Art journal-ing is so much fun! In a diary, you usually write your private thoughts and maybe doodle, keep letters and so on… An art journal is like the visual version of your diary where you can do ANYTHING! Especially doodle, draw, paint, glue things down, experiment with various media, write inspiring quotes/thoughts… It’s your special place where no judgement is allowed, definitely not from you 😉

In mine, I sometimes… – write fun and meaningful quotes I have come across… and sometimes illustrate them with fancy/fun lettering – doodle and sketch then colour them with pencils, pastel wax crayons or acrylic paint – paint the background then stamp it with ink for texture and interest and/or add painted elements on top

I mainly do it because… – I have so many ideas in my head that to avoid potential brain implosion, I need to get those ideas out onto paper (sometimes they are poo and sometimes a simple sketch will turn into a whole journal page and then into a big painted canvas!) – I like experimenting to learn new techniques. A small journal page is a good place to do that and if it works out I can then use those techniques on my larger paintings – I get inspiration from a lot of other artists and from life in general and a journal is a good place to retain all those little ideas/quotes/thoughts and play with them to see if they are worth developing – just flipping through my journal pages gives me a great boost of positive energy, just because it is full of things (colours, quotes, drawings) I love – it is a relaxing way to unwind at the end of the day instead of watching boring television shows that numb your brain! The only problem I have is putting it down and go to sleep 😉

Below you will find extracts of my journals so you can see what I do with them and maybe get some inspiration for yourself… And if you would like to start your own journal (PLEASE DO!!), it does not need to cost much as long as you prepare the pages with gesso before adding any paint/ink/etc on top. If you would like a great source of information on how to create and keep an art journal, this website here has some useful content and here on Pinterest you will find millions of ideas and pages from other people as well as tutorials and so on. Have fun!! Mimi.

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