Happy New Year!
Since the holiday (Christmas, that is), I haven't made much art-wise, though I have been working on layers in my journal, #4, for the new year. Much of the work can be seen over on my flickr page; a lot of it reflects my recent purchase of a fountain pen and the influence of Sabrina Ward Harrison's artwork and books.
I've been experimenting a lot. For awhile, I was stuck in a groove, working with techniques I was comfortable with, feeling that everything either had to be a single piece or in my journal. Working without intent hasn't really been part of it -- when I sat down, I was there to make work.
Not every page in a journal is an amazing piece of work. I'm sure the journal pages uploaded by artists I admire like Teesha Moore and Anahata aren't every page in their journals. I need to accept that I'm there to have fun and create what I like looking at -- after all, it's my journal and I'll be the one looking at it the most!
Now, I go in my studio and just relax. Sometimes, I listen to music or watch TV. Read or play with my typewriter. I re-use paint left on paper plates (I use those as palets) and do several pages with the same colors. It's like making a series, and I don't believe in wasting paint. If I have a color left over, I'll smear it on a blank canvas or several pages in my journals. After a few colors, I have nice backgrounds to work off of!
I've even discovered a new way of illustration I'm in love with, and have become comfortable with how I draw people. I'm totally loving having a style I love making that's my own voice. It also lends itself to stationary or cards, and I've found some places I want to approach once I get final versions done. One of my gifts for Christmas was more RAM for my laptop, which means I can finally run Photoshop! Yipee!
Nah, not every page in a journal has to be a work of art. A journal should be a bit of a learning book. A place where you try out new things and stuff.
If every page is a perfect piece of art it means the author isn't learning new things.
Ps, Happy NewYear
Posted by: sjon | January 01, 2007 at 03:51 PM