Sunday, May 6, 2012

Fake Journal Recap. The Very End.



Cover of the Fake Journal~
made from handmade paper 
created by my friend Elizabeth.

Inside the cover I wrote pertinent
information about the project, with
dates and credit to Roz as the
project creator.

My alter ego for the month was
 a student of Japanese art.
  I purposely didn't explain it
in my posts, but I believe it was fairly obvious
in my choice of subject matter and notes.
(My art journals & sketchbooks are filled
with notes about all sorts of art-related
things, I don't always show them here.)

My goals for the month were:
--to draw from life more often than I have been
--to simplify the compositions of the art
--more awareness of the negative space 
around the subject
--to draw with a paintbrush
--explore Japanese philosophy of art





With the effort to simplify, came the idea
to progress to the abstraction of the subject itself.
The 'Stones', above, were my favorite
painting of all the entries in this Fake Journal.

With the idea of abstraction, came the
progression to 'anime' or cartoon-style art,
that is widely appreciated in popular culture.
But being a fan of Kandinsky, I knew that he
had painted abstractions of what looked
like 'little creatures,' so I decided to
include a painting inspired by his work.
The post showing these two pages is here.
Also, with the cartoon creatures, the idea
of a 'simple' composition was left behind,
but the creatures themselves are simplified.





I did not really intend to create a story,
but there is a progression in my pages.
I did indeed draw with the brush more often than
I usually do, but also 'fell back on' my normal
watercolor & pen technique. I did paint and draw
from life. I did simplify somewhat, and that has
always been difficult for me. Complex collages
have been taking place in my other journals
all the while! I do have a renewed appreciation
for Asian art in all its forms, Wabi Sabi, and 
nature in art.  What looks like a 'simple' composition
was probably a most difficult thing to achieve!

I confess that I didn't actually bind 
the pages into a book until I had
completed the art work on each page.
It was much easier to scan unbound pages.
Additional blue Canson paper was
glued onto the inside of the 
front and back covers. A pocket for
research notes, above, was adhered to
the inside back cover.

The Fake Journal could have been
anything, by anyone.  Think Dr. Who traveling
to another version of your own universe.
Wonder what I should do in 2013?

And this really is the end of the Fake Journal 2012.
I promise.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the wrap up. I was very curious to know what was going on for some people as their journal unfolded, and I appreciate the insight about your goals. I enjoyed having other people working along on IFJM, each of us doing very different journals but also connected. Thanks for sharing yours. It was a pleasure and privilege.

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  2. I saw the small icon on my blog tonight when I checked my blog for the first time since yesterday. I thought "wow, that looks like paper I might make." It's good to recognize your own art sometimes, I guess (grin).

    Now for YOUR art. I was thrilled to read more about the goals you had for this journal. I'm really impressed with your alter ego, the student of Japanese art who makes her own chop each day! Those chops are what made it so very interesting for me. The way you tailored your day and date to reflect the art and the chop made each page so very interesting to see and read about. I appreciate that you have now elaborated on this journal and the thought process behind the now bound journal.

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