. I used the Micron pen to add dark, permanent details.

NOTE: I used watercolor paper to create this card because I was initially going to watercolor it but I switched to colored pencils instead. I wasn’t disappointed! The weight of the paper is amazing. I highly recommend getting a larger size pad to cut it down into card fronts. I was able to get 4 card fronts from one sheet of 9×12 watercolor paper. This will save you money while giving you quality.

Feeling Peachy

Color Palette Inspiration

Finishing Touch

If you’ve been following my tutorials then you know I stress the importance of little details to have a complete, professional and clean finish with whatever you’re creating. Most of my cards have a black mat adding a 1/8″ frame to my piece before it’s added to the card base but you could use any color.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that it inspires you to create something amazing. Thank you for sharing and leaving comments. I hope you’ll share your creations! God bless