Playing with Inks in my Art Journal

I was cleaning up our paper recycling box and found a stack of product safety inserts on thin paper with tiny print warnings in dozens of different languages.   I love working on paper with text, especially in a foreign language.  So I pulled the pages out to create on.

I grabbed my inks: India ink & Black Walnut ink, as well as a white wax crayon & a black grease pencil. 

In the page above, I drew with the white crayon and the black grease pencil before painting with ink.  The crayon resisted the wet inks layered on top, leaving white marks shining through. I finished the page with the walnut & India inks.

It was fun to paint using the chocolate-colored walnut ink I made years ago.  (You can see that post here.)

After the walnut ink dried, I layered on rich, black India ink.    

I enjoyed simply playing with these supplies.  One trick that helps me create freely is taking paper that's trash and turning it into something more fun. There's zero pressure to have "success."  It's trash.  

I glued part of one of the papers to a new page in my board book art journal. I added a pocket made from an envelope a bill came in.

 

I used Yes! paste to glue papers down, and washi tape along the edges, adding marks with a grease pencil & India ink. Mark-making relaxes me. It's an easy way to connect with my creative intuition.

I added a bit of blackout poetry with text encouraging the reader to "Discover what's inside."

I like the way the dark India ink around the page balances with the lighter values and the way the straight lines of text contrast with the curvy, organic lines of my painting.

I created a tiny artwork to fit inside the envelope pocket.  The little circles were inspired by a photo on a package of frozen peas we'd had for dinner the night before. 

You can get your inspiration from the most mundane sources!

I finished the page by writing a quote that spoke to me: "Attention is the beginning of devotion." -- Mary Oliver

I think I've always had an affinity towards upcycling papers and other materials into art.  

It can help to discover what sorts of materials, art supplies, colors and marks make you feel at ease, invigorated or playful.  Pay attention to what makes you feel most excited about making art, and follow that trail your intuition leads you on.

I wish you Happy Creating!

Collage Calendar Page

After creating a stack of green painted papers for my collage sketchbooks, I had loads of leftovers.  They made wonderful elements in my weekly planner.

 The thing I love about collage art is that I never have to hone the artwork to a place of "perfection" as there is no perfect.  I pick out a paper that interests me; I get an idea of somewhere to place it; I try it in that spot, and either I like it or I don't. 

If I feel the glow of liking it, I glue the paper down; otherwise, I try something else. 

It's a wonderful game I play with my intuition.  You might think of it as a meditation on listening to your intuition, and that having an artwork at the end is a bonus.

In the dreary gray of winter, playing with colorful pieces of paper can really brighten your spirit.  I hope you'll give collage a try!

Happy Creating!

A New Nature Journal

A few months ago, I started a watercolor nature journal, and I'm having fun painting nature scenes in it. Still, I missed my brown craft paper and the possibilities it brings for working with colored pencils & gouache.

I cracked open a craft paper journal that I had bought online to create a new nature journal.  I can work in both journals, using whichever works best for my ideas.

Right away, I delighted in making simple pen and ink sketches, adding colored pencil to some.

The brown paper automatically creates the midtone, making highlights and shadows more dramatic.

I try to listen to my intuition, that tiny voice within that offers suggestions.  It often feels like a little nudge rather than a loud, obvious instruction.  Each scene calls out for a certain medium -- some feel very watercolor-y and others invite sketching with a colored pencil.  Maybe it's just my own moods that I'm responding to.  

I find that when I listen to these little nudges, I'm happier and create more freely. It doesn't mean I'm always going to create impressive work, just that it will feel right and that I will be more at peace with the finished artwork than if I had forced myself to follow an expected path.

Listening to your intuition and trying out its ideas is a valuable habit to get into.  Your intuition is full of exciting possibilities and will help you to make wonderful discoveries.

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner: Valentine's Hearts

I love hearts as an art theme. Easy to create, and open to many variations.  And the heart represents kindness, love, and caring.

For this page spread, I used watercolors in permanent blue violet and pyrrol red with India ink in a Lamy fountain pen.

I know we've just past Valentine' Day, so maybe you're done with hearts.

What if you chose a shape -- stars, ovals, circles, whatever -- then selected 2-3 colors you like, and added a certain line style.  Here, I've used swirls, spirals and wavy lines.  You could select short lines, blues and squares.  Try selecting your own "formula" for a weekly planner page.

