While you wait for your supplies to arrive, let’s go over the basics about color theory. This is a vast topic, and this post is by no means exhaustive. It is enough, though, to help you make a confident start with combining colors and understanding how they work together.
The color wheel.
So now that you know what an art journal is, and have a list of inspiring art journal books handy, let’s get right into gathering some essential art journaling supplies so we can start creating!
There are a huge variety of art journaling materials available in the market, and it can quickly get overwhelming trying to figure out exactly what you need! While it is fun to experiment and play with all the wonderful art journaling supplies available on the market, you really only need a few basic supplies to get you started.
The most important, of course, is an art journal!Continue reading
I believe that you can learn anything and everything from books. So it should come as no surprise that I have quite a collection of art books. Here are a few of my absolute favouries that I am sure will help you on your art journaling journey.
Art + Journal = Art Journal!
An art journal is simply art that you create in a book, on loose sheets of paper, or even on upcycled cardboard boxes, that you can then bind into a book or keep in a box. It’s a record of your journey, your thoughts, the things that move you, and your unique vision of the world.
I’m thrilled to announce that I will be participating in the Blogging From A To Z Challenge this year! I participated in the 2014 challenge, and I have to say it was both exciting and exhausting. It also left me somewhat burnt out. But this year, I’ve had more time to prepare and I’ve decided to stick to a theme, which I think made this whole process so much easier!
A quick face painted with acrylics
How do you deal with fear? A lot of people will tell you it’s only by moving into whatever it is that you fear that you can overcome it. But how do you move into what you fear? How do you go boldly (or not so boldly) ahead into a situation that gives you the shivers? I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t have a clue.
Then, I took up painting. And as I tried and experimented and failed and tried again, I realized – this is how you move into fear!
You move into fear by sticking with something even when you’re scared and have no idea what the hell you’re doing. It means taking a piece you don’t like and working it until you do. And if you still don’t like it, chalking it up to experimenting and experience, and then cutting it up to use as the base of another piece, so you can reframe and redo.Continue reading
Those of you who have been here before know that I’m a regular old bookworm. I love reading, I’m passionate about books, and my biggest pet peeve is a badly-edited book. But, what does that have to do with altered books? And, some of you might be wondering, what are altered books anyway?
Well, an altered book is a piece of art created from an existing book that has been transformed by painting, collage, tearing, cutting, or any creative means. Some artists use a theme for their books others don’t bother with themes and some use old books to create art journals. The possibilities are endless.
Watercolors and found poetry
Today’s Friday Frame is a spread from my Life 101 altered book.
An altered book is a form of mixed media artwork that changes a book from its original form into a different form, altering its appearance and/or meaning. An altered book artist takes a book (old, new, recycled) and cuts, tears, glues, burns, folds, paints, adds to and collages it. The artist may add pockets and niches to hold tags, rocks, ephemera, or other three-dimensional objects. – Wikepedia.com
The spread features a window through which a girl looks out into her garden. The curtains were created by sandwiching some sari fabric between the pages. One part of the left page was ripped to create a “pocket” for the collage elements — bird, flowers and a butterfly. The rest of the page has been layered with paint and rubber stamping, with a dragon fly stitched on with gold thread and sequins.
Click on the picture to see more spreads from this book.
Liked this spread? Let me know through the comments!
If you have any artwork or photography to share, please leave a comment, a link back to your blog and your e-mail address, and I’ll feature it on an upcoming Friday Frame!
