Art journaling is an exploration of your creativity and inner thoughts, but sometimes your creative ideas can run dry. Try one, or all, of these art journaling ideas to get your inspiration back.
Alternative Art Supplies and Techniques For Art Journaling
Tired of the same old art supplies and techniques? Try these ideas:
- Set the professional art supplies aside and use your favorite coffee or tea for your art journaling. For more on the subject, see the article Painting With Coffee.
- Take a walk and find leaves, flowers and other foliage. Use the technique shown in this article, How to Paint With Leaves, to make a collage of prints on you page. Once the print is dry, draw or write on top of it.
- Write words that describe you as a person in charcoal. Cover the words with a layer of colored pencil. The words will seem like they are floating through the colored pencil.
Art Journaling Using Collage and Painting or Drawing
Pasting found objects to your art journal can add pizazz and inspiration.
- Combine a picture with a drawing by pasting the half a picture onto the page and finishing the picture by drawing the missing half.
- Paint a watercolor wash over the entire page then collage magazine pictures and photos over the wash once it is dry.
- Create window to your drawing by cutting an I-shape in the center of the page right before your drawing. Fold back the flaps to make doors and glue the edges of the window page to the drawing page.
- Tear up several different types of art paper, like watercolor paper, Bristol and pastel paper, and then glue them to a page in your art journal. On top of the paper scraps, draw or paint as you usually would. The differences in texture will make your art media react differently, making your overall image more interesting.
Use Your Imagination to Create New Journal Pages
Things aren't always what they seem. You can use text, photographs and even squiggles to create interesting art journal pages.
- Turn text into pictures. A Y could become a flower, for example, and B could become wings for a bird.
- Close your eyes and let your pen squiggle on the paper of your art journal. Open your eyes and use your imagination to turn the squiggle into a person place or thing.
- Open up your family photo album and draw the people you find there. Add writing about how that person makes you feel or about a memory linked to that person.
As you can see, art journaling ideas can spring from everyday items, people and art techniques. Once you have tried these ideas, adapt them into new ideas using things you find around yourself throughout your day. For more about art journaling read Books and Tutorials For Visual Journaling and Journaling For Artists Using Visual Journals.
Alina Bradford - Alina Bradford is an artist with around 20 years of experience and 12 years experience as a professional writer.
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