You can trust your intuition -- that tiny voice within you-- to invent clever and exciting new combinations of shapes, colors and marks.

Happy Creating!

Bubble Planner

Another week, another weekly planner page! 

 

This week's inspiration came from looking at a variety of jar lids and other round items, and wondering what the page would look like if I traced them.  

I traced them with a pencil, then used India ink and a brush to create bubbles and swirls.  

I simply followed my intuition.

I recommend tuning into your intuition as a practice.  

 Kindly ask yourself what to do next in your art, and listen to the soft voice of your intuition -- not the noisy, judgmental voice of your inner critic, but the quiet suggestions that often sound unusual, unexpected or downright weird.  

Try those things.  

It's only paper, and you can make wonderful discoveries. 

It helps you to learn to trust your own artist's voice.

 Happy Creating!

Care December: Setting an Intention

I have been participating in Kasia Avery's Care December art journaling project.  If you'd like to join this free online class, you can find out more here:

https://www.everything-art.com/p/care-december-23

The first day of Care December involves tuning into your own heart about what you want to focus this self care art journaling time on.

I wrote out my thoughts on a sheet of paper, decorated it with some watercolor paint and paper bits, and then jumped into painting the pages of my journal with acrylic paint.

After the paint dried, I added clear gesso.  

Acrylic paint is smooth & slick when dry, so it's hard to draw or write on top of it as is.  

Clear gesso goes on looking milky, but dries clear and adds grit.  

A layer of (dried) clear gesso over top of acrylic allows you to draw with colored pencils, add pastels and makes ink "stick" better.  

I added colored pencil lines, collage bits, and penned a shortened version of my intention statement:

Hear my Intuition & 

Follow Her

Create for Joy

Celebrate & reflect on my art

I have found that when I focus on the tiny voice of my Intuition while creating, I worry less about what other people will think of my art, and less about making "perfect" art.  Of course, we all know that there's no such thing as "Perfect."  Humans are by nature messy beings -- delightfully imperfect.

When I create out of my Intuition, I feel joyful, curious, and playful.

I feel happy, calm, and as a side effect, I usually like what I create.

Something I've recently begun to do is to reflect on my art.  I have always propped up my journals and paintings where I could see them after completing a particularly satisfying project, but recently, I've begun poring over art journals and handmade books, looking over what I created and reflecting.

This reflective practice magnifies my self-care art.  I get the boost of creating it in the first place, and then an extra boost every time I look over and consider how good it made me feel while I made it.

In effect, reflecting on my art creates a positive upwards spiral, and makes me want to create more art for self care.  Life feels more sparkly.

And isn't that what we want out of our art practice?!

Wishing you many happy hours of creating and reflecting!

Copyright 2023 Betsy Bangley

 

Ink and Collage Postcards

I love the rich, dark marks I can make with India ink.  Ink flows and blooms on wet paper, and travels in its own lively way that I can never precisely predict.

I can add my own handmade stamps to the marks, and after the ink dries, the blackest areas provide a happy ground for chalk pastel marks to play in.

When creating with ink alone, I never have to worry about deciding on a color palette.  The interplay of watered-down ink and bold, black, straight-from-the-bottle ink create their own drama.

I created these pieces to be 6"x 9" post cards, cut from 160# watercolor paper. Before adding the ink, I pasted on paper torn out of old book pages from a Gregg shorthand manual and an old atlas.  I'm inspired by old, weathered materials that have a history and beauty of their own.

As I applied the ink, I tuned into my intuition, simply listening to that quiet little voice within for direction.  When she said "Make swoopy X's and wonky O's'" I did that.

When she said "This is a place for diagonal lines, for swirls, hearts and spatters!"  I took her advice.

I'm always happy when I listen to my Intuition.  She's never led me astray.  Ever.  Even when what she says seems weird or unlikely to work, I'm always happy with my decision to follow her.

And art making feels good -- not stressful as when I'm trying to make something "pretty" or "perfect."

What does your Intuition say to you today about your art making?  

Of course, I'm not talking about that loud, scolding voice of the harsh critic.  I'm referring to the tiny voice that offers unexpected and sometimes weird-sounding ideas.  

It takes some discernment and practice to hear your Intuition.  And it takes courage to try the ideas your Intuition suggests.  But what lovely experiences arise, and what beautiful art!

I hope you get some time this weekend to make art and listen to your Intuition!

Happy creating!

Copyright 2023 Betsy Bangley