Welcome to the Circus

Hi everyone :)

This is my page in Sharon Williams' Vintage Circus and Carnivale art journal... I tried to keep the colours antiquey and vintagey as much as I could. I do love using bright colours though :)

My ideas as usual went around in my head, spiralling out of control... that was, until I drew them down (then it was a dull roar! lol) - many drawings later I decided upon a circus train with steam engine and cheeky monkey.

I erased the draft and drew the pic in full scale only to find I drew something different again! Gotta love how our minds do whatever they want even when we think we're in control :)

The following is just before the lion arrived... Leo was late cos he was busy chasing his tail.

I used my groovy smooth luscious Tambai Gansi watercolour paints for the main background and most main features. Then waited (impatiently! lol) for it to dry before painting more details. So hard to wait when you're in the zone!

A while later I got out my Distress markers (watercolour textas) and Derwent Graphik paint pens (acrylic paint) and had some fun :) As you do! Finer details were added with a white Sharpie and Graphik sepia and graphite markers.

This is my gypsy wagon... built on the cheap - windows were really expensive back then!

Here is Holly the horse trainer and her two friends practicing their dance moves. Later on they'll be dressed in pretty sparkly sequins and stardust for the show. 

The mostly completed left hand page :)

Frannie the elephant is having a wonderful time showering herself with water. Must be so hard to keep from splashing Charlie (clown) as he juggles. I know I wouldn't be able to resist as easily! I bet she's just waiting for me to close the journal then will give him a good soaking...!

Luckily, as eveyone knows, any water that is thrown at a clown automatically turns to confetti. Thank goodness! Imagine how soggy the book would be by the time it reached Sharon if that didn't happen! lol :)

This is Charlie, juggling beanbag balls. He'd much prefer to be dancing with Holly but as you can see from the ground, he needs more practice before the night's performance.

The mostly completed right hand page :)

Then arrived Leo the Lion... if you wait quietly, he'll come out from behind the tent to say hi. But not before he's finished chasing his feathered friends!

Here is the finished page...

Hope Sharon likes it!

Thanks for reading :) Have a happy day!

:)

Jenny