Tag Archives: Art Journaling

Using mixed media art dolls in your journal

Plus a conversation on finding your art style

Using collage elements and mixed media art dolls in your art journal

Welcome to part 2 of this tutorial! I hope you’ve had a chance to watch and make your collage art dolls; if you haven’t, you’ll want to do that first. I’ll wait!

So, now that you have your cool little collage doll, it’s time to add her to an art journal page. Since this project was a way for me to connect back to my artist’s journey, I decided to use some of the elements I noticed in my very first art journal {see this post for the flip through of my first art journal}.

Watch the process: Using mixed media art dolls in your art journal

One of them is collage. I don’t use collage too often in my work, so I decided to use some of the painted papers I had pulled out while making the doll to see how I could incorporate those into my art journal.

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How to make a mixed media collage art doll

Create a whimsical paper art doll using collage scraps in your stash!

How to make paper art dolls using collage and mixed media techniques

You know those old art journals, back from when you were just starting on your art journey, that you keep hidden away in a dusty corner because looking through your initial attempts at painting feel cringe?

Pull those out. Flip through them. Feel the cringe. And then feel the satisfaction and pride of seeing how far you’ve progressed!

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Junk journal with me: Seasons of life

Art journal or junk journal with me

I started junk journaling in December last year, and I am IN LOVE! There is something so freeing about creating art in a junk journal — it invites experimentation and play, you don’t take yourself so seriously, and at the same time, you put more of yourself into the art. It’s — strange!

I never really thought I pressured myself in my art journal, but now I see that I approached my journals as Art. I took myself more seriously, by which I mean I was afraid to experiment, try new things, make messes, and play. I knew what worked, and I stuck to it.

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Painting with children

Painting with your toddler is one of the most interesting ways to jazz up your art practice!

Why you should paint with children

One of the most fun collaborations that I did last year was to paint with my 2-year old niece on video call! I showed her some of the paint tubes that were lying on my painty table, and she dictated all of my color choices, as I threw down paint, made marks, and combined colors that I may not have used on my own.

This is the final piece from that first collaboration. When the little toddler and I finished painting together, the page was filled with colors and marks — a vivid explosion of blues, pinks, purple and green, along with some really bold crimson.

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Art journal with me: Mixed media collage

Join me at the art table as I show you how to build up a layered art journal spread using collage paper from your stash.

Mixed media collage tutorial for beginners

If you’ve spent any amount of time in the mixed media art world, you would have a lovely stash of collage papers and ephemera — from old scrapbook paper to text pages, brown paper bags, vintage paper, music sheets, and even your own handmade collage papers or gelli prints.

And like any mixed media artist, you would constantly be on the lookout for interesting projects and uses for your stash of collage papers.

So, gather together some of your favorite papers, bring out your art journal and a few favorite colors of paint, and let’s create a sweet little mixed media collage art journal spread.

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Explore a neutral color palette in your art journal

Join me at the art table as we explore how to use a neutral color palette while painting a whimsical imaginary character in our art journals.

If you’ve seen my art, you know that I LOVE color — blues, pinks, oranges, bright greens — bring them on, please! But what you probably don’t know is that I absolutely love seeing artists who paint with a lot of white and with neutrals — there’s something so very striking about their art. I’ve never been able to successfully paint with a neutral color palette, though. Until last month, that is.

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How to paint an abstract owl: A step-by-step tutorial

Paint with me! Full video tutorial + a step-by-step demonstration.

Art journal tutorial - how to paint an abstracted whimsical owl

There’s something about owls — mysterious, wise creatures of the night with a gaze that can pierce your soul. I end up painting an owl at least once every year in my moon journal, which is where I create an intuitive ritualistic painting every new and full moon. For this tutorial, I’m showing you how to paint an abstracted whimsical owl. Gather your supplies, and let’s begin!

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Art journal with me: Whimsical figurative painting

Join me at the art table as I show you how to create a whimsical figurative painting in your art journal.

Grab your art journal, pull together some of your favorite acrylic paints, brushes, and a few other supplies {scroll down for the supply list} and get ready to create a sweet little whimsical figurative painting.

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Step-by-step intuitive abstract figurative art journaling page

Paint with me! Join me at my art table as I show you how to create an intuitive abstract figurative painting in your art journal.

Intuitive abstract figurative painting. Full video and step-by-step tutorial

If you’ve been around here for a hot minute, you know that I’m a diehard art journaler and that I absolutely love intuitive painting — especially figurative abstracts. I art journal almost every day, even if it’s just for 10 or 15 minutes. And painting intuitively perfectly suits the short bursts of time I spend in my art journal. I can leave things to dry, come back and look at my art journal spread with fresh eyes, and find stories within the layers of paints and marks.

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