An unexpected delight

For years I looked at photos and researched websites on keeping an art journal. I drooled over all the beautiful images and studied techniques and tips, but I never started one of my own. I was too afraid it wouldn’t live up to my standard of perfection.

As I recently shared here, I just started my first art journal and I can tell this will likely be the first of many to come. I am having so much fun it’s insane. :)

One of the hang-ups I originally had was not knowing what kind of notebook to use for an art journal. I read so much information it made my head spin. Some people suggested more pricey sketchbooks with hard covers. Others said to use anything, and glue several pages together to make them more sturdy. I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t know where to begin. Last year (or maybe it was earlier this year?) I attempted to start an art journal. I went through a regular composition notebook and ripped out half the pages, then glued lots of pages together, as instructed. I started painting with acrylics on the pages but soon discovered I didn’t like this at all. Something just wasn’t right.

What wasn’t right was I was so consumed in trying to make a “perfect” art journal that I couldn’t relax and just have fun making art.

My official first art journal is in a plain old composition notebook, as before. But this time I threw all the rules and instructions out the window and just went to it, using watercolors and acrylics to create several background spreads. The pages have body, as the wet media has created some ripples and crinkles in the pages. I realized a day or two ago as I went back through and looked at my first week’s worth of pages that I love the sound of the crinkly pages. There’s something about that sound that says, “Art lives here!” :)

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