Art Journaling

Several posts ago (wow, has it been that long?!), I was talking about exploring the world of art journaling and promised some photos of my progress. Alas, I either keep forgetting to photograph my work or am too chicken to post it. I think it's some combination of the two!

One of my blogger friends has been posting about her dive headfirst into the world of art journaling and has now shown me for the coward that I am by showing pictures of her work. So...here goes. Forgive the smudged out text, but I'm not THAT brave! :D

I used complementary colors in blue and orange for this spread. One of my biggest revelations (and challenges) was to NOT think too much about the layout. I tend to analyze things to death, so it was really stretching me to just grab pictures and paste them onto the page without thinking.

This one worked so well...the little short guy and the clothing tag. Such irony!

I wrote in different colors of ink to emphasize certain words and to give the page some visual interest since there was so much text. I used Paint Pens by Sharpie for this page and I really like them. The extra fine point worked great for journaling.

I'm still in the process of discovering my own unique style so it's quite possible successive art journal posts will look different than these. I was influenced mainly by Teesha Moore's magazine collage style, though she takes her work to a level far beyond where I am at this point! After I get all my pages completed I will bind them together into a book. I'll show you when I'm finished (no promises as to when that will occur!).

Color Experimentation

Wondering what you can do with all those blank pages in your journal? Well, I was too. Ironic, isn't it, that I make and sell journals and my own are sitting on the shelf empty and neglected. Last night I pulled my paints out and started filling the pages of a lonely journal that's been sitting on the shelf waiting for inspiration. My artistic soul has been starving for some playtime!

I've been going through old Somerset Studio and Expression magazines before packing them away in the attic to make room on my bookshelf. Somerset Studio has a article in each issue called "With one palette" where they experiment with four colors in each single piece of art. I've been inspired to do my own art using those color combinations, so when I saw these paint swatches in the hardware store my eyes bugged out!

At first I thought I ruined this piece by adding the blue swirls on top of the starfish design, but after adding the ecru dots and swishes it really made it pop.

I got the center medallion a bit crooked trying to hurry before the paint dried on my stamp! Oh well, it's all for play anyhow so it doesn't matter (the perfectionist tells herself over and over).

And I really am planning on painting a room in my house...those paint chips may just come in handy!