Art Journaling is essential to your art practice

Why you ask? Let me tell you a few of the most important reasons:

• To keep track of your creative experiments
• To have a place to play without any expectations
• To develop your ‘style’
• To have something to look at when you need inspiration (instead of scrolling instagram!)

You’ve heard me talk one million times about the power of play in art, and your art journal is the place to do that.

When you play in your art journal, you begin to discover likes and dislikes, color palettes you love or not, and marks you like and don’t like.

There are many ways to use an art journal.  One way is to use it to explore your thoughts and feelings.  Another way is use it to try out different techniques and to play without pressure.

I use mine to try out things.  My art journals are pretty messy and some pages are downright ugly, but that’s the point!  Discovering what you DON’T like, is just as important as discovering what you DO like.

My arsenal of art journals includes a watercolor art journal, a sketching art journal, and a mixed media art journal or three.  Some of them I made, some of them I purchased, I love them all.

Why do I have different ones for different purposes?

Well, it’s mostly about the paper.  I have to have good quality watercolor paper for my watercolor play.  For sketching, It doesn’t need to be expensive paper.  For mixed media, I need paper somewhere between regular sketching paper and watercolor paper (often I simply purchase ‘mixed media’ papers for these journals).

I love to go back through and pick out little pieces of things that actually worked out that I could replicate in my art.  This keeps my art authentically me.

PRO TIP: One thing that is for sure, you have to make lots of ugly art to get to the good stuff.  It’s true for everyone, make ugly art and keep making art, you’ll get to the good stuff if you keep playing.  That being said, I feel like I should show you some of mine…

Here are some of the ugliest pages in each of my art journals:

Here are some of my favorites (you may have seen some of these before):

A lot of the art in my journals makes its way onto products in my Zazzle store, for instance, check out these cute folders:

Want to make your own custom art journal and get some inspiration that will keep you going in your play for a long time?  Check this out:

If you are close to Bellingham, Washington, come play art with myself and two other artists, Candice Christie, and Belinda Botzong as we show you how to use a gelli plate to create a beautiful cover for your art journal, and then play with some techniques to fill a few pages.  Journals provided, as well as all of the supplies for the day.

Walk away inspired with an art journal of your own!

Here’s what we will be doing:

• using a gelli plate to make prints for the covers and inside covers of your journal
• using real botanicals to create beautiful art in your journal
• using watercolors with stencils for a background
• using watercolors to make simple botanical elements for your art journal

When: April 26th 10-4

Where: Whatcom Art Center in Historic Fairhaven

How Much: $120

Sign up here: Botanical Mixed Media Art Journal Workshop

Hope to see some of you there!

Kimberly Snider, Virtuoso, Signing off

Check out my Link Tree to see all that I have to offer including on-line classes, social media, website, etc.