Black and White

Black and white spread in the little watercolor paper art journal.Right-hand page shown above, which includes an additional 'flap'on the right-hand side

Left-hand side of spread shown above. All images and writing sketched in pencil, then inked with Sharpie or other marker...a limited attempt to explore the 'idea of beauty' in different cultures. I am sure whole books have been written about the subject! I want to believe that our 'inner beauty' is more important, but ... it sure seems as though the world worships at the altar of youth and physical attractiveness...

Art Deco in the Art Journal

The woman's face was inspired by anArt Deco painting (1925) by Tamara de Lempicka,called Self Portrait (Tamara in the Green Bugatti)Quotes are from the bookThe Great Gatsby

The spread started from the stylized flowersand grew from there...sketched first in pencil,inked with Sharpie xfine point marker,color added with colored pencils.

Vision

Art journal entry in the 9" x 7" book I madefrom watercolor paper. This spread includesa flap on the left that folds in.Border from scraps of hand-painted & stampedpapers, stickers, postage stamp, and pen drawing.White gel pen used to color in thetree trunks...inspired by some trees not farfrom our house...

Art Journal Pages

Some thoughts from the bookThe Artist's Way...something all artists need to remindthemselves of...

I have noticed some blogspromoting the idea that an art journalis an "illustrated diary" and that it's notjust about art...for me that is not so.My art journal is more about art thanit is about my daily life, but I do put inwhatever strikes my fancy...swatches, sketches,quotes, whimsy, magazine clippings,collage, ideas for art...I think my art journal can be whatever I likeand whatever inspires me.Adapt the ideas that you like and ignorethe ones you don't...it's your journaland you should follow yourown muse!

Art Journal Page

Art journal pagemagazine images, acrylic,watercolor, pen, Sharpie marker,on recycled cardboard

Art Journal Page

Inspired by Kandinsly...art journal page drawn inSharpie extra fine-point marker...a bit like Zentangle with Kandinskyabstract shapes.

Art Colors Life

Art journal page:watercolor and sharpie marker.Design inspired by Kandinsky's Red Spot II, 1921.

Sketch

Art journal page, drawn in gel penwhile riding in the car...I was looking in the mirror on thepassenger side visor (no, I wasn't driving!)which may account for some distortion.Features seem elongated but a quick sketch is always a good drawing exercise.I like gel pens for drawing, buthave to be careful because they do tend to take time to dry and can smear easily.For drawings which color will be added to,I usually use a Pigma Micron or Sharpie permanentmarker. Sometimes I paint first and then add anypen work that is needed.

Beauty is in Yourself

Art Journal page:Craft acrylic on cardboard,magazine images,black Pigma Micron pen,white Uni-Ball Signo pen.Excerpt from poem Beauty by E-Yeh-Sure

Live in the Moment

Art journal page in gel pen...reminding myself not to "wish away" the future,appreciate here and now, and look for beauty in all things.

Spring Colors

Feed Your Soul--Spring Colors Art Journal Page,acrylic on cardboard, torn painted cardstock.Quote: "The human soul needs actual beautymore than bread."--D.H. LawrenceGo Make Something-Make It Mondayschallenged us to be inspired by Spring.Find your inspiration & feed your soul!

Fifties Fashion

circa 1950, copyright A. Janet Burggraf BishopPen and India ink, colored pencil on typing paperFashion drawings done by my mother.She is not sure how old she was when she did these,probably a freshman or sophomore in high school.Apparently I inherited some artistic genesfrom her. I remember that she oftendoodled eyes and lips when she talked on the phone...not faces, just the face parts!

My mother's drawing is above, my art journal drawing at the bottom. Mom's is in India ink and colored pencil, mine is in ballpoint pen. She drew these models from magazines and clothing patterns.I attempted to draw the girl in the sweater on my art journal page...the profile is not quite right in my opinion.A. Janet Burggraf Bishop, 1950 Dianne Bishop Carey, 2009

THE PROCESS-- Mixed Media Collage

MATERIALS:Recycled cardboardGessoArtist's chalk pastels"Suave" max hold hairspray (or any inexpensive brand)Scissors, glue, Sharpie markerPapers, paint, fabric, ephemeraHole punch, if desiredRecycle cereal box or other cardboard for substrate.Cut to size & shape desired. Apply gesso, 1-2 coats.Apply chalk pastels in desired colors."Fix" with inexpensive hairspray. (This isto help prevent smearing of the chalk)

Choose scraps of fabric, paper, painted papersto include in the composition.Color contrast was a main considerationfor this piece. Lay out without gluingand try several compositions.Cut, tear, and overlap shapes.

