Watercolor Journal Pages

Watercolor borders for visual journal pages.

These are actually the back of scrapbook

papers. Not an ideal surface to paint on, 

but flattened out ok after drying and pressing

under a stack of books.

I painted this from a view from my living 

room window. Covered the back of my couch

with a piece of paper and set my journal,

watercolors and bowl of water on the couch

back.  I stood up on my knees and

sketched with pen, then added watercolors.

The left side of the spread

with text added...

How do you overcome

a gray day, or a "gray mood?"

Visual Journal Pages~collage and painting

Collaged visual journal page.

Watercolor background with drawings

in Sharpie pen. Fabric and my own

drawings are glued onto the page.

Scrapbook paper background,

quotes, and drawings with

watercolor.

Acrylic and watercolor both

find a home in my journals.

***

Below, an atc for

Halloween: "a murder of crows."

I discovered that a flock of crows can

also be called a 'murder.'  It's a term

used in the book I'm reading right now-

"A Dance With Dragons" by

George R.R. Martin.

Awesome medieval novel!

Journal pages in a smaller

journal, drawn in pencil

inked in with Sharpie pen,

colored with watercolor pencils

then water applied.

The color gets brighter when

the water is applied, and

often the pencil strokes are

still visible in the finished piece.

What are you working on?

Journal Collages and Index Cards

Bits and Pieces

visual art journal: cover was painted

with gesso and collaged with

hand made paper, remnants of vintage

fabric, buttons and lace.

The first three spreads are from

the Bits and Pieces journal...

Journal borders from fabric, doodles,

and paper.

Yellow 4x4 on the right is an extra I had

 from a color swap in 2008.

The black images are my drawings.

The bird was copied onto clear acetate

after I completed the drawing on paper.

Again, I utilized an extra swap page (on the right)

and attached it with decorative tape.

Tree of Life-

inspired by Medieval art-

in a larger spiral art journal.

Below:

DRAW WHAT YOU SEE

Index Cards

Ball jars on the windowsill

The foot rest on a restaurant chair

Restaurant chair and table...

the tiles on the floor and counters

make an interesting counterpoint to

round tables.

The jumble of equipment on a

restaurant counter.

The above drawings were 'direct to

paper' in pen without any preliminary

sketches in pencil. It was a challenge to

find time in a busy week to draw the index cards!

What did you create this week?

Trying Out Gouache

Gouache is an opaque water-based paint.

It handles a lot like poster paints, and

has a matte finish.

(click on any image to view enlargement)

There are only a couple of blank

pages left in this little journal made

from pink drawing paper.

This pen drawing is similar to one I did

for a swap, here, in which the theme was East Indian

art. I liked the textures and patterns so much,

that I did a page for myself in this journal.

I think I may have to add watercolor

to this.  Do you think it needs color?

Another page using gouache,

where I used up the colors left on my 

palette.  When I start to think that my

journal pages are becoming too similar

to each other, it's time to try something different,

like no words, just shapes-texture-color!

Seek Something Delightful

Art journaling in my visual art journal

makes a cold gray day more bearable...

watercolor, drawing, and collage

give me an outlet to express

frustrations, sadness or joy...

quotes can often be a starting point.

(click on any image for a larger view.)

Seek something delightful

each day.

Fill your day with color!

Scrappy Journal

Looking back, moving forward...

Well said, Vincent...

Graffiti Dragon

Highlighter and marker in

visual art journal. Copyright DBC 2011.

Trying out "Graffiti style" lettering

and drawing. I was thinking of

'Puff the Magic Dragon'

but realized there could be

other unintentional connotations...

I'm not a tobacco (or otherwise) smoker,

so just think of this as fire-breathing

dragon smoke.

Very reminiscent of my art work

when I worked for a Tee-shirt

transfer company.

Not exactly like graffiti, but a fun experiment.

I wouldn't be fast enough to actually

paint a 'tag' on anything 

without getting caught...not into

danger, vandalism, or gang signs, 

but definitely intrigued by street art.

I often wonder what it would be like

to put my work over one of those

ugly billboards beside the freeway?

Romantic Era Art: Art Journal Pages

Image inspired by a 

 work by Johann Friedrich Overbeck

in the book 

Art of the Romantic Era by M. Brion.

(copyright 1969)

Watercolor and Sharpie marker.

Overbeck postulated the ideals of art,

which he termed 'The Brotherhood.'

Michelangelo represented imagination,

beauty represented by Raphael,

and nature represented by Durer

were what Overbeck termed

the 'three ways of art.'

A scene also inspired from 

the same book,  an illustration

of a work by Calame 

called 'Mountain Landscape.'

I have been thinking that a 

small visual journal with ancient

glyphs, symbols, and archiological

notes would be an interesting

project to create -- similar to

the one Indiana Jones' dad had

made in one of the movies.

Inspiration for visual art

comes from many places...

old books that someone gives you or

that you find in a library sale,

images of other artists' work, 

ancient civilizations,
fashion magazines, a favorite theme,

and even the movies!

Inspirations for Art Journaling

Inspiration for these journal pages came

from a fashion magazine, the phrase

"pear-shaped figure," and an affection for

paper dolls and interesting quotes.

I couldn't resist putting the pear-shaped

body beneath the fashion-ad inspired head,

when in the glossy magazines, they

are usually pencil-thin!

The woman's figure was painted in

watercolor on watercolor paper, then cut

out and glued onto the page.

A watercolor background was

shaded with soft pastels after

adding the text in Sharpie marker

and mauve gel pen.

The pose of the figure is not ballet...

I have been in physical therapy for a

frozen shoulder, and this is a

painful reminder of the stretches I

must do to get back my mobility!

Again, a page motivated by a fashion magazine.

I find the graphics, layouts and photography

quite inspiring, though the clothes are 

often just weird.  The turban is inspired

by African styles, and the flowers are

inspired by American folk-art designs.

If you've ever looked at Pennsylvania

Dutch designs or early American

birth and marriage certificates, 

they can provide a wealth of ideas for

art journals and decoration.

Receptive

Quote by Francis Bacon, the artist (not the statesman)
Watercolor and pen in Art Journal.

I liked this quote, even though
I find the artist's work disturbing...
but that was probably his point.
The geometric designs in the border
are instead inspired by Kandinsky's paintings.
Copyright dbcarey, 2010.