I’m not much of a doodler, but when I am stressed, I find myself turning to Zentangles. It’s just so calming to put on some music and focus on creating intricate patterns.
Three keys to creative living #WriteBravely
For today’s Write Tribe Festival of Words #6, I invited a very special young lady to share her thoughts about what it takes to live a creative life. Enjoy!
I was really excited when Shinjini asked me to write about living creativity. It’s something that’s really close to my heart. And though it is a wide and broad topic, there are three key things that I want to focus on today.Continue reading
On my art table: 2-minute art journal page
You’re busy, you have NO time, and you have NO space. You have NO art skills and NO supplies.
{Don’t you think there are too many NOs here?}
Anyhow…. I am here you to tell you that YOU CAN STILL CREATE ART!
I painted this piece in a tiny 3.5×5″art journal using only watercolor pencils and some white paint and yellow acrylic ink in the last step to bring it all together. And I love how lose and abstract it looks.
I created it as part of a 7-day speed art Instagram challenge hosted by Eli Trier. Her original idea was to have challenge participants do each prompt on a different sheet of paper, as an exercise in learning how to loosen up and get over the fear of a blank page. I decided to combine all the daily prompts on one page {without even knowing what each day’s prompt would be}, and it turned into the perfect summer art project {you can see it evolve, step-by-step, on my Instagram account}.Continue reading
Whimsical art: Let your imagination run riot
Rainbow colored animals, bright happy colors, make believe world, fairies and mermaids, gnomes and elves, monsters and angels – that in a nutshell is whimsical art. Most whimsical artists produce light, airy, happy pieces of art that are meant to fill the viewer up with joy.
But it isn’t all glitter and fairy dust in whimsical land. There are also dark, brooding monsters and sinister characters – like the Corpse Bride and Tim Burton’s more gothic whimsical style.
Whimsical artists play firmly in the field of imagination – flowers with a human face, unicorns, phoenix girls, centaurs – it’s all about the quirky. Continue reading
Understanding layers: why I hide collage below layers of paint
For a long time, I simply did not understand the importance of building up layers in art journals. I looked at mixed media artists with astonishment. Why would they do that, I’d wonder, as they put down beautiful scrapbook paper on the page, only to hide it under gesso and layers of paint. Or I’d watch in utter fascination as they laid down beautiful doodles and stamps and stencils, and then again hid it under layers and layers of paint.
But why? Those looked like complete paintings too!Continue reading
Take 10: How to create stunning art journal pages in 10 minutes a day
I hear ya – you’re busy, what with work, home, socializing, blogging…all the other roles, responsibilities, and activities that make up your day. Where and how will you find the time to make art, you wonder?
What if I told you to take out just 10 minutes a day? You know you can do it – after all, we spend a lot more than that mindlessly scrolling through our Twitter and Facebook timelines!
But can you really create an art journal page in 10 minutes a day?Continue reading
Release your fear: create art with wild abandon
Fear of paint, of art, of creativity is something I’ve come across over and over again. People constantly say they can’t paint, or they can’t draw. But I say that everyone can paint. Yes, everyone.
Think back to your childhood – chances are that painting and drawing were your favorite pastimes. But as you grew older, you suddenly started thinking that you cannot paint.
Why?Continue reading
Plein Air painting + my travel art journaling supplies
When I think of plein air painting, I think of the impressionists and my absolute favorite artist in the whole wide world, Claude Monet.
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Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge, Claude Monet
Harness the power of water: 5 fun painting techniques
Over the last few days, we’ve talked about brushes and collage, creating abstract art and examining art deco patterns to gain some inspiration for our art journal pages. Today, let’s look at some fun ways to add paint to paper.
5 fun painting techniques
Drips: This is one of my favorite things to do. Use some watered down acrylics or acrylic ink, stand the journal upright, and watch the paint drip down the page. Take a look at the super short video below to see this technique in action.Continue reading