ART Journaling Step by Step

Every once in a while I get around to finishing a page or two that I had previously started. So today I decided I take one page through the steps of completion, especially since I haven’t posted in a while.

A month or so ago I was on a crazed mission doing many, many faces & now I can share my process through completion with you. I hope you’ll find it easy enough to try just for fun. In this case I’m thinking they can easily be used to print some postcards/note cards for myself or as gifts! All you’ll need are simple supplies: Waterproof pen, watercolor or colored pencils, and or markers.

Step one:

Complete a contour drawing of a face (or flower)  in waterproof ink using an old photo (magazine or newspaper). For sure mine never come out looking even close to the reference material no matter what, so don’t even go there.

 

Step 2:

Add Watercolor washes (or colored pencils, markers – whatever you wish)!

 

Step 3:

Using hand lettering or a stencil with pencil, add your message and design. Here I decided to add the word ‘Think” with dots, and I’ve now painted the background with brushed on ink.

 

 

Step 4:

Now finish up with whatever you’d like to use pencils, pens, colors. Whatever suits your fancy.

 

 

 

Here I’ve used Faber-Castell Pitt Pens (one of my fav’s). And, I’m thinking this can be used for special notes to my friends who have survived breast cancer, or a gift of note cards to them so they can share with others.

Have a wonderful day, and keep sketching my friends!

 

 

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Falling into ART Journaling, what’s next?

Yes I am a journal junkie, and sometimes I wonder just where I’m going in my art. I’ve been actively involved in Travel Journaling (it seems like forever), making art, doing the Travel Journaling thing, and teaching workshops. All along the way I’ve been buying all kinds of reference books that lead me more into the Art Journaling – Mixed Media style. I devour these books yet I can’t seem to just let go, and fall into the mixed media habit, and what I mean by this is the use of all kinds of materials, tearing up, and pasting down. Yet my inner child is telling me this is what I need to do,  just let go, and let the kid out. As I continue to contemplate just letting go, here’s a couple of pages where I have only swished on some ink to get the bright colors and ‘journaled a few thoughts’. I’m sure sometime soon I’ll get to the point where I can do the backgrounds without thinking I have to draw it in first. See, it’s like I’m beginning to fall into it.

Illustration Friday’s Post for “TALL”

I think most of my friends know that I’m also doing art challenges with Illustration Friday’s FB Group. It’s a great way to keep your mind working. Each week a word is posted and I do my thing and ‘illustrate’ it. This piece is for the word challenge ‘TALL’. Hope you enjoy!

Very tall, long, long legs!

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What’s Holding me back?

Over the past week I’ve been thinking about how some of the EDM Challenges seem to me to be  harder than they should be to complete, and in doing the thinking thing a lot of thoughts tumbled out. This is what I think I learned, hope it makes sense to you as well.

Just not into the whole thing?

The learning is in the doing! The challenges if completed in sequence will at some time make you uncomfortable. This has happened to me, more than once. Now, I think this is a good thing. What if you are ‘just not in the mood?’ I suggest you just try ‘to work through it’, even if it takes all day (or more than one day). Inside this process  “the experience of learning” I have stopped to do some research, and to think about the given activity – starting with why am I feeling this way, why am I not connecting or why is there no immediate interest?  From that point forward I’m truly ‘looking’  for some inspiration, YUP ‘inspiration’. Without ‘inspiration’ or some kind of connection the emotional part of the process of drawing needed  to complete a challenge seems ‘life less’ and if so the completed piece just doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t feel lively it is without the “spark of life”.

Lovin my new socks!

Skipping around may keep you from being un-inspired but not allow for the other learning to occur. For example: how our feelings impact what we are attempting to complete. Or, how our ‘lack of patience with ourselves’ and always being in a great hurry impacts our work and produces unwanted results. If we take time to enjoy the ‘journey’ even if it is for only a few minutes we learn it contributes to a successful piece. Our soul is enjoying the amazing FUN as we learn to use new (or old stuff) media like a child ‘with that new pen’, paint, or paper.

When we take time for ourselves to discover a new perspective ‘visual or mental’ it helps us see and feel differently about what we are doing, or attempting to do. Aaaaaah, what a challenge.

EDM.50 ‘my front door’

So, maybe our short-term gains by staying actively engaged & skipping around can offset the ‘uncomfortable feelings’ you (we) run into now and the. This can be a good way of continuing forward – but,  it often skirts the issues lying just  under the surface and those may be what are holding you back from a real genuine emotional breakthrough it your work, or life issues.

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Drawing on life, and sketching like a crazy person….

In my last post I chatted about making quick sketches from magazines and shared a couple of my ‘journal pages’. Since Tuesday I’ve completed 22 faces (of course they are in various stages of completion) but complete as far as the line work is considered, and in my madness I moved on to just making them up as I went along. Anyway today I spent time scanning a bunch in BEFORE I painted or wrote on them (gee what a concept) and decided I’d share. Hope you enjoy! Keep sketching my friends, Donna

   

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Rainy Days of Winter

'Going Coastal'

This piece (old) kinda represents how the cloudy rainy days are affecting me, since the past several weeks have brought little in the ‘sun’ department, so I’ve been working in the studio on a fun new project on postcards. I make postcards out of my studio watercolor rejects. Constant playing to keep my self sane. Its just that there are times I find it difficult to get into anything serious when the days are just plain droopy. Today is no exception. So, I am following my own advice – just play, and play, and play. The more you play, the more you learn. Observation is a great way to keep your SEEing skill sharp. Today I walked to Starbucks, got my latte, did a bit of sketching in my journal and walked back in the rain. And now I continue my learning in the blogosphere. I assume that I’ll get better at it, and learn more about formatting & stuff as I go along.  Hopefully it won’t take me so long to post the next time.  Billions of blessings to all. Donna

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