What's the point...

So what is the point of pretty pages and pretty images?
What is the point of painting some flowers?
What is the point of painting a cute face?

I am looking for meaning.

I want to surprise myself.
I want to let my unconscious self speak.
I want to create something meaningful.

The do's and don'ts of creativity.

I have been writing in my journal today. I was thinking about the things  I have learned the past year and made this list of my do’s and don’ts :

• Don’t believe it’s always fun.

Especially at first it’s hard.You don’t know what you are doing, you have no idea how to get your ideas onto paper.

It can be frustrating watching tutorials where artists are creating beautiful work and tell you to ‘just have fun with it’.

It’s not. 

It’s hard, I make mistakes. I make bad stuff.

But I can now accept it’s part of the learning proces: Nobody tells this to people who are beginners.

• Don’t set myself up for failure with unrealistic expectations.

I won’t art journal everyday.
Sometimes I feel like doing something else.

• Don’t expect what works for others will work for me.

It won’t.

• Do allow myself to not finish work.
• Do wait for the glue to dry.
• Do go on an artists date once a week. 
• Do give myself permission to do things my own way.

What are your do's and don'ts?

Expressing myself through art journaling

I have always found it difficult to express myself through art.
I can paint a portrait, a landscape, a still life - that’s 'easy', but to actually express my feelings, my thoughts - that is not easy.

Two collage methods I found very helpful to become more open:
1 Combining text and images.
2 Soul Collage.

Combining text and images:

I simply collect images I like in one container and text in another.
And then I have fun combining the two.

I use a very basic background technique :

I glue down 3 or 4 bits of random paper.
I add diluted white acrylic paint or gesso.
Then paste the images and text
add some more white paint or gesso and finaly
add some details.

I need loneliness, even the painful aspects.

upwards, into the sky.

Soul Collage :

“Using intuition and imagination, you create your own deck of collaged cards, where each card reflects a different aspect of who you are.” 

link: http://www.kaleidosoul.com/soulcollage-cardmaking.html 

The intuitive method:

Find images that appeal to you.

Collect background images.

Categorize images and work with one category you find interesting.

Combine those images with the backgrounds you have collected: the right one will just ‘click’.

This is the very first card I made about two years ago. I found I had collected these images of hot airballoons. Why?

No idea. 

But put together with these high (and safe) castle walls, they tell a story.

(Sorry about the quality of the scan.) 

The outcome of these collages are always personal and often lead to more ideas for themes.

On art journaling

Here are some of my art journals:

They are cheap notebooks that I use almost every day.

I use them to experiment with different techniques and materials.
To make notes and write down ideas.
To make small composition sketches.
For mind mapping, doodling.
To create a visual journal about thoughts, feelings, events, people and moments I want to record.

The reason I use cheap notebooks is that it takes off the pressure of ‘doing things right’.
I can waste paper as much as I like.
With expensive paper or journals I would be to worried to do anything!

(I still have some very expensive pastel drawing paper under my bed that I have used only twice in 20 years.)

Here is some more information on art journaling:

15 reasons why artists keep visual journals

How to start an art journal.

Mini collage

When I am sitting at my desk and have to wait,  I will grab a piece of paper and start making a mini collage.
Sometimes it’s a blank piece of paper, sometimes paper I have used to wipe off excess paint or ink:

 I will use  my cheap box of watercolors, some left over bits of colored paper and add some details with markers.

Messing around like this is great. There are no expectations, no right or wrong, no mistakes. Just cheap bits of recycled paper and cheap materials, so I don't have to feel bad about wasting money or materials. And the best thing is that without all that pressure I feel free to experiment. With sometimes surprising results!

 

Free online workshop

I have signed up for a online workshop.
Actually two workshops: Doodles Unleashed: Mixed Media Techniques and Watercolor Sketching.
It's my first online workshop.

This is from the website : " Our online workshops are free and self-paced. Workshops are held in our virtual classroom website. Each workshop consists of four video lessons and supporting downloadable instructions. "
Here is a link if you are interested

http://www.strathmoreartist.com


I am looking forward to it.

More info Doodles unleashed by Traci Bautista: 2011-free-doodles-unleashed-online-workshop.html


More tutorials Cathy Johnson (Watercolor Sketching): KateJosTube