Hello bitlanders! Hope you like this post and find it interesting.

 

So what is an Art journal again? Is just as it sounds, it is a journal but instead of just writing your day a day, you also make it visual, this allows us a different way to express our feelings through different media, making a combination of both words and images.

So how do we start one, what do we need? First the journal though many say it can be a normal one, I recommend you get any sketch book or art notebook because their sheets being stronger, can stand everything you may came up with, especially when painting and gluing, doesn’t have to be expensive, get a cheap one, those are just as good as any of the expensive ones, same with paintings acrylics or water colors, and other supplies like pencils and pens, with just this you are good to go.

When painting you can prepare the sheet with gesso a white primer, it can be a white painting too but with gesso you can also create textures, this way you can paint as much as you like without destroying the sheet or getting the paint trough several other sheets, make sure you put something between the sheets when making the preparation, like a plastic folder for example.

What else? Since an art journal does not have any rules at what you can use or how, before buying we can check for what we have already, almost everyone has some in our house, crafts leftovers from our kids, spare buttons, gifts got from parties, paper, old magazines and books, etc.; let´s recollect all and put them together in a box or two especially for that, (you will gradually have more just for your art journal hehe) and see if we can star something with that, it doesn’t have to be very elaborate, remember: no rules! Take your time you may even star simple with just a drawing that represents your favorite moment of the day, for example, having a coffee with friends, and either you draw a cup, cut it from somewhere, or even gluing the picture of you and your friends.

Another good idea is to paint your sheet in one or two colors as a background, this way you get inspired instead of feeling as blank as the page of your journal and the themes can be more than just what is happening in your day, like your favorite quotes, songs, poems, a collage of a movie you love, a book, favorite dessert, foods, etc! You may also of course look into the internet, Pinterest and Youtube are some of the best places to get great ideas and inspiration to get us start.

Progress at your own pace, experiment techniques and materials, find what is fitting best to you, your tastes and preferences, your style, your way of expressing yourself, there is no limits you can create everything you want, and it can never be to much nor to less, there are no mistakes since is a personal and fun experience, the more you do it, the more you create and the greater the welfare that you experience when working with your hands and concentrate on that special world, which gradually you are creating within its pages.

You may find that by doing this you will also star noticing that your way to solve other situations in your life becomes more flexible and more creative, thinking out of the box!. I recommend this hobby, is cheap fun, very helpful, enjoyable and something so intimate, you may get to know yourself better.

 

(Images from google)