My mom’s jewelry box was a mess when it came to me.
She had taken to only wearing few things
(arthritis kept her from changing necklaces and earrings.)
I had to sort to find earring pairs and backings.
On top of that, she had lots of small boxes within the jewelry box.

I see where I get my proclivity toward collecting containers!

I made a folding journal from a sheet of  Hahnemühle Harmony paper.
The paper takes ink beautifully, and is extremely strong and stiff,
curling only slightly under a very wet wash.
(Review later this month!)

On the back side the simple drawings are a backdrop for
memories about Mimi and Mom and jewelry, above:
the front side is artwork that can face the office on our bookcase.

I see more of these small autobiographical or storytelling journals in my future…
This is my second, and it allows me to do a short dedicated journal
without making a year-long commitment to a subject.

I pushed myself to solve the problem I have with metallic or iridescent paints,
that is, I don’t like the way they photograph and don’t much like
they way they look, sort of floating on top of the paper…
I decided to see if I could solve that issue,
possibly by adding a transparent color to the silver and gold.
I was painting jewelry, you see….
I added Daniel Smith Quinacridone Gold to Daniel Smith Iridescent Gold
in a 1:3 ratio to create a lovely gold paint, and added
Daniel Smith Black Tourmaline Genuine to QoR Iridescent Silver
in a 1:4 ratio for a better silver.
I liked the result and decided to play with it in this small journal
(Now I will mix a pan of each!)

Platinum Carbon pen and ink told the line story.
Waterproof (on this paper) Lexington Grey ink created the shadows.
I wanted the silver box would pop a bit with a bit of silver over the grey ink.

I created the background by dipping into transparent oranges, coral, and yellows, moving the color around, and as it dried I added more for a splotchy appearance.
This was topped by a shadow of unknown mixed Primateks left in my mixing palette
(probably Piemonite and Sepia or a bit of a Quin Red.)
I used a big brush to keep it only moderately controlled, letting splash around.

Finally detail color and the mixed metallics were added,
and a blush of pink and blue to the inside of the polished scallop shell
(hard to see in a photograph).

Please bear with me as I learn to use videos, below…
these were formatted for Instagram and I see I need to do TWO!

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