So, what do I need to start?

If you are fresh to art journaling, what do you REALLY need to get started? This has almost as many answers as “Why have an art journal”.

PICK A JOURNAL….ANY JOURNAL

Let’s start with the first, most important part….a journal. What type of journal you use is dependent on what you want to use it for. If you plan on writing or journaling, a lined notebook may be perfect. Like to sketch, you may want a journal with heavier paper that will lay flat when open. Want to throw some paint around, then you will want a mixed media journal. What if you think you want to do it all? Get a good mixed media journal. You can write on the pages, sketch, add watercolor or acrylic, even collage on the pages. My favorite journal to recommend to new art journalers is the Dylusions Creative Journal by Ranger. It has heavyweight, smooth mixed media paper that takes many different mediums. It gives you a reliable surface to create on. A bonus is that it comes in multiple sizes, so you can decide which one works best for you.

So, what can you use if you don’t want to commit to buying a journal yet. Let’s take a look around your house…..

• Composition notebook or spiral notebook

• Old cookbook or “coffee table” book

• Atlas

• Used day planner

• Magazines

Any of these may require a little prep. If you plan on painting in your journal, you may want to glue 2-3 pages together to give yourself a more substantial surface. You also may want to gesso your pages before painting. (Gesso is an acrylic primer that prepares your pages for paint.)

Time to pick out your journal!

Why to have an art journal?

Many times I am asked what is an art journal or why do I keep one. I usually struggle to answer this in a few sentences. It is a struggle because “art journal” can mean different things to each person. First there is the name….art journal. How is that different from a sketchbook, a visual journal, an artsy journal, a junk journal or a diary? It’s not. Everyone has a different name for what they do. The name does not matter. What matters is what you need it for. (I will refer to “art journal” from now on because that is what I most often call my journals.)

Here are some of the common reasons people keep an art journal:

• Try new products and techniques - Bought a new paint or brush? Grab your journal and try it out. Make notes of what you did so you can reference it later.

• Sketches - A journal is the perfect place to practice sketching, drawing, doodling.

• Document your day - Do you want to remember the little things that happen each day? Write a few lines of journaling and add a quick sketch of something that happened that day.

• Art practice - Consider your journal an alternative to painting on canvas.

• Creative education - Keep notes from any online classes you take.

• All of these or anything else you need it to do.

Just remember it is YOUR journal. What you use it for can change as you change. Maybe right now you need to write and journal. Do it! Maybe later you want to practice sketching. Do it! Then you take a mixed media class and you want to practice. Do it! The most important part if to DO IT!