Creating in My Art Journal Step-by-Step

I find it helpful to see another artist's process step-by-step, so I thought you might also.  Here's the beginning of an art journal page-- a blank, clean space in my board book.

I was thinking of a visit to the summer camp where I worked in my youth as I pulled out a collection of collage papers from my basket.

When I have extra watercolor paint at the end of a painting session, I often splash washes of color on scrap paper and stick it in my collage basket.

I laid out some papers and spread some Yes! paste down with an old cruise card.

With the base glued down, I worked out what I wanted for the next layer.

After I glued it down, using a glue stick and Tombow Mono Aqua glue, I decided I wanted a little sparkle.  I drew with the pen tip of the Aqua glue, and then dusted the page with some vintage gold leaf dust.

I let the glue dry.

After the glue dried, I dusted off the excess gold powder and felt that the spread needed a bit of contrast.  I rubbed ink pads --black and vintage photo color -- along the edges of the pages.

I felt the page spread still needed something... so I added a few hearts and the word Camp.

When I'm art journaling, playing with little embellishments like the hearts, the glittery gold dust and the stamp pads deepens the process.  It's all play, and there's no wrong answer.  If I decide I don't like some element, I can paint or collage over it.

When you create in an art journal, I hope you give yourself this same latitude.  Create freely, on a whim.  Don't wait for perfection -- it never arrives!  Listen for that quiet, little nudge from your intuition and have fun!

Happy Creating!

Upcycling a Board Book into an Art Journal

I got the idea to upcycle an old board book into an art journal from this YouTube video by Ceri Griffiths. 

https://youtu.be/XijpQxrfh_8?si=7RH4uvZHCJKXcnuS

Ceri walks you through the process of removing the printed surface of the book to create a blank board book to journal on.

Inspired by Ceri, I thrifted a board book at my favorite Goodwill store and prepared it for art journaling.  Then I dug through my painted papers and other collage scraps, pulling out bits that appealed to my artist's eye.  I didn't use them all, but followed my Intuition, that tiny voice within, and started gluing down papers, adding text, drawings, tissue paper, whatever!

  The brown "calligraphy" below on the left is from a Wanderlust 2024 class with artist Eugénie Bilotte.  You can find Wanderlust - a year of classes in art journaling -- at Everything Art (https://www.everything-art.com/). 

The fern on the right is a gelli print on a book page.

I love black print on earth-toned papers -- from tea bags to old book pages and cardboard.  On some page spreads, I simply created a background of collaged papers.  I can add more later as the inspiration strikes.

Other pages came together with a focal point and a theme, like this bluebird & nest page about the revitalization & nurturing I receive from time spent in nature.

My favorite page of the entire book so far is this one, reminding me to follow my Intuition (rather than my inner critic, the Hobgoblin).  I mingled collage, hand-cut stamps, gold acrylic ink and ink pens.

The beauty of creating in an art journal is that you can use any medium you have, from pencils and ballpoint pens to bits of paper from your daily life, to stencils, stamps, paints ... anything!  

And if you find you don't like something you put down, you can paint or collage over it, shaping the page in a new direction.  Just listen to that quiet little voice -- your Intuition-- and follow what it says.  

I find my Intuition never leads me astray.

Happy Creating! 

Art for Breakfast!

I found this holey tree trunk on a recent hike and I loved the rich, earthy colors and the many holes and craggly bits.  I snapped a photo to create from later.

Back in the studio, I made an ink sketch on watercolor paper, then washed in loose watercolors.  

After the watercolor dried, I decided to add the final touches with colored pencils, but the piece sat on my art table for a week or more.

I finally brought it to the breakfast table and finished it with Prismacolor colored pencils while I sipped tea.  

Art can be very portable -- you can create as you eat a meal, talk with a friend, or listen to a podcast.  You only need for your hand to follow your eye.

Where would you like to take your art?

Weekly Planner in Spring Colors

A recent visit to the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse turned up some pages from a vintage book of children's fables. I love the black & white images, and have felt a hunger for spring.  I tore out a few images and laid them out on the weekly planner spread.

After gluing the images down, I added splashes of watercolor in spring colors.

Finally, I added the days, dates and events of the week.

Limiting my collage & paint project to a smaller size made it easy to jump into and begin.  

Do you have any printed material destined for the trash can that you could turn into collage art? I hope you give this technique a try!

Happy Creating!

Mixed Media Valentines!

Each year when the winter snows fly, I make Valentine's Day cards to give to friends and family.  

 The process always starts with experimentation, ideas, & splashes of brightly colored paint.  I try out a variety of ideas and choose one to make multiple copies of.

This is the final design. The tri-fold card has hearts cut out with an X-acto blade so you can see into each of the interior pages.

Creating Multiples of the Design

Using 12" x 18" pieces of cold pressed watercolor paper, I measured off four-inch strips of the paper and creased it to make it easy to fold the cards after painting.  

I painted the whole paper with the design -- permanent rose watercolor paint and dioxazine purple.  Once the watercolor paint was dry, I added white "snowflakes" in the pink area using white acrylic ink.

Next, I cut each larger sheet of painted paper into three segments (6"X12") and folded each one at the crease marks to make a 4"x 6" card.

