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!

Art Journal Collage

More pages in the 

Scrappy Green Journal created by

Elizabeth of Altered Book Lover.

I enjoy getting to work

on the substrates that she

made as they are often 

unexpected and stretch my

skills in new ways.

The square with bird & Tweet is

a pocket which can hold 

tags or other bits of

ephemera.  I don't "Tweet"

but couldn't resist the 

word and the bird together...

I've never outgrown paper dolls.

These are a couple that I just

did this week. Maybe it's silly

but it's "my party, and I'll make

paper dolls if I want to."

This one has a fashion magazine

face, drawn over with marker.

I drew the face on this one--

it has a watercolor background,

stamping, drawing, and a 

wallpaper scrap glued on.

In other news, I got a small journal in which 

to start making mysterious drawings 

and diagrams, ala Henry Jones.

(Indiana Jones dad)

I am going to start with diagrams of 

Native American glyphs from

the Ohio river area...

who knows what treasures will

be uncovered?

Indian Art Swap Pages

A watercolor that I painted

which was inspired by

some images of ancient Indian

art works shown in my old

Asian Art History textbook.

I combined ideas from 

two or three works.

Sharpie extra fine point

black marker outlines the images.

I really like the texture created

by the white gel pen semicircles

in the grass...

A photocopy of the

illustration of the head of a sculpture

depicting a queen.

I colorized the photocopy with

chalk pastels, then stamped

over the pastels with watercolor,

and finally 'fixing' the pastels

with cheap hairspray as a fixative.

The atc is a color copy on cardstock

from the watercolor.(top of this post)  The tag is

stamped on scrapbook paper,

and has an Indian proverb

hand-written on the front.

On the back (not shown) I wrote

information about the art I created,

and the art that inspired me.

The back page is covered in cotton fabric,

creating a pocket for both the tag

and the atc.  The red pocket is a

satin-backed crepe, for which I used 

the wrong side of the fabric -- because

I liked the richness of the shiny side.

Hand embroidery, purchased trim, 

and metal embellishment complete

the page.

There was also another page which

was created with a greeting card that

depicted an Indian goddess, but 

since I did no altering to the image

and just embellished with some gold

lace and silk flowers, I do not show it here

to avoid copyright infringement.



The rich colors of these pages

were a lot of fun for me,

and following a theme that

someone else has chosen is

a challenge that helps me grow.

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.

Sunflower Swap Pages

Watercolor and pen on

watercolor paper. Top image 

inspired by Willem de Morgan's

sunflower tiles - 1880's.

Bottom image after Van Gogh's

Two Sunflowers - 1887.

Christmas card c. 1880 by

Georgina Koberwein Terrell;

stamp from EraGraphics.

Fabric collage using

buttons and embroidery.

Pocket with a tag

and a folding ATC.

Folding ATC inspired by Kawamura Kiho,

Sunflower 1824.

Tag includes handmade paper,

pen drawing, fabric & charm.

Quote by Vincent Van Gogh.

French Fashion Exhaustion

Doodle/drawing from an old sketchbook, 2007. (For a larger view, click on the image.) Phrases were lifted from a Vogue magazine, and sketches drawn from the same magazine.Includes ball point pen, purple permanent marker and watercolors. This sketchbook is square, so I wasn't able to get all of the image on the scanner. You can't see all of "intensecolors express who you are" and the phrase "Extremely Cultured." You can see that some of the women's heads were drawn on lined notebook paper, then torn out and collaged into my sketchbook. Not exactly "high art" but it still makes me smile for some reason! Hope you enjoy it...

Come Sail Away...

Collage and watercolor in my watercolor Art Journal. (Teesha Moore's amazing 16 page journal from one sheet of paper) The top image is a flap that unfolds, and is connected with the bottom image as one spread. Created using watercolors, hand-painted papers, scrapbook papers, stickers, copies of my Moo cards, white gel pen and Pigma Micron marker. I wanted to try something different from the "border around the outside & writing in the middle" lay-out...

