Art Doodle Love Blog Hop!

Oh! A new book is always a gift, but one created by a friend is one wrapped in beautiful paper and dashed with glitter. Dawn Sokol has really outdone herself with this, her third art journal book -- created just for YOU -- by aiming not for young girls and boys, but YOU. Yes, YOU! I know if you're reading this, you're going to LOVE her new book, Art Doodle Love. 

I'm so excited to share some pages from it! I first saw it while having coffee with my darling friend about a month ago, and couldn't wait to get inside it! I just adore her backgrounds and colors (which attracted me to her and her art years ago!), but what REALLY excited me was the prompts. Oh, yes....did I mention it's full of prompts?

The first chapter is all about loosening you up! When I approached the scribble page, I was like, "Oh, I can scribble!" But it's HARD, isn't it? To just let go and make random marks across the page? I think we all scribble to a point, and then move on. Having a spread telling me to scribble and fill the whole thing was actually hard, until I just started having fun! I got a few odd looks from the sounds of my paint pens and markers jumping around on the page, but I was grinning the whole time! 

There are a bunch of fun activities inside to prime the pump, like the page of drips and drops; I saw a trapeze artist when I saw one, and just doodled her. This book is full of thick, creamy paper, by the way, so your pen just glides, and you don't have to worry about the paper buckling under your work!

The prompts are amazing....look at this one! This journal REALLY gets you thinking, reflecting, and being still enough to listen to yourself. While journaling on your own is full of discovery and revelations, working through one with prompts, and ones that engage and pull you from your comfort zone, can really unlock parts of yourself you haven't engaged in years.

When was the last time YOU thought about the past you? I think many of us start over in our lives, again and again, and shed those old identities. As I was working on this page, I found myself wanting to go back and talk to the old me, give her advice, help her through the battles to come. It brought me a measure of peace, knowing how far I've come. And the background already on the page made it easy to focus on the thoughts and emotions going through my head, since I could collage and doodle right away, rather than waiting for paint to dry.

I found that the colors and backgrounds helped me focus down what materials I would use, and locked me into a color palette that took a lot of guesswork out of journaling! Instead of being overwhelmed by all my choices, I could grab a small collection of supplies and match things to the backgrounds. They're great to work over, and have those messy details I adore! 

Because of the quality of the paper, I wasn't afraid to collage, paint, and doodle all over the pages. My Copic markers didn't even bleed through that much....easily thicker and nicer paper than the Moleskine sketchbook I've been playing in! And this whole book is sewn, meaning it lays flat and the pages aren't coming out any time soon. It certainly will be hanging out with my other art journals, there to pull out whenever I need to reflect, warm up, or just play. I did a lot of this stuff while watching movies on the couch, using a smaller batch of supplies.

If like me you're past how-to books and are really yearning to use your journaling for self-discovery, then you can't find a better book to invest your money in. Reasonably priced, full of color and inspiration, and prompting you to really examine your life, Art Doodle Love is amazing and perfect for ya. 

Dawn will be running a give-away on her blog starting February 8th, so make sure to head over there to enter! And don't forget to visit the others in the blog-hop for more pages, inspiration, and peeks inside!

Feb. 2: Pam Carriker, http://www.pamcarriker.com/blog/

Feb. 3: Samantha Kira Harding, http://www.journalgirl.com (you're here!)

Feb. 4: Aimee Dolich, http://artsyville.blogspot.com

Feb. 5: Jane Davenport,  http://www.janedavenport.com

Feb. 6: Carla Sonheim, http://www.carlasonheim.com

Feb. 7: Tracie Lyn Huskamp, http://www.thereddoor-studio.blogspot.com

Feb. 8: Tammy Garcia, http://www.daisyyellow.squarespace.com

Feb. 9: Carissa Paige, http://www.carissapaige.blogspot.com

Feb. 10: Mindy Lacefield, http://www.timssally.com

Feb. 11: Dina Wakley, http://dinastamps.typepad.com/

Feb. 12: Tamara LaPorte, http://www.willowing.org/blog/

Feb. 13: Jill K. Berry, http://jillberrydesign.com/blog/

Soaring Through January

I'm finally feeling better, phew! That flu was no fun. I'm still dealing with some nice CFS after affects, but I taught a class yesterday and baked a yummy cake (and made home-made buttercream frosting and colored it and doodled on it!) for a birthday today, so I'm getting there! 

