Art Journal Every Day: Nathalie's Urban Inspiration

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! Linky list for December is right here.

Today we've got a guest post from French Art Journaler and doctor-in-training, Nathalie Nayer.

This is me.

With my precious Margot.

I have a love affair with paper.

I’ve kept a diary for most of my life.

At first, it was that friendship diary I received for my sixth brithday that my girlfriends filled with stickers, poems, drawings and tattoos from bubble gum wrappings.

I started to keep a real intimate diary when I was 12 years old. It was a girly pinky one (with a heart shaped lock). I glued pictures of cats and everything I could found about Michael Jackson or Robbie Williams. I wrote quotes, names of boys I liked, important dates (first period, first kiss, first sex experience).

I grew up but the content stayed basically the same. I glued fashion ads and pictures of Charlize Theron. I drawed outfits and invented new shapes of perfume bottles. I recorded important dates (first trip on my own, first car, first job).

About ten years ago, my journals became more visual, right after I read my two absolutely favorite books: The Decorated Page and The Decorated Journal from Gwen Diehn.

That’s when I started to use gesso and paint and inks in my journals.
 


I have this great job. Right now, I’m in this gastroenterology training fellowship program for three years. Then, I’ll finally be an attending physician.

I keep a visual journal to stay in the moment. Even if it is to savor a red light or a wind turbine. Red light and wind turbines are strong. They don’t suffer, don’t need a diagnosis or painkillers. They don’t cry. They don’t die.

Sketching them keeps me sane.

Let me show you how I prepare my pages lately....

Here, I use the sketchbook I ordered to participate in The Sketchbook Project.

First, I glue something with words (it can be a vintage book page, a sheet of music, an article in your latest issue of The Economist):

Then, I apply some masking fuid with a skewer at random:

After the masking fluid has completely dried, I cover the page with paint. Here, I use white gesso and some black ink:

This is what the page looks like when the paint has dried:

That’s when I reveal the text under the dried masking fluid by gently rubbing it away:

Here, I’ve added some white gesso because I wanted something less dark:

With my favortie permanent markers, I draw something. Anything.

Usually, I dig out a picture from my urban collection of photographs.

I love the feeling of metal, wood, stone and rust.

I like strong straight lines.

Touches of white and orange added:

On the opposite page, I apply gel medium...

…to glue in a picture I printed on tissue paper.

Et voilà !

Like my urban style ?

If you want to see more, visit my flickr stream.

If you want to visit my blog, it’s here.

Now, go get your sketchbook and draw your own crane!