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12/14/2020 5:07:12 PM

Art Journaling for Beginners: Why You Should Start

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December 2020! It's here and its different than any I've experienced ever before. You too? I decorated weeks earlier than usual, focusing on displays we can see from inside the house - we can enjoy them even if no one else sees them. I bought my one special piece as I do every year and that brought me a sense of joy and normalcy.

Sending good wishes to you and yours this month, with a touch of nostalgia and lots of hope for a joyful future.

After losing my dad in April (not from covid - he was 96), It's been hard to get back to many projects like my Farm Raised painting series based on memories growing up on the farm. So I began different art activities to help feed my creative spirit.

Last month I mentioned my new habit I'm most excited about, Nature Journaling. I've taken that a step further and broadened the topics beyond nature to now become a general Art Journaling experience.

I love sharing this idea with you!

Art Journaling Tips and My Favorite Supplies

{1} Art Journaling is for ANYONE! You do not need to know how to draw, paint or have any particular 'skills'. It can include doodles, collage, writing, paintings, ANYTHING. The satisfaction of keeping an art journal is the only thing that matters.

{2} Your journal can be any size or shape. The paper is important depending on your style, but if you don't know what your style is, just START in anything you have and you can figure it out as you go.

{3} Make it convenient! Keep

your journal and favorite tools all together. If you can leave them laying out, maybe have them in

a basket or totebag so when the mood strikes with that extra minute to spare, you can dive right in immediately.

Supplies

* mechanical pencils for sketching

* fine tip markers for drawing and writing details

* pan watercolors and waterbrush

* brush tip marker for modern calligraphy

* fountain pen with waterproof ink for sketching

* white gel pen for highlights

Thoughts about Subjects for Journaling

An Art Journal is something you'll keep and enjoy just like a photo album. My first thought about a subject I'm considering adding to my journal, is a question... What does this subject mean to me - how does it connect to my current life, how has it impacted my memories from the past?

Part of the Art Journaling fun is researching a subject and learning SO much! But it's very easy to "fall down that rabbit hole". So I try to give myself a time limit, and take notes as I stumble onto interesting trivia I may want to revisit.

After researching, I determine what elements I want to include on a page. Sometimes I just randomly draw them, but I really love thinking of creative ways to arrange each page.

Questions about art, painting, or journaling?
Would love to hear from you!

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