Visual Art Journaling Techniques

©Anne Rita Taylor 2016

I recently met with ladies in Houston who have a Visual Art Journaling group. It was fun to catch up and make art while visiting. My supplies included a 9 by 12 pad of 90 lb. paper by Strathmore, Golden Fluid Acrylic paints and old calendars. These paints come in squirt bottles. Densely pigmented, a little goes a long way; and they dry quickly. Art Journaling helps me to express my feelings while I am playing. 

I cut out images: a flower and a tiger. I squirted Green Gold directly on the paper painting with a one inch brush. I used my 3.8 mm Pilot Parallel pen and Uncial calligraphy for the quote by George Burns. On the next page I painted Yellow Oxide for the background leaving some white space and used a UHU glue stick to attach the tiger. I chose a 1.5 mm Pilot Parallel pen for the quote in Italic calligraphy.

I was working quickly while we talked for a couple of hours.  I cut out a turtle from an old calendar. For this background I painted Ultramarine Blue, lightened a bit with Winsor & Newton Permanent White gouache. My 3.8 mm Pilot Parallel pen was perfect with Italic calligraphy.

For my last page I cut out a seabird called a blue-footed booby and left in some of the rocks, water  and sky background. Using the Ultramarine Blue I lightened with Silver gouache paint by Pebeo. I used a 6.0 mm Pilot Parallel pen for the quote: I am my possibilities by Gabriel Marcel. 

The quotations are from a book by Richard Kehl, It Takes a Long Time to Become Young. I may add more collage elements or writing to each page. Visual art journaling is all about self expression, so we can see where it takes us.