Category Archives: Art Journal

I’m learning the art of art journalling – so far I’ve concentrated on the various techniques of creating backgrounds, and starting to use decoupage on my pages. Soon I’ll be brave and start adding text!

New Art Journaling Session Announced @The Studio

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FB-ArtJournalI’m starting to plan more sessions and workshops in The Studio, and will be trialling a monthly Art Journaling Session from 7:30pm to 10pm on the first Monday evening of each month. It’s a time set aside for you to work on a visual journal, which might be a record of your day, or your experiments in artwork or sketching, a means to express yourself in a private way, or something to show off and share.

I have a number of Stampington Art Journal magazines and art journal reference books for inspiration, as well as a few of my own journals. As a taster, the first session in August will be free (but please still book so I know you’re coming) so that you can chat more about what art journaling is about and what might happen during the session. After that, each session will be £5 to attend, and will include use of some materials as well as refreshments.

Please book via the Workshops page (tab at the top, or click here). And do email or comment below if you have any queries.

 

Play time with PanPastels

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I’ve done a bit of housekeeping on the blog, so that it should now be easier to find things using a more obvious menu system. I’ave also added a ‘reviews’ page under the Workshops tag so that you can read what others have given as feedback about my classes.

And I’ve allowed myself a play day day to experiment with techniques. First on the list was to build on my PanPastel Art Journal that I started a while back with some backgrounds. I’ve recently bought new stamps from Designs by Ryn and Catslife Press that have sat in the drawer unloved and unused – and they are perfect for art journaling. I was also delighted to expand my PanPastel collection with a set of metallics for Christmas (thanks Kathryn & David!). Here’s what I came up with this morning:IMG_4358_wHere’s a time lapse showing the layers building up:

If you’d like more information on how to art journal with PanPastels, come along to my art journaling workshop on 3rd May! Here are a few more pages done this afternoon – unfortunately the metallics don’t show up very well on these scans:

 

Another Travel Journal (for Jones Crafts)

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Another travel journal using the fabulous Now Boarding Collection from Kaisercraft. This journal makes use of the fantastic Zutter Bind-it-All, also available from Jones Crafts, which allows you to punch and bind your own wire-bound items with one machine. Using larger wire diameter than necessary allows this album to have all sorts of things added without straining the spine, as well as giving somewhere for the tags to be tied. I’ve laminated the covers just to give them more strength and longevity, as well as protecting the contents as well.

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Handbound Travel Journal (for Jones Crafts)

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This handmade book features Kaisercrafts’ fabulous February release of the Now Boarding Collection, and includes more than enough space for your journaling, photos and ephemera. Why not make one before you go on your next holiday and fill it in while you’re there?

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Christmas Art Journal Workshop

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Some how, in between packing boxes in the studio, completing Day 1 of CC102 and catching up with various admin jobs, I’ve managed to snatch some moments to work on December’s workshop project – a hand made Christmas Art Journal. For more details and to book your place, go to my Workshops Page.

 

Playing with PanPastels in a new art journal

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One of the benefits of working at the NEC during a craft show is nipping off during breaks and spending money on new materials. This time I went mad and treated myself to the 20-colour PanPastel Portrait Set, mainly for my life drawing work at college obviously. However, I do need to get used to them, so last night I played with them, setting down dry wash backgrounds in a new art journal that I’m dedicating to work with pastels. A quick spritz with fixative spray and here’s how it went:

I love the vibrancy of the pigment-rich colours, and found that they played nicely together when swiped over with any of the tint colours – until then, there wasn’t that much interplay between the colours, but I may have been a bit stingy with the initial application. I applied the PanPastels using a large Sofft sponge.

Art Journal Page – Peterborough Beer Festival 2011

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It’s a wonder, but this is a journal record of five and a half hours done live at Peterborough Beer Festival. Just as well I was having just half pints! The title was drawn whilst on the train from Leicester, and the rest was created as I was drinking the beer in question. And the best beer of the day? The Fuller’s Brewer’s Reserve No.3 – exceptional combination of malt flavours from the beer and the scotch barrels it was aged in. Very very nice, but at £7.50 a bottle or £90 for a case, I don’t think I’ll be having another any time soon 🙁

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Travel Journal – journaling prompts for when your brain is on holiday

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Just thought I’d share some of the journaling ideas I had whilst I was filling in my travel journal.

  1. Numbers – decorate your page with relevant numbers and a brief comment – I used the flight number, the weight of my suitcase, how many miles it was to my destination, in-flight meal prices, taxi pick up time etc
  2. Top Tips – list all the things you want to remember for next time you go on holiday or the things you would tell people coming to the same area
  3. Menus – sketch your food for the day, then describe it: we had ‘brown’ several times during our stay – it was either coffee or chocolate mousse, but occasionally we’d be caught out with the hazelnut variety!
  4. Guide Book – if you get stuck for ideas, raid your guide book and any handy tour leaflets for facts and pictures or maps and pop them into your journal
  5. Logos – I drew the logo that was on the beer glass every evening, and stuck in a section of the honey rum bottle label… the things you want to remember!
  6. Mini-maps – annotate a mini-map of your area, or the route to the beach, with the things that were memorable or significant landmarks along the way
  7. Write larger – if you only do eating, sunbathing and swimming, it may not seem to be enough for a journal page entry… so write larger and decoratively, it soon fills the page!

Mini Travel Journal – Maspalomas 2011

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As promised, here are pics of my handmade travel journal. I decided that I would take an art journal with me on holiday and I’d keep to a plan of drawing/writing daily – after all, I’d have the time! Well, that didn’t quite work out between sun and sangria and nights of cards and local honey rum, but I have finished it:

I’ll be showing the group at the Craft Club on Saturday how to make the journal, and there will probably be a tutorial coming on here later.

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Holiday angst!

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I’ve just been to Gran Canaria for a fortnight’s break – and was brave enough to take my art journal with me. Almost a disaster… My art journal bag got stolen one night, and with it my first (and currently only) art journal. Happily it was found very shortly after having been discarded. Here is the resulting outpouring of artistic angst:

So there we are: back up your images… electronic or paper-based!