Half-Empty Art Journals I Should Fill Up
Last month, I went through my art supplies and wrote a post about the supplies I shouldn’t use anymore. After the post, I gave most of those useless-to-me supplies away. Now I have reviewed my art journals and have come to the conclusion that I have too many half-empty ones. I should fill these up and at the same time, end one era in my artistic journey.
I don’t mean I shouldn’t have any art journals or sketchbooks anymore, but I think I could do well with only one or two. I have grown my skills by drawing a lot, but now I feel I am more of a painter. Most of my creative energy nowadays goes into painting, and I mostly make either watercolor or canvas paintings. So, the books don’t serve me as much as they have in the early years.
Ten of my art journals are half-empty. I don’t think it’s realistic to fill them in a short time. On the other hand, I have small pieces and hand-drawn motifs that I could attach to the pages and make collage art. Anyway, I wanted to share my inventory. Time will tell how quickly these will be filled!
Art Journal #1 – Smash Book
Who remembers the Smash Books by K&Company? I have several, but only one of them is unfinished. This one has the best cover as I have attached my fabric drawing to it.
This journal has all kinds of pages, but I want to show you the spread that has slow stitching. I have just glued the hand-embroidered fabrics on the pages.
Maybe I could continue this journal with the fabric theme and search for other hand-embroidered pieces from my needlework stash?
Art Journal #2 – Accordion Book
This art journal is really fancy. It’s an accordion book with a separate casing. The paper holds watercolor well but it’s smooth enough for drawing and coloring too. I have got this as a gift from a student of my courses.
This journal has quite a many filled pages, but as it’s an accordion book, I could fill the rest of the pages with a watercolor painting that would continue from one page to another.
Art Journal #3 – Spiral Bound Sketchbook
I shared the process of making the collage cover in this blog post from 2020.
When I start making a new course, I often buy a new sketchbook, and that’s what happened here too. This book has mostly portrait drawings. They were drawn when practicing and gathering ideas for the course Innovative Portraits. Some portraits are very abstract like the one below.
This book has still many empty pages. Here, I could gather other face drawings that I have made over the years. I think that at some point, every artist wants to draw faces.
Art Journal #4 – Small Sketchbook
Most of my art journals are filled with colorful art and contain fairly little writing or black-and-white sketches. This little sketchbook has some interesting ideas and it’s more like a notebook about art-making.
This sketchbook is almost full, and could be filled very quickly with the ideas for the upcoming paintings and courses.
Art Journal #5 – Colored Pencil Diary
This journal is an Archer & Olive Notebook that I call my colored pencil diary. I have filled many pages already. For example, see the blog post about coloring without limits!
My favorite part of the book is the chapter that has fun plant-themed pages. I made them for the course Fun Botanicum.
Even if this journal has many filled pages, it still has a lot of blank pages. However, I feel the journal is ready to be called finished. Should I remove the blank pages? What do you suggest?
Art Journal #6 – Bullet Journal
I love bullet journals but don’t usually draw in them. However, in 2018-2019 I bought a dot-grid journal just for small drawings. These became inspiration pieces for the course Animal Inkdom.
The drawings leave room for writing, and there are many empty pages left. I think I should remove this journal from my art journal shelf and use it for bullet journaling once my current bullet journal gets full.
Art Journal # 7 – Tiny Sketchbook
My smallest art journal is still quite empty. It has some lovely drawings, though!
Should I continue this, or just take out the pages and glue them on another art journal? When I carry a journal with me, I prefer a bigger one.
Art Journal #8 – Dylusions Creative Journal Square with Black Pages
Dylusions Creative Journals are sturdy and their paper is quite thick. I like to practice painting by filling their page. Black is a nice background, especially when I use leftover paints from the palette.
This is the kind of journal I still want and need. It will get filled over the years and there’s no pressure to do it right away.
Art Journal #9 – Moleskine Watercolor Notebook
Moleskine watercolor notebook is a small journal, but it has lovely panorama spreads and nice paper. See this blog post for more inspiration!
I am going to continue this one, for sure!
Art Journal #10 – Dylusions Creative Journal Square with Cream Pages
Dylusions Creative Journal with cream-colored pages is my favorite art journal. This journal works well with colored pencils, for example, see this drawing tutorial of Vermeer Girl!
The inside cover is colored freely with felt-tipped pens. I used thin marker paper for the drawing and then glued the paper on the cover.
I started this journal about five years ago, and have almost filled it. But I like to keep working on the older pages, making them more beautiful. Like with the black journal, leftover paints find their way here.
The paper holds water fairly well, and I use watercolors, acrylics, and oils there. I only wish that the paper would be bright white, not cream-colored. When the journal is full, I will record a flip-through video of it.
Half-Empty Art Journals – Question!
I have a shelf that has many full art journals. I have now put the half-empty ones on the right, so that they don’t get mixed with the full ones.
How many half-empty art journals do you have? Leave a comment!
Wild Garden – Paint with Me!
