I grabbed one of my brushes recently and found it was ruined. DOH! If you don't wash your brushes, bad things happen.
I had a blob of Night paint on my desk, so I used the brush anyway and created this abstrated, quick face. Amazing how much emotion a few simple brushstrokes can convey. You can really see the raggedy edges of the brush and the lines it created in the Night paint.
Did you see the Ranger blog today? You can download a color mixing chart for my paint line. Can I get a woot woot?
Click here to go to the Ranger Blog.
I love to hide tags in pockets on my pages (I teach a class where I show you how I do this, it's called Puddles and Pockets). Here are a few tags I made recently to hide…love my Dina Wakley Media stamps! So easy and fun to use for a quick focal point.
Want to get more abstraction into your work? Ideas for loosening up:
Here are two pages from a recent class I taught….need to journal and add final layers.
Do you struggle with what to write on your pages? I have a whole chapter in my second book, Art Journal Courage, devoted to writing on your work. (Link to my book in sidebar on the right.)
Here are a few ideas:
I’ll be one of 21 speakers in a free online interview series designed to nurture creatives worldwide. It’s called “The Painted Guru…discover how art can heal the heart, inspire the soul and soothe the mind.” The symposium begins June 11th.
Here’s what you’ll learn and receive from this series:
How to discover your voice and feel authentic in your expression.
How to create intuitively and honestly to awaken freedom on the canvas and in life.
How to use life stories as well as imagery and symbols in your creations.
You’ll hear stories that will speak to where you are and point to where you’re going as an artist.
You’ll learn you’re not alone in the ups and down of the creative life and will discover the benefits of making bad art and the secrets of passing through rough patches.
This online event is free. Click on the link below to sign up for “The Painted Guru”!
One of the things that I think people struggle with when they art journal is the idea that every page should be pretty or good.
I think if I put pressure on myself to make every page good, I would quit art journaling. That is so not what it's about to me.
I know that people art journal for a myriad of reasons. I art journal for play, expression, and practice. Every now and then, good art happens. But plenty of times it doesn't. And I simply don't care. I embrace it, I learn. That's how I become a better artist. I learn.
The more art you make, the better you get. The more you express, the better you feel. Learn to love the whole process, the mistakes and the triumphs.
In the pages below, I was practicing my drawing. The drawings on the left weren't working, I was screwing it up (take a close look at the nose). Instead of overworking it, I just learned my lesson from my mistakes and tried again on the right side. Much better.
A couple of years ago I participated in a great event, Art Journaling Live. They're doing it again next month, join us! It will be June 18 in Arlington, Texas.
Look who else is teaching…the amazing Mary Beth Shaw, Nat Kalbach, and Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. How great is that?
I will be teaching a quickie version of my new favorite class, Random by Design. It's messy and fun and it will rock your world.
Check out this video I did for the Ranger blog! Head over there to see pictures of the finished background.
Last week I was creating watery backgrounds in my journal, and I thought you'd like to see the process. I grabbed the camera and filmed this little video. I hope you enjoy it and try the technique.