Even though I didn't feel well, I managed to create a bit in my journal in 5-10 minute spurts at my studio table. These little snatched moments added up, and I would bring my pens and markers out to the couch to doodle while watching movies. I've found the more I do art when unwell, the less miserable I become. What a simple solution!

Here are some in-progress snapshots from my journals!

(squee! i found neon oil pastels!)

Materials Used: Pitt Artist Pens, Gelli Arts Gel Plate, Tombow Markers, Copic Markers, Amy Tangerine Thickers, Neon Oil Pastels, Crafter's Workshop & Hand-Cut Stencils

Remember how I started using my Smash Book for Project 365 last year, but never finished? I decided to re-claim it as my Creative Warriors diary! I'm so excited to be art journaling in my Smash Book again, and I shared this spread with my lovely community of brave women tonight as we surge forward into February. 

365 Days of Digital Art Journaling: days 25-26 (studying light)

Some days, I'll spend maybe ten minutes on a page, and others, I'll play for nearly three hours.

The first is a quick one. The second, a longer painting.

I have become fascinated by light temperature. I never knew it impacted color in painting until I checked out a book on portraits from the library. I know it has a huge impact when filming video (I spend hours with my friend, the Color Correction panel in Final Cut Pro for my professional clients), but my understanding of portraiture was lacking.

Working digitally has opened up a whole knew world of practice....I no longer have to pull out my oil paints for studies...I can sit comfortably and use this magical tablet device. I am doing things I never thought I'd be interested in, sampling colors and learning how light behaves. It's fascinating and fun and so rewarding! For my third attempt, and having never taken more than a drawing class last year, I'm insanely proud of what I've been able to do.

You don't need a fancy education to create, just the curiosity and practice to want to strive for more.

(Mad props if you recognize my subject. I'm a mad fangirl. Mwahaha!)

365 Days of Digital Art Journaling: Days 22-24 (try new things!)

Ugh! I was struck by the flu earlier this week and haven't had the energy to do much more than reading...oops! But I'm all caught up. Remember, art journaling is about what you can do NOW to express yourself, not just when you have the time/energy/supplies/space to do so.

I did manage part of a page...I wanted to see if all this digital practice translates to the material world, so I went for it and YES! It does! I've improved so much over the past almost-month of daily art...so I'm already seeing the positive effects of this crazy experiment!

The pages from these days have been experiments, too, as I continue to explore this amazing tool and what it can do. I've noticed that I rarely use the brush end of my stylus, though...I don't know if I'm lazy or just content! Anyway, I'm off to read some more...my fever is still lingering and I have work to do this weekend!

365 Days of Digital Art Journaling: Days 20 & 21

Learning to collage in Procreate. I was saying how I missed adding papers and images to my digital pages, so I decided to start importing my digital collage files to my iPhoto, and thus iPad, library. I love how I can work with reference photos, too! Quickly learning that the less unpredictable nature of digital work can change the very nature of the work created.

Also into flying-away hair. Over the past 21 days, I've explored so many ideas and styles, and am just excited each day to sit down and see what is going to come out today....

Hi There! (and a bunch of art journal pages)

Oh, it feels so good to dive into my journal again! While working in my digital art journal is fantastic and fun, I still adore the feel of an art journal in my hands, my fingers running over the textures, the way media can be unpredictable when mixed. I really wanted to play with my new Pan Pastels, but found myself grabbing more and more favorites as I sat down to create. Working on pages with a paper background and one made with my Gelli Arts gel plate, I got into the groove of simple creation -- of not over-thinking, just letting my instincts and mind guide my hand. 

One thing I am committing to this year is to take better pictures, and more in-progress shots. I set up a little photography station in my studio space to test out lighting, and took a bunch of practice shots -- and they came out great, so you can see a little of my progress from yesterday! These journal pages are still unfinished, but getting close to completion. The girl above was drawn from blots of paint that formed her wild hair, and I focused on emotion and shape rather than technical skill or drawing out arms, shoulders, etc. One thing I've learned from working digitally is to loosen up, to engage my imagination, and trade detail for emotion. 

