Art Journal Every Day: No More Blank Pages

If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, all the posts can be found here.  Please read this post first.  There is a flickr group for sharing right here.  Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day!  No need to finish anything or even like it.  Just play! 

I will have the sign-up for May posted on May 1!  Newcomers are always welcome!

On Saturday I went bowling.  It was my first time bowling with big balls.  Previously I had only been candle pin bowling.  My brother was very nice and gave me some instruction along the way.  It didn't seem to be helping.  My first game I scored 26.  In case you don't know bowling, that's pathetic.  It means I got mostly gutter balls the entire time.  When we started the second game, I figured, "What the heck do I have to lose?  I can't be worse than 26!"  I bowled a 134 the second game!  I got TWO strikes and a few spares!  Wow!

So how did I get so much better? 

Well, my brother is a very good instructor.  But really I think it was the letting go of caring.  Sometimes we hold onto things so tightly wanting to be perfect that we subconsciously sabotage ourselves.  The third game I bowled a 55.  Started caring again and clenching again because I liked how I bowled during the second game.  You can probably guess that this post is not really about bowling.  It's time to let go of those visions of perfect art journaling pages and let yourself run free!

Let's face it, a blank page can be intimidating.   Even to the most advanced and experienced art journalers a blank page can be very daunting!

That's a whole lotta' white, isn't it?  And lots of expectations too!

The fact is, we all do this thing where we buy pretty journals with the best of intentions.  Sometimes it's good to just mess that journal up so you don't have to feel like it's sacrosanct.  Also, I often start not on the first page.  The only journal that I go in order in, is my daily art journal (it's more diary like).  My other art journals start in the middle or the back and then flit around.  There are no rules!

Today I thought I'd share a few of my favorite ways for transforming that big blank white page into something less intimidating!

METHOD ONE: Spray and Brush

This is definitely my #1 method.  It's just too easy to avoid!

Spray your journal with spray ink.  I used Mister Huey from Studio Calico and Adirondack Color Wash from Ranger for this page.

I like to stick to 2-3 colors for this method, or you get mud.

Now using a wet paintbrush spread that mist around and let it blend!

I love the cool way the mist just merges into the next color.

Different mists have different water solubility.  So test what you have to see all the different results!

METHOD TWO: Two Drips Meet

We're misting again.  This time with Adirondack Color Wash only.  I spray a lot of the mist on one edge of my art journal.  (Note the scrap paper protecting the page underneath.)

Now tip the page up and spray it with a ton (and I do mean a lot) of water.

Notice all the color collecting in the fold of the book?  Tip the book all the way so that the drips continue down the other page.

Now spray the right side of your journal with other colors.

And repeat the tipping and spraying with water!

Totally cool, right?

I think those lines would be great for doing something journaling!

METHOD THREE: Roll, Roll, Roll

I'm using two colors of Golden Fluid Acrylics, but any acrylic paints would work for this!  Squeeze some color out onto your journal...

...and now use a brayer to roll over the color and spread it around.

Continue adding paint as desired until you get the look you want!

Be sure to wash your brayer right away so the paint doesn't dry on it!

METHOD FOUR: Float, Drop & Squash

Grab a spray bottle of water and some re-inkers.  Saturate your page with water and drop a few droplets into the watered surface.

If your drops spread, you've added enough water.  If they don't (like the top one above), then you need to add a lot more water!

Continue adding droplets of color.

When you're pleased with the look, fold your book in half.  Open it up and you'll have a beautiful soft looking background!

These detail photos almost look blurry, but it's just the super soft edges of the color!

METHOD FIVE: Stencil and Wipe

I adore stencils!  I'm using a distressed harlequin pattern from The Crafter's Workshop for this page.

Spray through the stencil with two colors of Adirondack Color Wash.  And then move the stencil over and spray again.

For the last part of the page, flip the stencil over and press it down to the page. 

This will cause the spray ink on the surface of the stencil to transfer to the page!  You get the negative of the stencil!

And because I can't stand anything that's perfect, I took a wet brush and messed up the pattern a bit!

So there you go!  Five different ideas for mucking up your art journal and getting rid of those scary white pages!  It's time to breathe deep and let go!

Thanks for stopping by!