Art Journal "How To"

What is an "Art Journal"? And what is "Art Journaling"? Many people have asked me these questions and there are many answers all over the web, but I thought I would write a post about what an Art Journal is and what Art Journaling means to me.
An Art Journal is any type of bound book, be it sketchbook, old catalogue or a hand bound booklet of artist paper, where an artist or creator can be free to experiment with different mediums and techniques without risk of ruining a canvas or taking up much space at all. Art Journaling is quite a meditative process and I often find myself losing all track of time and space over a page. Any level of artist or person who just wants to create can make an Art Journal. It can even be used like a regular journal, to record thoughts and experiences. It doesn't even have to be shown to anyone. Many Art Journals tend to fall in the realm of scrapbook and take on a cutesy appearance. I prefer to use a more edgy, rock 'n roll approach without many die-cuts, gift tags or other scrapbook-type embellishments. So... without further ado, here is a step-by-step guide to creating an Art Journal page, my way:

1. Start with a piece of paper (usually already bound in a designated Art Journal or sketchbook).
    -watercolor paper
    -copy paper
    -card stock
    -manila folder

**Here I used a cut up piece of a manila folder. 

2. Prime the paper using:
    -gesso
    -acrylic paint
 

**Here I chose to use Liquitex gesso, a thinner type of gesso. Gesso is a paint mixture consisting of a binder mixed with chalk, gypsum or pigment. It gives other paints something to adhere to and thickens the page. 

3. Find a theme. You can use a favorite quote or one from the web or a magazine. You can also use personal journaling as your theme ie. something you have done or been thinking about lately. 

4. Texturize with at least three of the following:

    -collage with cutouts from magazines/books

    -watercolor paint

    -acrylic paint

    -spray ink

    -stamps 

    -stencils

**Here I started with Tim Holtz Distress Ink, "Rusty Hinge" color. This is very concentrated ink used to re-ink stamp pads (I think), but I use it like any other liquid ink or dye. Here I dripped a bunch of drops onto the paper, tilted the paper up, down, back and forth to let the drops run down the page. Finally, I blotted the ink with a paper towel letting it smudge all the while. 

**Here I looked through a NYLON magazine for a few images to collage, as well as a theme for my page. I found the words "ROYAL ART" and thought that sounded interesting, and decided I needed some "royalty" to go with it. These lady's necklaces and hair made me think of Cleopatra, so I chose them as my queens. I also experimented a bit with placement to see where I would need more texture. 

**Here I was trying to decide on a stencil to use with some peach colored acrylic paint I mixed up. The first I decided against. The second I used, along with a brayer (that rolley thing with the dark red handle) which made those horizontal lines in a few random places on the page. 

**After using Mod Podge to secure the queens and the title, I decided they needed a crown connecting them. So I used Aleen's Tacky Glue to "draw" the outline of a shared crown then sprinkled the wet glue with glitter (just like we all used to in elementary school). I also drew some tiny gems on a piece of red cardstock, cut them out and glued them on the crown too. 

**Here I used a fine tip Sharpie Paint Pen to outline the queens. I guess I did this just to make them my own. By this point in a page, I just feel like I should do something, so I do it. 

**Here I used a tiny piece of black oil pastel to draw around the edge of the page for a border. Then I rubbed it with my finger to give it a distressed, smudged look. 

5. Text. 

    -cutout from magazines/books

    -stamped

    -handwritten

    -date/quote/thought/journaling

**Here I already had the "ROYAL ART" text down, but I added a date stamp as well as a few butterfly stamps with black StazOn ink just to give it the finishing touches the page needed. 

**Here is the completed page! One is with a flash and the other without. 

So, there you go! There it is. Art Journaling. What it is. What it means to me. And how to do it yourself, my way. I challenge you to try it, you'll fall in love. I know I have!

For more information on Art Journaling, here are some of my favorite Art Journalers:

    -Aaron AKA ImperfectImpulses https://www.youtube.com/user/ImperfectImpulses

    -Donna Downey https://www.youtube.com/user/donnadowney

    -Teesha Moore http://www.teeshamoore.com/

    -Tamara Leporte AKA Willowing https://www.youtube.com/user/willowing