Art Journals are easy to create |
An art journal is a place where you get to express your thoughts, ideas, and feelings through any media that you want to use. It combines drawing, painting, collage, and even printmaking in different media as a visual diary. It is where you express your hopes, dreams, and goals visually.
It helps you destress and focus. It gives you self-awareness and power over your emotions, It helps you clarify your everyday challenges.
The basic platform for your art journal can be a sketchbook, a journal that you create, a notebook, or a book that you alter to create an art journal. Size matters. So if you like to work on a large surface, then a larger book is for you.
Make sure to select or create a journal that has a paper that will take a lot of weight in the media that you use. A mixed media paper is a great place to start.
Sometimes these journals have a theme to them. Other times, they just are an expression or a cit of your daily life.
Easy Art Journal Ideas
Start with an introduction of you, How to create an introduction page for your art journal (tombowusa.com) |
- What items have you bought recently? Draw or collage them.
- Draw a favorite childhood memory
- Collect some flowers or leaves from your yard or on a walk. Write a bit about them
- Fill a page with geometric shapes
- Write words that say who you are in a crossword format
- Create a page about your children and grandchildren.
Prepping Your Pages
You want a strong paper, especially if you are planning to use mixed media techniques. One of the ways to add strength to your journal is to add a layer of gesso to the page. Another way to strengthen the paper is to glue two pages together to create a stronger page.
Using Gesso To Strengthen Paper
- Art journal
- Gesso
- Foam brush or paintbrush or an old credit card
- Clips or paper clips
- Waxed paper or parchment paper
- Place pieces of parchment paper or waxed paper behind the pages you plan to glue together. This will prevent the glue from getting on other pages.
- Use clips to hold back other paper and keep the book from closing
- Apply the gesso onto the paper and spread with a brush, the brayer or the credit card
- Set aside and allow to dry
Gluing Pages Together To Strengthen Paper
Supplies
- Art journal
- PVA Glue
- Foam brush, paintbrush, brayer, or old credit card
- Clips
- Waxed paper or parchment paper
- Paper towels
- Placed waxed paper or parchment paper to cover pages you are not working on.
- Apply glue between two pages
- Spread glue until it covers the entire page. Use the brayer or paintbrush to cover a thin layer of glue from page tip to page tip.
- Press the two pages together and use a clip or paperclip to keep pages together until dry
Creating The Base For Your Art Journal Page
Media To Use On Your Base Page
- Spray paint-you can use glimmer, ink refills, acrylic paints
- Water Colors
- Distress Inks, sprays, and stains
- Gesso in white, black, and colors
- Distress crayons
- Stencils
- Embossing Paste'
- Paper to decoupage
Different Brushes To Use With Acrylic Paints
- Acrylic Wash Brush-This is one of the biggest brushes-Acrylic wash brushes are best known for covering large parts of canvas or paper quickly. Paint can be applied using a dry brush, but most artists will use a wash brush by first dipping it into some water to achieve maximum coverage quickly. You may also notice these brushes are also thicker than most other brushes – allowing for the brush to pick up the most amount of paint and water. These are great brushes to use if you need to “pick up” a little excess paint or water off the canvas or paper you are working on.
- Angled Brush-This type of painting brush has an angled or slanted tip, which is why they are sometimes also known as slanted brushes. A slanted tip is useful for curves and to create lines.
- The Flat Brush- Very closely resembles a was brush, except it is not as thick and the bristles are not as rounded. It covers a lot of space but gives you more control.
- Fan Brush-Great for painting grass, trees, and shrubbery. They are good for blending, creating skies, and shading.
- Round Brushes- They are typically smaller than flat or angled brushes. They have a soft round edge. These brushes are perfect for adding details to your pages.
- Liner Brushes-This is a thin brush with long bristles, These brushes are used for fine detail. You can also use these brushes for lettering. You can use ink with these brushes.
Ideas For Your Base Art Journal Page
- Start by adding gesso to your single or double page layout. Allow the gesso to dry. You can add color to the gesso by adding some acrylic paint until you get the color you want.
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