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  • Art Journaling
  • Start Here
  • Inspiration
  • Tutorials
  • Creativity
  • Workshops
  • Art Journaling
  • Start Here
  • Inspiration
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Art journal spread: step by step

18 November 2019

I love examining art processes, I find them captivating and instructive. I love peeking “behind the scenes”, trying to understand how it’s done, what the artist was thinking, what had inspired them, it’s all so interesting! When I make art, I prefer to concentrate on my work, but nowadays my camera (umm.. smartphone) is an integral part of my work, for various reasons, one of which is the fact that I enjoy shooting the different stages my work is at. Sometimes, you lose hours worth of work because you decided to use a color you don’t like, so I like to take pictures of my work in different stages, that way I can always print a picture and start over!

So this is a process I had taken pictures of in my art journal, and I thought I might as well share it, since I had so many pictures of it. I think looking at someone else’s process is like peeking into their mind. Their ideas, and how they evolve. So much happens in there! I hope you enjoy this!

First step – Choose an Image


I chose an image I liked from a magazine. It seemed interesting, because of the way the image is kind of cut, made me think of Picasso’s cubist portraits, and I just glued it down in my art journal.

 

A peek into my art journal

 

Step 2 – Add Gesso and Pencil Marks

Back to the art journal. I laid down some gesso on my paper, and traced around the image with Stabillo-All pencil. I love this pencil because it’s so soft, and it’s water-soluble, so after tracing, I can softly go over it with some water on a brush. Later in this process, you will be able to see pictures of where I used water on these pencil marks. At this point, I looked at my image, and realized I no longer care about the two halves of the original picture. I decided to just paint one woman, with a special, quirky look.

 

A peek into my art journal

 

So I added some gesso to erase one part, and then re-traced the parts that I was keeping. Note that I like to spread my gesso unevenly. I do that on purpose, because I like the texture and added interest.

 

A peek into my art journal

 

Step 3  – Ready to Commit!

I took another look at my woman, and decided I really like her, and am ready to commit! So I drew her out. I tried to draw realistic hands, but that wasn’t working for me, so I drew childlike fun arms, just let my imagination roll! I was very happy and enjoying my process, and had to remind myself to let go of the expectation that hands should look like hands. Nope, they can look weird, too!

 

A peek into my art journal

 

At this point I had to take a break for dinner, after which I also read my daughter a book, and in it was this beautiful drawing, which fully validated the imperfect hands I had drawn earlier! Love this!

 

A peek into my art journal

 

Step 4 – Collage Papers

I collaged some papers I had printed on the gelli plate. I love how random and colorful and interesting they are!

 

 

A peek into my art journal

 

Here’s a small trick I really enjoy playing with. When a random piece of collage paper fits my drawing perfectly, I take the cue and go with it! So here, you can see a line on my gelli print. This line can fit in naturally with lines in my drawing!

 

A peek into my art journal

 

So this is how I could glue down this piece of paper, lining that printed line with the shoulder line in my painting.

 

A peek into my art journal

 

However, I ended up gluing it on the neck line. SO many possibilities!! I added some more papers.

 

A peek into my art journal

 

At this stage I’m just enjoying more collage, adding paper and textures, I have no idea where this is going or what I’m doing, I’m just gluing down things that I like. It’s very random, I don’t think too much, I just use the papers I have on my table, cut and glue them. At this stage I also added water to a brush, and went over my pencil marks, activating them. You can see how they’ve become darker.

 

A peek into my art journal

 

Final Stage – Paint!

I used acrylics and went to town! I tried lots of colors and shades, used water to dillute some, others I used straight from the tube, all the time rubbing, adding, brushing on and taking off. I was having lots of fun, so didn’t take too many pics of the process, but believe me, there are LAYERS in there! I enjoy this part of “letting go” so much! It’s really just play. I let my thoughts loose, just feeling what makes me feel good and what doesn’t.

 

A peek into my art journal

 

This is what my final spread looks like. I love it, and at this point I felt that I was done. It’s my art journal, and I can always come back to these pages, but for now, my process is done. I’m happy!

 

A peek into my art journal

 

I hope you enjoyed this peek into my process! If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

 

I hope you found this post interesting, and would be delighted if you shared it!
Other posts you might like:
Fun Rorschach Painting DIYFun Rorschach Painting DIY
Frida Kahlo’s Art JournalFrida Kahlo’s Art Journal
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