Begin gluing shapes after experimenting withcolor contrast, overlap, and how your eyeis guided through the page.In the western world, our eye is usuallytrained to "read" the composition from(upper) left to right, top to bottom.Try to guide the eye through the pageby the balance and movementof shapes, colors, space & contrast.

I usually repeat some colors and shapesthroughout the surface, often usingsomething an odd number of times,as in 3 times, or 5 times...but it's not an absolute...My process is intuitive.

"Connected" - Pink & Blue CollageOften, it is difficult to know when the composition is finished!Some artists suggest that the artworkis never "done" it just stops in an interesting place...I added layers of undulating linesto suggest "strata" with an extra-fine point Sharpie marker.I used a hole punch to punch holes in this pieceto put into a "ring binder art journal."Ingrid has been recycling cardboardto create stunning journal pages ina recycled ring binder. She has inspired meto create my own version.Please visit Ingrid's blog to see herbeautifully executed journals!

Portion Control

Michelle Ward's Green Pepper PressStreet Team Crusade No. 28 is"Portion Control."The idea is that a portion of an image,obscured, embellished, or cropped, etc.is much more interesting thanthe plain complete imagein the center of the paper.Some of my supplies areshown above...

These are my Art Journal pagescreated with the goal of "portion control."My previous post showing theexploration of the primitive shapeof a bird is continued...

I used crayons & watercolorfor a resist, portions of poemsin my own handwriting,hand-carved stamps,black acrylic paint,and both the positive andnegative portions ofmy stencils.

Quick Sketch

Quick sketch while sittingin a fast food restaurant...not a fan of drooping britches.

Shape Up!

Michelle Ward's GPP Street Team BlogCrusade No. 27 is calledShape Up!She challenged us to explorea shape: think positive & negative,large & small...

These Art Journal pages were first paintedwith watercolors for the background.Primitive bird shapes were cutfrom paper and then pastelsapplied to the bird shape. I laidthe shape onto the journal pageand rubbed the pastel fromthe stencil onto the journalpage, creating a stencil of the negativeshape. Hand-carved bird stampswere added & quotes in calligraphy.I also included the stencil shapesby gluing them to the page as well.

Art Journal Page-Tribal

"We evolve at the rateof the tribewe are plugged into."-Carolyn MyersThis quote caught my eye and inspiredthe use of tribal African art designs.The drawing of the sculpture is from an imagein the book "Black Africa" byLaure Meyer. It isthe crowned head of an Oni from the12-15th century in brass & zinc alloy.It is striking because the sculpture hascontour lines carved into the face.The geometric forms are fromPlank Masks, used for familyrituals or funerals.It is interesting that thesegeometric forms also resemblethe forms of other tribal art, such asNative American. Seemsthat the triangleis universal.

Fortune for 2009

This art journal page is the first I've completed in 2009...it was inspired by the fortune cookie wrapper from a local Asianrestaurant.(I suppose this is a stereotypical image...no offense isintended to anyone of Asian descent)I loved the limited color palette, which I'm sure was usedpartially due to the manufacturer's desire to limit printing costs.I sewed the cellophane wrapper to the page by hand using yellow/orangevariegated thread. I continued adding stitches around the watercolorand ink images because I liked the texture it created. It reminded meof the old "sewing cards" I had as a kid, that were prepunchedcardboard that you threaded yarn through. The fortunein the lower right corner reads: "You will havemany friends when you need them."That is my wish for all of youin 2009!

Believe

Art journal collage spread in a small black sketchbook.The pages are roughly 8 1/2" x 5 1/2".Materials include cardstock painted with craft acrylics,watercolor paper, hand-carved stamps,fabric, colored pencil, and calligraphy pen.The dark red papers were created by my friend Diana.The lines of varying thickness are a recurring themein my drawings and paintings...perhaps symbols for layers of color, images, & meanings...the geological layers of sediment through time,or the layers of experience we each go through in our liveswhich ultimately can effect the art that we make.

Blue Girls

More Art Journal pages...or, using up the two colors of blue paint left on the palette...attempting to fill the space with interesting brushstrokes and shapes with no prior planning as to the composition...I always seem to fall back on the female faces...ever since I was a teenager I've done these...I am not sure these pages are finished yet...I think that it needs some other papers of similar color collaged onto it...enjoyed just slapping the paint on there and creating the suggestion of faces with just a few brushstrokes.And would you call this blue, periwinkle, purple...or even "purplewinkle?"