In preparation for launching my 2014 sermon journal I did some brainless backgrounds to schlep prep to take my journal to upcoming lectionary (Bible study) meetings. It was an opportunity to experiment with a "new" art gadget I'd bought a few months ago but had never taken the time to fiddle with it: Derwent Inktense Blocks. They are water soluble-simply scrape the block with the mini grater and add water to the desired color density.
Then I experimented with a variety of brushes and changed up whether the brushes was wet & loaded with paint or barely dipped and fairly dry; likewise varying whether the page was wet or dry when I began to paint. Overall I varied: wet on wet; dry on wet; dry on dry. I force-dried the pages with a hairdryer and kept right on schlepping out the backgrounds for a very productive hour. Nothing fancy-but experimenting was done, quiet time enjoyed, and many pages are now prepped and ready for sermon journaling in the weeks ahead.
