Art Journal – Visual Journal – Mixed Media Album

Pretty much - those three things are all the same thing. It's a collection of paper with your journaling and representation of that journaling in art form.

It's using almost anything to play and experiment in your book. there are NO rules. it doesn't have to be shown to anyone - unless you want it to be shown. There can be many layers or just one on a page. it's up to YOU.

It can be a book you purchased. Someday i want to play in Moleskin watercolour book. But for now - cuz i'm cheap (frugal) i make my own books. I collect envelopes at work and then use the back side of the envelope to make my books.


My basic book (or books) is a bunch of collected papers - everything from envelopes to watercolour paper, drawing paper, old maps, sheet music - whatever strikes my fancy at any given time. and since it's old and recycled, i really don't care what i put on it - it's all good. I've taken a couple of book binding classes at Art Placement and that really helps with figuring out the binding methods. but that's a whole different post.

If i could find an old ledger book that's used - I'd definitely play with that! you can use whatever you want to use. An old book, a brand new book (Strathmore Papers has a visual journal type book that you can get at Michael's) - it's totally up to you. if you want to trash a book - this is the perfect thing. There are NO rules.

Many journalers use nothing more than an inexpensive composition book, while others use artists' sketchbooks or hardbound journals.

The most important consideration when choosing a journal is how heavy the paper is. if it's very lightweight it won't hold up to a lot of paint and glue with preparing the pages first with gesso. Also think about how the book is bound: spiral bound books lie flat when open and are easy to work in. Plus you should consider if the book will expand to hold all the images and artwork you are going to create on those pages.

As for what to do in the book? Well - that's totally up to you. You can use it as a daily journal, write, draw, paint, paste, colour and all on ONE page! it really is an experiment book and there are NO rules!

Basic Art Journal Supplies
Before going out to spend a lot of money on the supplies, take a look around the house and see what you already have. You can experiment with loads of things - like the kids crayons and markers, gel pens, scissors, glue sticks, double sided tape, magazines.
The magazines are really handy for cutting out images that catch your interest and single words that you might make into a title. Cut them out and glue them in your book - add some doodling or paint and write....

Advanced Art Journal Supplies

Gesso - an acrylic primer for canvas and paper - you can also use gesso as a texture
Watercolour paints (great for backgrounds)
acrylic paints (ditto) and you can use those folk art paints up that you've got stashed in your cupboard from when you used to do folk art painting. once you've used those up, the tubes of acrylic paint that are available in the fine art area are worth the investment.
Watercolour pencils or crayons - colour just like regular pencils or crayons and then add water to create colour washes.
chalks or pastels for adding highlights and shading
rubber stamps
ink pads and re-inkers
stencils - especially if you don't like your own handwriting
sand paper - to roughen up pages for the distressed look
transfer/carbon paper for tracing images on your page
packing tape for transfers
gel medium - this is an acrylic medium that works as a great glue and sealant

Don't spend too much worrying about exactly what to do - just start doodling or writing whatever is on your mind. you may find some of your best work happens almost accidentally.

Think of something that happened during your day that made you happy or angry. one of the main points of an art journal is to vent emotions and opinions in a healthy way. You can put down things that happened you can't talk about, things that make you laugh, anything really.

Treat as a real diary if you want, or simply use it to collect your ideas. The whole point is that the journal is for you, by you and its contents are completely up to you . there are NO rules.

Turn off the filters and the inner critic. Don't hesitate to experiment or make mistakes. this is your journal. put in it what you want. if that's strictly drawings, fine. if that's a mixture of drawings, paintings, writing, collage and pasted in prints of your photographs. that's fine too. doodle aimlessly or try a new medium or technique. your artistic journey might not even happen all in one book.

it's all about playing and writing and being creative - there are NO rules!!

there's a lot of information here -sorry for the long post. there's some links over on the right that have some great art journal ideas.

check out Julie Balzer - she's got great prompts on Twitter for art journaling ideas. Daisy Yellow has an Art Journaling 101 feature that's really interesting.

go for it - you never know what you'll create!