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Materials

This page is dedicated to materials that you can use in your art journals, with thoughts on the subject of materials.

We say... I CAN NOT possibly create; I do not have  adequate materials...

Let me show you something...

 

These little paintings were done on an old piece of paper, with a decoupage image taken from a magazine, painted with mud and ink. Voila, nothing else.

 

 

This is the best thing about art journaling, you do not need anything specific and your supplies can grow and evolve as you do. You do not even need a journal.  Some people love to work on a brand new watercolour sketchbook. Personally, I prefer working on loose pages. Why? It loses that preciousness which is creativity-killer number one... “I paid such and such for this pad/ canvas/ book ...I HAVE to make something which is good.” So much pressure!

 

 Have a look around, how many pristine, untouched white art pads or canvases do you have lying around? Yep... I have the same ones myself.

Here is one of my little secrets, which also justifies my hoarding tendencies. If you enter my studio, you will find shelves full with loose pages, cardboard, old newspaper and other trash these are precious. Why? ...I paint on wallpaper, I draw on used pages , I go to second hand bookshops and buy cheap old books and cover the pages with gesso primer ...I used old maps .... I do not have to worry about the price of the paper...I can tear it if I do not like it ...and use the torn pieces as collage in another work...the world is my oyster and there is no stopping me!

 

 

Remember, we are not here to do Art; we are here to start and remain on a creative journey.

 

 

Here is a familiar scenario which I will share with you. I wake up and I am ready to go. The child has gone to school and the washing machine is humming in the background. I have finally made TIME for me. I walk in the studio or sit at the kitchen table; I have inks, paper, gesso, and all the materials under the sun ... but hold on a second! Where is that special ink pen?

The voices in my head tell me that I have to have it right here right now! It does not rest and keeps pressing on. I give up. I abandon the kitchen table. I drive an hour to reach the nearest art material shop. I buy the pen. It takes me one more hour to drive back.

It is too late. It is time to go and pick the child up from school.

 

 I have the perfect pen.

But time has run out.

 

I feel depleted and blame myself for not being organised enough. This is only a distraction, I was organised enough to have the time just for me and this my friends does require bucket loads of organising and moving around. Creativity does not need that pen, that canvas, that particular paint. Creativity needs that precious little time you had dedicated for the muse to flow, to go through you.  The lengths to which we go to NOT start creating never cease to amaze me. ...these are only illusions, fears, barriers and walls which we create around ourselves, which prevent us feeling the Bliss, the flow, the connection.

 

Now that I have finished my rant, I am going to tell you something else, another dirty little secret ...art materials are my Shoes, art materials are sexy, art materials turn me on...the smell, the colours the textures...it is a sensual world and treating myself to that delicious red or that luscious green make me happy and inspired ! But there’s a time for such little shopping sprees.

So, use what you have and once you find your style, then go out and buy some fun new toys! And remember, sometimes having too many supplies can be overwhelming and one of the barriers to creating can be having too many options.

Right here are the supplies I would have around me

Loose paper vs. Bound journal.

 

You can work on loose paper and bind it together later using book-binding techniques or simply store in a box or shelf. Loose paper is a wonderful way to start because you can play without committing to any particular journal.

Yet if you prefer working in a journal you like to carry around with you, there are a lot of great bound journals available. I would advise something with thick pages which will hold up to mixed media work or even wet media like watercolour or acrylics.

 

 

Stamps and ink pads

 

You can carve your own stamps from erasers using linocutting tools. I also use things I find around the house like lids, medicine cups, cookie cutters and old brushes. Just dip them in acrylic paint or gesso and make marks! I do tend to keep them in a special box which lives permanently in the studio for easy access.

 

Spray bottle

 

Any recycled spray will do. Just remember to rinse it well.

 

Stencils

 

Homemade stencils are easy to make, or you can find plenty of craft stencils online or in craft shops.

 

Sponges

 

Any sponges will do. I do tend to buy cheap ones, remove the green bit and tear the sponge into little pieces.

 

Paints

 

Fluid Acrylic paints

Indian ink

Watercolour paints or crayons

Any of these will do. Experiment and see which ones work best for you .You can mix the colours so you do not need to buy the full range.

 

Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens

 

These bring great versatility to pen-and-ink drawings requiring lots of intricate details. You can find them in many colours and sizes.

 

Sharpie water based paint markers

 

These stand out on any colour background and will not bleed

 

A surface to mix paints. 

 

I tend to recycle any plastic egg box, plastic container ect. for mixing paints. You can also purchase inexpensive plastic watercolour palettes for mixing watercolour or gouache paints.

 

Adhesive.

 

Golden fluid matte medium and Mod Podge are fabulous for attaching paper to your art journal pages among many other uses.

 

Hair dryer

 

To help these layers  dry faster. Time is precious.

 

Brushes

 

Buy basic, cheap brushes for adhesives and gesso because they will go through the wars.

 

Scissors

 

I would use decoupage a lot in my work so I do need an extremely sharp, precise cutter or scissors.

 

Gesso

 

Gesso is a primer and will strengthen your paper if you use watercolour or acrylics. White gesso can be used to layer and lighten your collages or mixed with acrylic colours to get a matte pastel look. You can also use it with stencils.

 

 Parchment Paper

 

The parchment keeps the pages from sticking together  if you need to carry it around with you

 

Kitchen supplies

 

Spices/Tea/ coffee, to be used as paint or stains

Salt makes wonderful patterns and draws out the excess water

 

Artist and  inspirational books

 

Surround yourself with Beauty. In my studio, I am surrounded by inspiring books. So much to discover in the pages. I learn the most from going through the pages and trying new things.

 

Apron/t-shirt /rags/plastic sheets

 

Don’t forget to keep an apron, old t-shirt, rags, jars of water, wipes and plastic sheets in your space or part of your kit. This will allow you to go straight into messy wet creating without thinking about it.

 

Look around your home.  I'm sure you have most of these supplies sitting around:

 

 

  • A journal or loose page to paint on.

  • masking tape

  • gesso or cheap white matt undercoat paint

  • paintbrushes of any sizes and shapes

  • letter and number stamps

  • permanent black ink

  • pens

  • paint

  • adhesive or PVA glue

  • gold and silver spray

  • glitter

 

 

 

Go gently and Happy Creating!

 

 

 

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