Hey everyone, it’s Kate here! In this video, I’m taking you through a fun and messy art journaling session.
I’m working in my sketchbook today, which means the pages are a bit on the thin side. To combat that, I like to start with a pre-painted background using some craft paint. It adds some thickness to the page and gets rid of that intimidating blank white stare. The colors aren’t planned out, but sometimes that initial splash of color sparks some inspiration.
Here, I had a blue base, even though I knew I’d be covering most of it up later. Blue and orange are complimentary colors, so I knew I could bring some of the orange back in at the end.
While the paint is still damp, I use some collage paper scraps and my glue stick to add some texture and pops of color. I love saving these little bits and pieces for projects like this!
Next up, I’m diving into some experimentation with KingArt gel sticks. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about them at first, but they’ve been growing on me. They’re water soluble, so not quite watercolor, but they offer a fun layer of transparency. I added some white, blue, red, and yellow to create a base of scribbles and leaves.
The black KingArt gel stick comes in for my favorite part: dots and circles! Art journaling is all about embracing the happy accidents, and that big red blob is a perfect example. The KingArt paint is super pigmented, so a little water goes a long way when activating the gel stick. I blot as I go to avoid overworking the color.
Even though I love the transparency of the gel sticks, they can also be quite vibrant. To balance things out, I diluted some yellow and let it spread organically across the page.
Now, let’s talk about those fixable mistakes! I wasn’t crazy about some of the black and red peeking through, so I covered them up with some gesso. This also gave me a clean canvas for sketching some simple floral doodles, which I then went over with a marker.
Here are my takeaways from this session:
- Embrace the unexpected: Painting within the shapes I sketched didn’t quite work out, but that’s okay! I just went back in with the marker to redefine the lines.
- Fixable mistakes are opportunities: Art journaling is all about layering and building. Don’t be afraid to cover something up or change your mind.
- Simple is beautiful: I focused on simple shapes, layers, and lots of mark-making with different tools.
Overall, I had a blast keeping things loose and experimental. Art journaling is a great way to play with your supplies and see what happens!
In the end, I created two flowers and a few leafy sprigs. They might not be identifiable flowers, but they came straight from my imagination, inspired by the beautiful sunflowers I planted last year.
Speaking of gardens, mine isn’t the most successful. The weeds always seem to win, especially when it comes to vegetables (except zucchini, I always have a bumper crop of those!). But hey, that’s just another opportunity to get creative in the kitchen with zucchini bread and stir-fries.
To finish up the flowers, I mixed a peachy color with some white and used that for the petals. The center is a mix of leftover paint on my page, including some of the peach, white, and a touch of green for a light, neutral hue.
I brought some of the orange from the background back in using a gel stick. The transparency allows the blue to peek through, adding depth and richness.
Finally, I outlined everything with a black marker and added some white dots for a touch of whimsy.
One interesting thing I discovered is that the paint pen bled a bit into the black shapes when I painted over them while they were still damp. This created a cool effect that I might play around with in future projects.
As always, thank you for watching, and happy creating!