My creative process consists of many practices, but art journaling is one that helps me the most. I put together my top five dos and top five don’ts for art journaling.

TOP FIVE DON’TS

1. Don’t plan too much.

Set up a little space (if possible) for your art. For example, have a sketchbook with pencils and erasers. Or, a sketchbook with a watercolor palette. That’s it.

It’s enough to start with and will encourage you to be creative.

I like to plan. But, when you do, you can get bogged down in thinking you need lots of space and supplies. Having a minimal set up is great for art journaling.

2. Don’t finish all or your pages.

One of my go to moves is to paint messy backgrounds and blocks of colors on multiple pages. That’s it! Nothing fancy.

Then, I use those backgrounds as a base for another journal session later.

If you only have a short window of time for your art, make messy backgrounds. Then, use them as a base layer or just leave them the way they are. It’s up to you.

Don’t feel like you have to make “finished” art. Allow yourself to play and explore your supplies on your pages.

3. Don’t judge yourself.

There is nothing more distracting than criticizing yourself during your creative time.

Enjoy your time using your art supplies.

Please don’t judge yourself. Don’t think about good vs. bad art. It’s not that serious.

4. Don’t compare yourself to others.

Your art is personal. It’s not wise to compare your work or expression to anyone else. Focus on what you want to do and what you want to create.

If you want to improve your art make time to keep trying and don’t give up. Be patient with yourself.

Use your own work to measure your progress and how much you’re improving. Celebrate how much you’ve learned.

5. Don’t focus on the outcome.

Most times, we have an idea in our heads of what we want our art to look like. It doesn’t usually work out the way we plan.

That’s why it’s good to be open to the process and see how things develop.

Don’t be too set in the outcome. Flexibility is important to when you’re art journaling from the heart.

TOP FIVE DOS

1. Do have fun!

Having fun is one of the most important parts to my process. When I’m creating pages in my art journal it’s for personal care and expression. So it’s super important to have fun with what I’m doing.

That’s what I recommend to any other creatives and artists.

2. Do use cheap products or art supplies easily available to you.

One thing that used to hold me back from art journaling was the idea that I needed lots of expensive paints and tools. It’s not true!

Inexpensive items that I’ve used with good results are: ink pens, graphite pencils, markers, colored pencils, and student grade watercolors.

Use affordable supplies you already have on hand. Some of my favorite journal pages were made with student grade paints and colored pencils.

Be creative with what you have.

3. Do try new techniques or supplies you shy away from.

Art journals or sketchbooks are the best places to try out new supplies and techniques. They’re just for you! You don’t HAVE to show them to anyone.

So don’t worry about what your learning. One of my favorite things to do is make color swatches of my supplies. It’s easy and anyone can do it!

Give yourself permission to try new things. Think of it as an art adventure.

4. Do explore color combinations and color palettes.

Pick a color combination from the color wheel and make a page with just that combination.

Or make pages filled with your favorite color combinations for your clothing and your home.

5. Do use several types of art supplies together.

I used to paint only in acrylic or watercolor. Then, I discovered that I can combine them to create different effects. It was a game changer for me. I love mixed media now. I don’t always paint mixed media, but it’s perfect or art journaling. My new favorite combination of materials is watercolor and soft pastel.

If you like more than one art media, try combining one or two of them. See how they work together.

Hopefully these tips will encourage you to be creative each day.

This week I shared an art journal process in my small DIY junk journal. I made it from recycled packaging and papers. I used a three hole pamphlet stitch to bind the signatures.

COLLAGE AND COLOR

The collage elements I used are recycled scrapbook paper, an essential oil packaging (one of my favorites) and magazine text. I chose to use the large floral as a focal point. I love using tabs. I made one from recycled packaging.

I really liked working with the muted color scheme. Working in the art journal is a way to test out some of my products. It also helps me discover new favorite color combinations.

MAKING THE MARKS

Over the past year I’ve noticed I’m developing what I would call signature marks. They are in almost all of my paintings. I make them either subtle or very obvious depending on the work. On these pages I used the circles within circles and rectangles with dash marks. They are part of my intuitive expressive art vocabulary.

SEE THE PROCESS

COMPLETED PAGES

These are photos of the completed pages and a close up of the words I chose for the daily entry. I also decide to shape the page tab into a wonky little heart. The pages turned out super grungy again. Loving that look in my books lately.

ART SUPPLIES

Brushes

• Flat 10 and Round 2

Pencils

• Graphite #2
• Grease Marker: Black
• Prismacolor: Ebony and Metallic Gold

Paints

• Ceramcoat: Exotic Bloom and Pretty Pink
• Golden Fluid Acrylics: Primary Yellow
• Liquitex Basics: Gesso
• Ranger Mixed Media: Turquoise

This is a short list of supplies I used in the process. Use whatever art supplies you have on hand.

