NEED A LITTLE HELP WITH YOUR ART JOURNAL QUOTE?
Let me show you my process, in the hope that it will help you π
FIRST, WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO USE AN ART JOURNAL QUOTE OR WORDS?
So you just got busy for the last hour or so spreading gesso, bright coloured paints that barely had time to dry before you started stamping over them like a mad person, throwing stencils around at the same timeβ¦ You stop for a second and feel pretty satisfied with what you just created butβ¦ (Damn, thereβs always a βbutβ in good stories, right?!)…
You feel like it needs βsomethingβ to make it complete. You know you have already used all the supplies in your arsenal and judging by the slightly concerned look your fluffy companion is giving you from below your desk, youβd know youβd better calm down! (Donβt worry, it is a familiar feeling around here ?)
So, if you feel like you are missing something, then how about using a quote?
β Words will make things pop because you havenβt used that kind of element yet in your design
β Your spread will feel a lot more unique if you use meaningful words to finish it off
It doesnβt matter if the words you use are not that βoriginalβΒ so put your thinking cap on π
If nothing specific come to mind (after all, you have been breathing various paints and mediums βfumesβ so you canβt be blamed for feeling uninspired at this stage) then you need a source of inspirationβ¦
THEN, HOW DO YOU DECIDE ON AN ART JOURNAL QUOTE OR WORDS?
Letβs pretend that lightning hasnβt struck recently and turned you into a poet capable to write verses at a momentβs noticeβ¦ I havenβt (but there is always hope!) so if I know from the start that I will probably end up adding a quote as a final touch, I pay attention to what happens during the creation process to see if any words or feelings come to me while I am creatingβ¦
But, if by the end of it, if I am still unsure, this is what I do:
- I stand back from my art journal and try to look at what is front of me, a little as if it was someone elseβs work (now is not the time for negative judgement!)
- I look at the colours, shapes, texture etc and let themΒ SPEAK TO ME. As an example, imagine I used lots of yellow and turquoiseβ¦ This might remind me of summer, the seaβ¦ To me summer and sea rhymes with holidays and then, a happy memory surfaces of a relaxing and fun weekend away with my beloved last month. Letβs pause for a second and see what words we could extract here:Β summer,Β holiday,Β love,Β fun,Β relaxingβ¦ These words make me realise how lucky I am to be able to go away on holiday, to visit unknown parts of the world, to have someone special to share my life withβ¦ Then suddenly, the wordΒ GRATITUDEΒ feels right because it encompasses all the above.
- Now I have words I could use on their own in big bold letters if I wish, such as βgratefulβ or βgratitudeβ or βthank youβ. Or I could turn them into a sentence or a quote. Remember, this does not mean you have to write anything amazing! A few words such as βI feel so lucky to have youβ or βSo gratefulβ¦β are enough, as long as they are meaningful toΒ YOU.
And by the way, your art journal quote does NOT have to relate to your βbackgroundβ. If it does, great, otherwise, itβs cool too (itβs YOUR journal, donβt forget!).
BUT, WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRING AND MEANINGFUL (TO YOU) ART JOURNAL QUOTES?
If you are really not feeling creative and nothing much is coming to you, then the next step would be to search outside of your head for a meaningful art journal quote ?. Letβs say I decided to use the word βgratitudeβ as the main theme of my quote.
1) RESEARCH ON GOOGLE
I would type the words βgratitudeβ or βgratefulβ and βquoteβ and, to avoid having to read through millions of results, I would select the βimagesβ search results:This will bring up TONS of easy to read quotes that I can quickly scan through!
If one of them feels good to me. and right for my page, Iβll grab it as βmy inspirationβ ?. But if I havenβt found inspiration yet, I will keep on searching andβ¦
2) BROWSE THROUGH PINTEREST
I would again type the words βgratitudeβ and βquoteβ in the search box and get rewarded with lots more ideas (some may crossover from Google obviously!)
The cool thing here though is that you can refine the results by clicking the keywords at the top. For example, you can click on βfunnyβ for a light-hearted gratitude quote or βbibleβ for a religious feelβ¦
I also collect quotes that speak to me on my own Pinterest board βInspiring Wordsβ β I have already have used a few of these quotes in my journal! Check it out here:
BY NOW I AM CERTAIN YOU HAVE FOUND AN ART JOURNAL QUOTE TO SUIT YOUR PAGES!
If not, maybe youβre not in the right mood so just leave your pages for another day and come back to them with βfresh eyesβ π Wellβ¦ There you go! That is everything I know in regards to using an art journal quote, from my own learning and experienceβ¦ Please do let me know in the comments below if you have found this post helpful and if it has given you a little inspiration or what your process is to find inspiration for an art journal quote π To finish things off, here are some of my free art journal tutorials where I have used an art journal quote (some with my own words, some from researching):
Watch them to get your creative juices flowing!
And if thatβs not enough,Β here a few more tutorials for youΒ πΒ Mimi Bondi.
I love your site, thank you for the inspiration!
Thanks so much Maayan ? Hope you subscribe to the newsletter to keep in touch with everything! xx mimi
So helpful. I never know how to finish those pages that just keep yelling at me that they are not done. I did this and it worked- a much more finished look to those pages and I think it helped me with a little closure as well. Who knew? Thank you for taking the time to write this – it makes a difference!!
Hi Tracy, I am so happy to hear you found my art journal quote post helpful! It took me a while to write it but it was worth it π Thank you so much for your support xx mimi
This is really useful Mimi!!! I struggle with words in my journal, and I don’t actually look at my work until it’s finished. Maybe I should stand back and look at it to get some wordy inspiration !!!
And I love your quote about full days!!!
Thanks for sharing X
Thank you Cheryl!! Just keep it simple, not everything has to be poetry π And pages don’t have to be completed in one go, sometimes I finish mine days later, or longer! xx
Really useful information, thank you!
Glad you found it useful Jay π