Art Journal Page

5 1/2" x 9" flap in watercolor journalBorder made with scraps of fabric,painted papers & scrapbook paper; drawing in permanent marker.Quote written with calligraphy marker.

Play is Knowledge

Work-in-Progress completed, for better or worse...Recently watched a late-night talk show,and Yo-Yo Ma, the famous cellist,was the guest.This statement that he made struck meas very important, not only for artists but as any human being who wants to experience joy and renewal.

When we have children and grandchildren,we get to re-experience life as they discover things, grow and learn.As artists, we follow a path of creative discovery...in color, emotion, expression...have a creative day!

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...

Watercolor Art Journal

Created a little Art Journal from Fabriano watercolor paperusing the instructions posted on Teesha Moore's blog.Mine is 7" x 9" instead of the 8" x 10"that Teesha made. This journal is simple to make andso much easier to scan than my thickerhardback journal. Teesha posted videoson her blog explaining her process.

Watercolor background withscraps of hand-painted papers, fabric,stamping, scrapbook papers, & found images.Chalk pastel, Sharpie extra-fine point marker,and white gel pen for added depth.

Art Journal Pages

Had fun doing the images on these pages,but for some reason "writer's block" struck...so used some quotes that I found inspiring.Watercolor background...

Assorted scrapbook paper snippetsadhered to outside borders, magazine clippingsof flowers and the girl's body. I drew the headand glued it above the body, having fun withthe exaggerated proportions.Doodling and writing added withMicron Pigma pen. A few bits of addedcolor in Sanford Uniball gel pen...

Art Journaling- Disorderly

"One of the adventuresof being disorderly isthat one is constantlymaking exciting discoveries!"-- A. A. MilneArt Journal pageon watercolor paper.I spent a lovely afternoon with friends making art. We made "art journal pages" on watercolor paperthat can be added to an art journal or altered book.

The process:

• Quickly brush on a watercolor wash in one or two colors. Keep it quick and simple so you won't feel guilty about covering up some of it with collage! Let dry (you can use a hair dryer to speed up the drying if you want to)
• Collect and sort through magazine clippings, fabric, collage sheet images, painted papers, stickers, rubber stamp images, and any ephemera that you like.
• I try to go with a color theme when choosing which images to use. The images won't necessarily "go together," but the color combination and shapes please me.
• Place images around border of the page. Try several arrangements of images before gluing down. Overlap images, and also leave some spaces.
• After gluing down, add shading, cross-hatching, or additional color with colored pencils and artist's pastels
• Finish by drawing in textures, doodles, swirls etc. with a Sharpie marker
• Last, add the "journaling" part: your thoughts, what happened that day, philosophical ramblings, bits of poetry or an inspirational quote that you like. Write it in marker in your own handwriting. It's ok if it's not perfect like computer-generated lettering! Hand-drawn makes it uniquely you! (Pencil it in first if you must, but it's not necessary)

I like to use the "Rule of Odd Numbers"--repeat an element 3 times or 5 times. I also like to repeat shapes, colors or lines of the collaged elements, in the drawings that I add.The look of the finished page is determined by the colors and images you choose. If you find certain images or themes often creep into your work, embrace and explore them! I am inspired by Teesha Moore's journal pages, and if you want to see her work, click on her link in the blog list on the right.

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 Colors Life

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

Feed My Soul

Green Collage, 5" x 5"Mixed media on cardboard:Watercolor on cardstock, gel pen, marker, pastels, painted tissue paper.Computer generated words.Some of the Collage Fodder fromthe previous post made it intothis collage...Do what feeds your soul!

Collage Fodder

Painted cardstock to be used as collage fodder-watercolor and gel pen.These will probably be torn or cutand applied to collages...maybe art journal pages, atc's, moo cards,or in whatever project they can addsome color and texture.copyright Dianne Bishop Carey 2009

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.