In the upcoming course Wild Garden we will paint flowers freely, intuitively, and expressively in watercolor. Watch the video and sign up now!
Wild Garden will begin on September 22, 2025. Sign up here!
Drawing Inspiration – What I learned from Inspirational Drawing
This week, I have some drawing inspiration for you. Let’s celebrate our living line!
Recently, I heard the term “transition” and it resonated strongly. After receiving the grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation, I have thought about my artistic career forward and at the same time also backward. I’ve noticed that it’s hard to think about the future without thinking about the past. I thought I’d write a few blog posts this spring about how I’ve grown my artistic skills by building courses.
First, I want to talk about a course that formed the basis not only for everything I teach but also for how I paint today.
From Dots and Circles to a Living Line
Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) said “Everything starts from a dot.” On the same topic, Paul Klee (1879-1940) stated: “A line is a dot that went for a walk.” I think that when a person feels the call of fine art, he is at a point where he wants to get to know himself, to walk inward. I first went on a small tour only: I drew circles.
When I finally understood that I could open the circle and boldly move forward, a new world opened up. I saw my living line pulsating strongly. I felt I could draw anything and didn’t have to “know how to draw” to draw.
Fall in Love with Your Line
It became my calling to help people who are stuck and going around in circles move forward. In 2015, I first made a trial course for Finns called “Inspiroidu piirtämisestä” (Get inspired by drawing) and learned how to make an online course and clarify my points. Then, based on the Finnish course, I made an English version called Inspirational Drawing. When time passed and I got more experience, I made the same course a third time. In 2017, the most comprehensive version Inspirational Drawing 2.0 was born, which is also in my current course selection.
Inspirational Drawing is based on getting to know your own line. You don’t immediately remove your hand from the paper, but let the line travel a longer distance. This technique is commonly called “contour drawing”, but in my version, you don’t copy what is presented, but walk with your line and let the landscapes open up to the unpredictable.
Your line is as unique as your signature. The most motivating thing in art-making is to fall in love with your line. When you want to repeatedly see your line and cherish it, it will also reveal its hidden potential. With your line, you can go much deeper in drawing inspiration and feel much freer than if you cut and compose collages from magazines or use stencils or stamps.
Drawing Inspiration
Inspiring pictures are also at the core of Inspirational Drawing. It’s natural for a creative person to collect pictures in one way or another, and drawing is a wonderful way to spend time with them. In the course, you will be guided to use the pictures you have chosen in drawing so that the pictures are not copied in the traditional style. To fuel free drawing, ideas are extracted from them. I still use this kind of inspiring effect of images in my painting process.
When moving from a point and closed shapes to an open, free-roaming line, inspiration has been a keyword anyway. With inspiration comes courage. It’s wonderful to draw when inspired. And it’s wonderful to inspire others with your own creative outcome.
Start Drawing!
Inspirational Drawing is now for sale this weekend, from March 15-19, 2023 (midnight PDT).
Inspirational Drawing – Get 20 % OFF – buy here!
Facebook Live Watercolor Painting
Here’s the watercolor painting that I painted yesterday on Facebook Live while chatting away. You can find the recording on Peony and Parakeet’s Facebook page, go to Live Videos!
I had a wonderful audience, and many have posted their versions too in the thread, so it’s definitely worth checking out!
Watercolor Journey begins on July 1st!
My online class Watercolor Journey will begin on Sunday, July 1st. If you want to fall in love with watercolors, you don’t want to miss this class! Sign up here!
Keeping a Watercolor Diary
This week, I show you my Moleskine Watercolor Notebook and share a bunch of art journaling ideas for watercolors.
I call my sketchbook a watercolor diary because it has become more than just storage of watercolor sketches. I have recorded many everyday moments and memories into it, and it has become a companion that is always easy to pick up and spend time with.
Watercolor Diary – Watch the Video!
I have included a lot of sample pages in this blog post but watch this recording of a live broadcast to get more out of them!
About 17:30 I talk about daffodils, but I mean dandelions, sorry!
Watercolor Diary – Sample Pages
Here are the pages of my art journal showed in the video.
Familiar Place
Long Path
Everyday Observation
Story of a Flower
This should read “Dandelion”, not “Daffodil”!
This Place Looks Like That Place
Inner vs. Outer
Travel Memories
Inspiring Cultures
Souvenirs from the Land of Imagination
Trip to the Museum
Organizing the Order
Abstract Garden
Flowers in the Wind
Abstract Buildings
Kneeling Down, Looking Up
Image Collection
Focusing on the Air
Watercolor Collage
Making a Pair
Crazy Journaling
Watercolors and Colored Pencils
Rainy Day
Morning Dew
Take Yourself on a Picturesque Watercolor Journey
My class Watercolor Journey is especially for you who admires traditional watercolorists but who wants to be more loose and contemporary in your approach.
If you find sketching, perspective painting, careful shadowing and copying boring, but want to learn tips and tricks to let watercolors do half the work for you, you don’t want to miss this class!
Connect the dots between watercolor techniques and creative expression – Sign up for Watercolor Journey!