Mixed Media Sketchbook as a Tool for Self-Discovery
This week, I am talking about using a mixed media sketchbook or an art journal in a new way.
Mixed Media Sketchbook – Watch the video!
Bloom and Fly! – Set Your Goals and Start Creating!
My community Bloom and Fly is for all who want to start and keep on creating. You can get help and encouragement for any art project, and we also have monthly themes.
January’s theme is “Mixed Media Sketchbook as a Tool for Setting Your Goals.” You will get ideas on how to use a sketchbook or an art journal for creative goals. Rather than feeling restricted, you will feel energized by the possibilities behind the goals. An art journal can be a playbook that keeps you moving forward!
Make sure that 2018 is your year of art – Join Bloom and Fly!
Lazy Art Journaler? – Try This Method!
Do you keep an art journal or a sketchbook? Are you struggling to find your motivation for filling it regularly? Try this method, geared for a lazy art journaler and for those who have big creative blocks!
“How to” for a Lazy Art Journaler
1) Create one small area at a time like you were slowly building a map.
2) Write down your thoughts. They can be roads from one area to another.
3) Accept that you are stiff and conventional when you begin. The beginning is the home base, and it should make you feel safe and grounded.
4) When you leave the home base and move to the next small area, just focus on creating different than what you have so far.
5) Don’t overthink. One area can be only one spot of color that you feel drawn to. Then add a small dot or line of another color to embark your imagination.
6) You can travel far in one sitting, or stay near the home base. One journey to your imagination can last weeks if that’s what it takes to fill the page.
7) If you want the page to be coherent, repeat some of the elements once in a while.
8) Artists are explorers. Never underestimate the meaning of this practice. Be open to what you can discover. When you are far away from your home base, take risks! In the end, it’s just paper and pigment, and any filled journal beats an empty one!
Get More Inspiration for Creating! – Join Bloom and Fly!
Bloom and Fly is a new community for everyone who wants to stay inspired and move forward in art.
We’ll start the new year with the theme “Mixed Media Sketchbooks for Setting Your Goals”. You will discover fun ways to get a grab on what you want to create in 2018!
In February, we’ll dive into the world of Rococo and Marie Antoinette and you’ll get ideas for any style of art. In March, you will get jumpstarts for adding abstract elements to your art. Whether you like realistic or fully abstract art, starting with abstract elements can boost your creative process.
Why Every Artist Should Art Journal? – Facebook Live Recording
I had my first public Facebook live yesterday! If you missed it, watch the recording below. As this is a live recording via the Facebook app, the quality of the image and the lip sync aren’t brilliant. If you are interested in art journals and using them for growing as an artist, it’s worth watching!
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Life in an Art Journal – Dylusions Creative Journal Flip-Through
Don’t miss a flip-through video in the end of this blog post!
Four years ago, I purchased a new art journal – a big one. It was Dylusions Creative Journal, the largest size. In the beginning, I wanted to do everything “right.” I wanted my journal to have pages that are well-thought and carefully executed. The first couple of spreads went ok, but then, ugly pages started to appear. They were pages that I had just started but got tired on the way. Or pages which began so ugly that I didn’t feel like finishing them. But the longer I used my journal, the more I realized that I could have fun with those ugly pages. I could add more simple motifs and then color them all. I could add black paint and leave only some of the background visible. I could add more ugliness, and once it hit the saturation point, it became – something else.
I am interested in learning all kinds of visual styles. Art journaling has supported it. One day I played a fashion designer and made a quick line illustration with poodles and all. It didn’t look inspiring back then, but a long time later, I had a lot of fun coloring it.
That’s what I love with art journals. The pages don’t get lost, and the ideas don’t get forgotten. Sometimes the ideas are abstract and timeless …
… and sometimes they are illustrations about what’s happening around the world.
Filling the pages in a random order adds its flavor to the journal. A grid-like paper patchwork felt innovative once, but not anymore. It feels pretty stiff, especially when there are freely doodled elements on the opposite page.
But I don’t want to rip off the pages that don’t seem to fit. I accept them all. They are all explorations on the land of Art and Imagination. Sometimes I didn’t get very far, but I believe that all the trips benefited each other. I also believe that when painting on canvases, I feel more confident because I have played freely in my art journals.
Dylusions Creative Journal – Watch the Flip-Through Video!
See all the pages of my large Dylusions Creative Journal!
Enjoy drawing by starting from stick figures! – Buy Drawing Factory!