Materials used: Stabilo Pencil, Pan Pastels, Journal Girl Stamps, Hand Carved Stamps, Washi Tape, Molotow White Paint Pen, Versa Mark stamp pad, Gelli Arts Gel Plate, Pam Carriker Stamp, Black Gelly Roll pen, Crafter's Workshop harlequin stencil

I also worked on this. Going to CHA (which I will recap tomorrow for you....as I'm still getting my thoughts together!) really exposed me to a lot of awesome mixed-media ideas I probably would have scoffed at a couple years ago as being too "scrapbooky." But I'm really loving some of the new products out there, and want to adapt them for use in my journals. I rarely take self-portraits or let people take pictures of me, something that was pointed out while I was in California, so I decided to make a little page just for me. 

It's time to Live My Adventure. Oh, so much has come from my trip, and this is just the beginning. 

Materials used: Amy Tangerine Thickers, Washi Tape, silver embroidery floss, tag, new colored Scotch Tape (thanks, 3M!), Gimmie Glam i-Rock tool (thanks, too!), Teresa Collins paper, Miss Caroline paper, gold Color Box ink pad, Crafter's Workshop stencil, and a nice complicated art journal background!

365 Days of Digital Art Journaling: Day 19 (becoming comfortable)

More experimentation and play in ArtRage, this time to properly shade her face. Kinda. 

I've developed a method for painting. I'll sketch her out with pencil, then go under that layer to start putting down the paint. You can see some of the original pencil in her hair (and no, I have no idea where that hair came from!). I love how the airbrushed words behind her makes her seem more in-focus, and the background further away. A completely accidental discovery, but that's the point of daily play -- to losen up, to learn, to improve. I can't believe I've done 19 already! 

Have you been playing on the iPad? What fun have you had? Share!

365 Days of Digital Art Journaling: Days 10-18 (away in cali)

Hello! I've been away in sunny (but chilly!) California for the winter CHA trade show! The internet in the hotel wasn't the best, so I decided that, since I was falling asleep early after full days of working and walking and making new contacts that I would just do a nice big post of all my digital art journal pages when I got home. And yes, I've been home for two days or so, but spent them in my PJs decompressing from such an overwhelming experience (don't worry, I'll be constructing a second post to go over all the fun I had and everything I learned while in Anaheim!) with some new samples and supplies and lots of reading! But I kept up my iPad art practice and have some pages to show you! 

The one above, day 10, was done in Procreate with my Sensu brush stylus. I am so happy with the subtle shading in her face, the stenciling on the bottom, and the really mixed-media look of the whole thing!

Day 11. The drawing is from my physical art journal that I felt fit the background I'd created. As you can see, I'm into the messy writing to get my thoughts out without making them easy to read (my way of being able to express myself and share at the same time!). Also created in Procreate.

Day 12. I took a picture of some make-and-takes I did at CHA in that horrible yellow lighting of hotel rooms everywhere, and added them to a painted, doodled, and stenciled page. Done in Procreate.

Day 13. When I started experimenting in ArtRage. I shared some progress pics of this on Instagram, and when I got home, I shared with my mother, who decided to add her mark to the background I'd created. Sometimes, you just need to play around with color and stroke and movement in your journal, and let that speak for itself.

Day 14. I had the sadness of a relative dying while I was away at CHA, and her passing weighed on my heart. We weren't close, but that doesn't mean I didn't feel the impact of it all, and created this page of spirits in the aether watching over all of us from beyond. Done in ArtRage.

Day 15. We were crazy enough to think we could head back to Phoenix at 6pm on Tuesday, and ended up getting stuck in traffic behind an overturned semi....I did this page in the backseat while we waited hours for traffic to clear (and then had issues with the car...oi-vey!). Done in Procreate.

Day 16. OMG, ArtRage has metallic paint! My recent love affair with gold paint (the Liquitex Basics gold is gorgeous!) was the only thing I was sad about when working on the iPad, and then this app lets me make any color metallic! I just doodled and played with paint...again, don't discredit simple marks in your journal, either digital or physical! 

Day 17. Playing with color and light and shade. I just adore this page, how I can feel the light on the page, how she is striking and makes a big impression on such a simple page. Done in ArtRage.

Day 18. More play with material and media. I actually love how this page started, and the techniques I'm developing, but it went wrong somewhere. I was showing Carissa and talking about how I didn't like it, and realized I had to share it, because not every journal page is going to be awesome or loved by you or work out how you think -- they're messy and unpredictable just like life, and being true to your story and life means leaving in the less-than bits so you can learn from them. 

I'll be posting daily again, and have so much other stuff to share -- new ideas, directions, words, projects, & more. I feel like I've grown as an artist and businesswoman in the past week and a half as if I'd been away for months, and am now ready to take the world by storm.