Rainbows are one of my favorite images ever and I love that they are coming back into the spotlight. It’s the unexpected color looping across the sky that always thrills me. I love color. When working in my Bible, I’ll often start out a page with a gentle hint or wash of color. When I teach, I love to show my students how to build on techniques. In this post, I show you how to use the hand carved rainbow stamp from my last tutorial to make a colorful stamped background for your Bible journaling.
In the video and tutorial below you’ll also see how you can add other media, like acrylic paints and markers; as well as other design elements like text and borders to create a finished composition. More than anything though, I want you to see how easy it is to just try things. Don’t love what you did? No problem- just try more things. Creativity is rarely a linear process. Be okay with whatever happens. Often God will speak to you through the experience.
Rainbow Promises Two Page Spread
Supplies and Tools
- Wide margin Bible
- Art Basics Clear Gesso (I demo why and how to use this in my post, How to use Acrylics in your Bible.)
- Foam brush
- Inkpads
- Paper towel, with water
- Markers (I use Distress Brand that are water soluble)
- Paint brush
- Acrylic Craft Paint
- Stamps (you can use store bought or handmade)
- Pencil and eraser
- Pitt Pen, or other fine tipped pen
Directions
Step One:
Prep your page. Place a craft mat or scrap paper under your page as you brush on the clear gesso. Cover the page and then repeat with the facing page. Let dry. For more info on this check out the post, How to Use Acrylics in Bible Art Journaling. I also explain why I use this page prep medium and what else you could use.
Step Two:
Swipe lightly across the page with the inkpad. Use the damp paper towel to lightly smooth and soften the ink lines. Note: this works with the Distress Brand inks, and the Illustrated Faith inks and might not with others that are alcohol based. It’s something to try, and I love the soft look in this piece, but getting the streak marks is a fun look and dynamic look too.
Step Three:
Ink your stamp and stamp all over the page to create an all over pattern. Make sure you do go off the edge of the page, and space out your imagery. It looks way better. If you are using a large stamp leaving larger spaces between your stamped images gives a less busy feel. Closer gives the pattern more prominence. Again, it’s all up to you and what you wanted to convey.
Step Four:
Using the markers, ink the stamp. Then print directly on the page. If you feel like the ink dried while you were applying colors you can add a little more over the top. Or you can spritz it with a little water. For more on using Distress brand markers check out this short 3 Ways to Water Color with Distress Markers post.
Step Five:
With your brush, add acrylic craft paint to your pages. This can just add more color to your composition. Or you can use it to outline or accentuate your visual focal points like verse, imagery, or text. While the other colors applications you’ve seen in this tutorial were largely transparent, the acrylic craft paints give a bold opaque coverage that is a fun contrast
Step Six:
Next, pencil in the text and then go over it with marker or pen. Once the pen has dried you can go back in and erase the pencil marks for a more crisp look.
Step Seven:
Look at the composition as a whole and see what you think it might need to balance it, to punch it up, or maybe to take it down a notch. Looking at this piece I felt like it needed some more colors, so I added some marker to the repeated rainbow background. It also felt like it needed some details so the little hearts and the bird imagery really added to the overall composition.
Step Eight:
Change what you want to. Always try new things. Continue to look at both the individual elements, and how they work together as a whole. Perspective is easy to lose as you work. It takes stepping back, disengaging emotionally, and thinking a little critically. But then to move forward, creating what you believe is maybe needed. Until you can instinctively tell when you need to take a moment, you have to remind yourself to do so at regular or natural intervals.
Step Nine:
Finish up the final details and then sign and date your work. I love adding a short jot to the page with some little snippets of what life is like on the day I wrote it. Sometimes I write a prayer or praise that is on my mind, and revisiting these pages later really helps me remember what I was leaning into God for that day. It anchors my work, and will do the same for yours.
For MORE inspiration
If you’d like to know more about what Bible Art Journaling is, try reading my post “Why you should try Bible Art Journaling”. It will explain what it is, and what benefits it has for your personal faith experience. I hope you LOVE this and anything I can do to help makes me happy! And if you’re a beginner I have a whole bunch of posts on Bible Art Journaling that will take you from the “why try it” to “how to try it with the Bible you have” to the “using templates”, and “creating on the page for the first time”. You’ll be introduced to different techniques, pro tips, supplies, and more. I also have a Quick Start Guide to Bible Art Journaling and templates available for download in my Creativity Resource Library!
Already Love Bible Art Journaling? For more amazing ideas and inspirations from the best Bible Art Journaling, Visual Faith, and Illustrated Faith artists out there, there’s a great book out on called the Complete Book of Bible Art Journaling. It really is an awesome buy. Check out my Bible Art Journaling Pinterest Board for more ideas and inspiration. For a collection of my favorite supplies, including the Bible I use, my resources page is a great “resource” too. Happy Journaling!