I traced & cut a large heart shape from the front page, and a medium heart shape from the middle page.

I painted the final, interior page on all of the cards, beginning with splashes of warm, Azo yellow. I traced a third, smaller heart in the center of that page before painting.

While the yellow paint was still wet, I mixed Alizarin crimson and permanent rose, and filled the rest of the page, letting the colors run together.

I played with splattering paint, too.

Once the paint was dry, I inked in the center heart, and added some finishing touches with a white Posca pen.  I wanted to repeat the white of the snowflakes.

I gave myself the luxury of experimenting with final decorative marks.  I let my intuition lead the way, and discovered that adding wobbly black marks around the purple heart-window set off the white stripes, making them look bolder.

In the center heart, I used an extra-small permanent marker to make playful, vibrant designs.  I loved the result! I discovered that the secret was to slow down and let myself play rather than trying to be perfect.

In fact, I made a mantra of telling myself that wobbly, wonky art is human art.  It's authentic and real, and the antithesis of plastic, AI "creations."  Every time I made a mark in the wrong place, I celebrated my humanness.

I finished up each card by writing the greeting in the inner page, being careful not to let the words show through the heart cut-outs.  

A pencil line traced from a yogurt cup gave me a guide for the words.

I wrote the greeting on the line and set it aside to dry. The last step was erasing the pencil marks.

Now my Valentines are ready to sign & mail!

 Wishing you happy creating and a happy Valentine's Day!

Winter Nature Journal: A Deer Friend

Last autumn, we noticed a particularly friendly young deer who was unafraid of us.  As I hiked our farm, I'd often encounter this guy.  When the other deer ran off, he lingered. I always kept my distance, but was charmed by his curiosity.

Hunger brought him up close to the house to eat where other critters didn't dare, giving me good photo opportunities.

This winter, he's been visiting my birdfeeding station and dining on sunflower seeds, so I decided to include him in my nature journal.

Here's the reference photo I used for my drawing.

I started with a graphite pencil sketch, then inked in the lines and added color with my Derwent Drawing Pencils.  I touched in some spots --his ears & around his eyes -- with a Posca paint marker that I wanted to be bold white.

 

I hope you'll use these reference photos to make drawings and paintings.

Happy Creating!

The Love of Tiny Things in Nature

I find myself drawn to the tiny things in nature like small flowers, acorns, insects, & fungi. 

I spotted these beautiful shelf fungi on a recent walk through the Widlflower Reserve at Raccoon Creek State Park and snapped photos with my phone.

Back in the studio, I made a light pencil sketch on a piece of watercolor paper, using the photo above for a reference.  I added layers of washes.  After the first washes were dry, I added some pen and ink marks with my fountain pen

I added more watercolor details using a small round brush.  And, I used a bit of white gouache for highlights here and there.

I finished the 5"x 7" painting with a few colored pencil details.

Realizing that tiny things inspire me helps me to focus my art on the things I love.  

I enjoy hiking in the park, snapping reference photos.  The paintings I make back at home feel like a celebration of my time in nature.  They capture a memory of a place I love.

What do you love?  What inspires you? 

I hope you paint or sketch it to deepen your enjoyment of it.

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner in Gouache & Marker

I was painting with gouache this weekend and decided to use up the extra blobs of paint in my weekly planner.  I love this planner because it gives me a reason each week to play with random art supplies.

I had a fistful of beautiful Faber Castell markers with dual tips -- a fine point at one end and a brush at the other -- found on a recent visit to the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.  

The gorgeous markers added a lovely detailed element to this week's planner page.

I enjoyed the slow process of layering one medium on top of the next.  The clouds at the top of the page and the white lettering on the right side of the page were done with acrylic ink, and I used my Lamy fountain pen with permanent black ink to label the days of the week.

This quiet process of slowly making art based on your intuition and whims can be very relaxing and playful.  You don't have to make anything "important;" just play.  The beauty of the process is that you often develop ideas that you would never have thought of if you'd been "serious" about your art always.

 Art goals are fantastic to pursue.  Just remember to leave yourself some open time to play, too.

Happy Creating!

The Magic of Mixed Media!

I recently discovered artist Wendy Solganik of Willa Wanders on YouTube. 

On her website, https://www.willawanders.com/, I found a wonderful and free tutorial on making funky, artful cards from a larger piece.

Her activity is called the Mixed Media Madness Mother Board Project and you can find it here: https://www.willawanders.com/resources

The project begins with loose collage bits glued onto a larger piece of heavy paper.  I used a 11"x 15" piece of 140# watercolor paper, and glued on papers with Yes! paste.

Then, following Wendy's instructions, I added layers of stencils, stamps, mark making, etc. 

Finally, after everything was dry, I tore the paper into postcard size.  Looking at each postcard, I added a few words cut from old books and some final marks.

Each postcard took on a personality & message of its own, and the whole process was uplifting and easy.

These were delightful to send to the people I love.  I tucked them into envelopes to protect all of the little paper bits from being peeled up by postal machinery.

You could frame favorite ones, turn them into greeting cards, or just prop them on your desk to help you feel inspired.

I hope you check out Wendy's tutorial and give it a try! 

Happy Creating!