Art journaling is a personal process. You can use as many or as few supplies as fit the situation and circumstance. I hope you have a chance to be creative today!

Until next time, I wish you well.

I’m still learning about capturing my art process with my camera. It has definitely been an adventure. This week I decided to upload a very simple and quiet process video. I didn’t speak much or add background music. If you like paper sounds, there are some. But if not, you can watch the process with music of your choice.

I’m working in my small junk journal art journal that I made from recycled paper and packaging. The background is acrylic paint. The collage elements are from a repurposed painting and left over scrapbook papers.

The phrase “freedom flight” came to me as I was creating the page. Some of the sentiments or messages that I add to my journals are song phrases that are meaningful to me. Other times they are words that resonate with me when I’m working on a page.

I really like how grungy and bright the pages turned out! I hope the process video will encourage you to be creative today. It doesn’t have to take lots of time. You don’t have to be concerned about making a masterpiece in your journals. Because who in the world needs that burden nowadays?

Just do you and have fun.

These are close up photos of the finished pages.

ART SUPPLIES

• DIY Junk Journal
• Ceramcoat paint
• Golden Fluid Acrylics
• Assorted paint markers
• Assorted scrapbook papers and recycled art papers

This is a short list of items I used in the video. I do not have any sponsors or affiliates. Feel free to use whatever supplies you have on hand.

WATCH THE PROCESS

Until next time, thank you for watching and have a great day!

It’s been super difficult dealing with this whole COVID-19 quarantine. I’m trying to keep a consistent schedule for creating art. It isn’t easy to “push through” when things are so uncertain. What I’ve been going through over these past four years has taught me to keep a simple routine.

Working on projects like this in my sketchbooks and art journals gives a purpose to my day. They’re a positive distraction.

I hope that you like seeing my process and it encourages you to take some time to be creative today.

Remember the purpose of working in a journal is to express yourself and have fun.

VIDEO NOTES

In this video, you will see my process in my Brave Intuitive Painting art journal book written by Flora Bowley. The pages I’m working on are part of an ongoing 2020 art project. I will be writing more about it later.

I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever added narration to one of the videos. I’m still learning how to create video and audio content. It’s a lot of extra work, but I’m really glad to learn and grow.

It also gives me a whole new appreciation for videos and how they’re created!

FINISHED PAGE

Working with contrasting orange and blue has been a challenge for me. Working on pages like these helps me to explore color, texture, and mark making. I then use these elements in other artwork.

ART SUPPLIES

I made a list of supplies I used in this process. I do not have any sponsors or affiliates. It is just to help viewers that want to know what products I used during the video.

You can use whatever supplies you have. It doesn’t have to be the same as mine.

Paints

• Craft Smart https://www.michaels.com
• Ceramcoat https://www.hobbylobby.com
• Martha Stewart

Thank you so much for your time. I hope you have a wonderful day.

This week I’m sharing a mixed media art journal process video. I chose to work in my Brave Intuitive Painting art journal. The journal is meant for writing and reflection, but I use some of the pages for drawing and painting.

I created a colorful background before recording. It’s mixture of pink, orange and some other colors I off-loaded from my palette. I allowed the background to dry. This is the ground that I started with in the process.

I used negative painting and etching into wet paint to create the tree and large leaves. The image is like the photo shared in the art journal. Working on simple pages helps in learning new techniques. I hope the video process encourages you to try something new in your own art journal or sketchbook.

ART JOURNAL VIDEO

FINISHED PAGE

I’m pretty glad how the page turned out. I like working on pages like this. I get to practice different techniques. I also discover color combinations I wouldn’t otherwise use. It’s a great practice to develop skills and explore.

ART SUPPLIES

I made a list of supplies I used in this process. I do not have any sponsors or affiliates. This short list is just to help viewers that want to know what products I used during the video.

You can use whatever art supplies you have on hand.

Paints:

• Liquitex Soft Body Acrylics https://www.dickblick.com/products/liquitex-professional-soft-body-acrylics/
• Utrecht Acrylic Paints https://www.dickblick.com/products/utrecht-artists-acrylic-colors/
• Dina Wakley Mixed Media Paints https://rangerink.com/collections/dina-wakley-media

Please leave a comment if you have any questions.

Thanks so much!

Yolanda

This weekend I shared an art process video on YouTube. Click on the video above to see me work on this art journal page.

Art journaling and journaling in general are important to my creative work.

If you’d like to see more of my art process videos please like, comment and subscribe to the channel.

Thanks so much!

Yolanda