Visual Art Journal Pages

Above

A page in my spiral bound

visual art journal. Watercolor and pen.

A folk-art style drawing.

Click on any image to enlarge.

Pages from the Scrappy Green Journal.

Background inked and written over

in pen. White gel pen on 

magazine illustration.

Bits of ephemera collaged on also.

Fun stitching provided by Elizabeth,

creating spaces to write...

Also in the Scrappy Green Journal:

Count your shoes...

the one with the most, wins!

"Fashion fades, only style

remains the same."  ~Coco Chanel

Draw something today...

as the top page says, don't think about

what the thing that you are drawing is.

Just look at the shapes and spaces

in relationship to each other.

Draw from real life.

Practice. A lot.

It gets easier.

And more fun!

Scrappy Journal

Looking back, moving forward...

Well said, Vincent...

Graffiti Dragon

Highlighter and marker in

visual art journal. Copyright DBC 2011.

Trying out "Graffiti style" lettering

and drawing. I was thinking of

'Puff the Magic Dragon'

but realized there could be

other unintentional connotations...

I'm not a tobacco (or otherwise) smoker,

so just think of this as fire-breathing

dragon smoke.

Very reminiscent of my art work

when I worked for a Tee-shirt

transfer company.

Not exactly like graffiti, but a fun experiment.

I wouldn't be fast enough to actually

paint a 'tag' on anything 

without getting caught...not into

danger, vandalism, or gang signs, 

but definitely intrigued by street art.

I often wonder what it would be like

to put my work over one of those

ugly billboards beside the freeway?

Romantic Era Art: Art Journal Pages

Image inspired by a 

 work by Johann Friedrich Overbeck

in the book 

Art of the Romantic Era by M. Brion.

(copyright 1969)

Watercolor and Sharpie marker.

Overbeck postulated the ideals of art,

which he termed 'The Brotherhood.'

Michelangelo represented imagination,

beauty represented by Raphael,

and nature represented by Durer

were what Overbeck termed

the 'three ways of art.'

A scene also inspired from 

the same book,  an illustration

of a work by Calame 

called 'Mountain Landscape.'

I have been thinking that a 

small visual journal with ancient

glyphs, symbols, and archiological

notes would be an interesting

project to create -- similar to

the one Indiana Jones' dad had

made in one of the movies.

Inspiration for visual art

comes from many places...

old books that someone gives you or

that you find in a library sale,

images of other artists' work, 

ancient civilizations,

fashion magazines, a favorite theme,

and even the movies!

Inspirations for Art Journaling

Inspiration for these journal pages came

from a fashion magazine, the phrase

"pear-shaped figure," and an affection for

paper dolls and interesting quotes.

I couldn't resist putting the pear-shaped

body beneath the fashion-ad inspired head,

when in the glossy magazines, they

are usually pencil-thin!

The woman's figure was painted in

watercolor on watercolor paper, then cut

out and glued onto the page.

A watercolor background was

shaded with soft pastels after

adding the text in Sharpie marker

and mauve gel pen.

The pose of the figure is not ballet...

I have been in physical therapy for a

frozen shoulder, and this is a

painful reminder of the stretches I

must do to get back my mobility!

Again, a page motivated by a fashion magazine.

I find the graphics, layouts and photography

quite inspiring, though the clothes are 

often just weird.  The turban is inspired

by African styles, and the flowers are

inspired by American folk-art designs.

If you've ever looked at Pennsylvania

Dutch designs or early American

birth and marriage certificates, 

they can provide a wealth of ideas for

art journals and decoration.

Receptive

Quote by Francis Bacon, the artist (not the statesman)Watercolor and pen in Art Journal.

I liked this quote, even thoughI find the artist's work disturbing...but that was probably his point.The geometric designs in the borderare instead inspired by Kandinsky's paintings.Copyright dbcarey, 2010.