Assignments for the Artful Journaling Exploration by Laure Ferlita

I am loving the AJE class by Laure Ferlita. Enjoying working with watercolors in my journal. Here are two of the pages so far.

I loved this first assignment. I am one of those folks that either utilizes the white space to focus on the subject or I have no white space and completely fill the canvas. I struggled a bit with the text, small or large. I ultimately went with the small; grace although larger than life is often seen in the smallest of things. I thought this beautiful sunflower, even though slightly tattered still displaced such grace. I know a few people just like that!

Assignment Negative space.

I think this quote by Karen Kingsbury illustrates so well, the grace of having wings:

"I tell of hearts and souls and dances...  Butterflies and second chances; Desperate ones and dreamers bound, Seeking life from barren ground, Who suffer on in earthly fate, The bitter pain of agony hate, might but they stop and here forgive. Would break the bonds to breathe and live, and find that God in goodness brings, a chance for change, the hope of wings. To rest in Him, and self to die, and so become a butterfly.

Experimental Journal

I am loving the Strathmore class by Roz Stendahl, she is such a great teacher.  I started an art journal to just do experimental things in, things I either haven't done or haven't done in a long while. This is a major part of art journaling for me. To try things that may or may not work without fear. Here are a few of those pages.

Garden Art Journal and Branching Out

I am loving my garden art journal. I especially love these two pages. First I love, love cherry tomatoes and I also love, love, bright colors and the contrast of the black against the bright colors. These pages are done with watercolors, gouache, white gel pen, and Faber-Castell pen.

I have also been trying some new things, branching out for the April Sketchbook Challenge. This is really stepping out on a limb for me. Although the piece is still evolving, I'm really enjoying creating it. I Used watercolors, acrylics, and pages from an old book.

Step Pages

Love the step pages as demonstrated on the Strathmore website by Linda Blinn. Linda suggested using these at the beginning of your journal, which I think is a great idea, but I used them as three pages in the middle of one of my journals on gardening. The first page has carrots, second page has two onions, the third has three different kinds of radishes, all done in watercolor. The back of each page is covered in black paper and has journaling in white gel ink about each type of veggie!

More Garden Art Journaling

Continuing to make entries in my Common Ground Community Garden Art Journal. This is a fold out page I did; the front of the foldout has a garden poem by Nathanial Hawthorne, second fold out shows some tools of the trade and the final fold out shows our garden plot in the NRH Common Ground Community Gard. I love both gardening and art, this gives me an opportunity to incorporate both. I am learning more and more about gardening and experimenting with new techniques, as well as drawing and painting more in my journals.

Gardening and Art

Here in North Richland Hills, Texas, we just started a community garden called "Common Ground" I am the official Common Ground "Garden Artist" I did a out door painting that will go in the garden ( view at Common Grounds Painting ) and I am starting a group of folks that will each create a Common Ground Garden Art Journal. We will begin meeting in March. I have started mine so I will have some examples for them, when we begin meeting. My hope is that we will all learn somethings about organic gardening and art journaling as we go along. Would love to hear any suggestions or comments.

Winter Opposites

I love the contrast of the bright red cardinal against a neutral winter scape. These birds are so beautiful and cheery, had to paint one. I used watercolors and felt tip.

February Challenge-Opposites

I chose to do butterflies for the February theme for the Sketchbook Challenge, of Opposites. I love painting flowers and butterflies. I think they are extraordinary, a wonder of God's miraculous creations. Their wings lying opposite each other on their bodies are so beautiful. I used watercolors and a black felt tip pen to create the black swallowtail, the painted lady and a couple of monarchs that are not technically accurate, but pretty.  I also made an attempt at some pansies in watercolor. Thanks for looking, would love to hear your comments.

Sketchbook Challenge end of January

Hopefully tomorrow we will have our February theme for the Sketchbook Challenge. I have really been sketching a lot in my sketchbooks this month, I am enjoying it so much. My sketchbooks give me an opportunity to try new things, finish a piece in a much shorter time, and it also gives me a quick burst of success and renewed energy.  I have really enjoyed looking at the work of so many creative folks and the tips and techniques on the sketchbook blog spot have been so inspiring. Well, enough said, the image above is my Creative Muse Calliope, I had so much fun creating her. I also did a watercolor and a self portrait. Enjoy.

More January Sketchbook Challenge -Highly Prized

I have three dogs, Sigh my Wiemar, Berney and Gracie my two Yorkies, I absolutely love, love, love them. Dogs are just precious, they love me unconditionally, they hang out with me in my office and my studio, just wanting to be where I am. They provide so much comfort and understanding, without so much as a single word. These three are so highly prized in my life; here is a sketch of Sigh and one of Berney, I did both a few years back in watercolors and last night I did a little sketch of Gracie as she laid in my lap. I really need some help on my lettering, but drawing her in the position she was in, was hard, but I had a great time trying to get it right. I used graphite, colored pencils and felt tips on her sketch.

Sketchbook Challenge

This is my first blog on this new site. I typically blog at www.sharenchatterton.com, but because I am participating in the Sketchbook Challenge, I thought it might work out better to have a blogger.com site to use for the Challenge. The site http://sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/ , is a jumping off point for a group of artists initiating a monthly sketchbook challenge for themselves and anyone else that wants to join in.  You can follow along with select artists as they fill their sketchbooks based on a monthly theme that will be announced on the first of each month. Each month they announce a new theme on the blog site and throughout the month they will be showing you images from their sketchbooks and talking about the intention and inspiration behind them.  Along the way they will be sharing tips, techniques and tutorials. I will be joining in and posting my sketchbook creations here on this blog spot and also on www.sharenchatterton.com. The January theme is "Highly Prized", my sketch includes first and foremost, my new grandson Finley, he is definitely highly prized in my life, as well as my faith, my family, God's beautiful creations all around us, and so much more, see my sketch below. Sketchbooks, art journals, whatever you want to call them, are such a great way to put your creative thoughts and ideas down for future inspiration or just to have a place to try out new things, no rules or constraints. I have several sketchbooks and art journals that I have been working out of over the years. I must admit I have been known to sketch on graph paper, post it notes, envelopes that happen to be in front of me when I am on the phone, or whatever is available at the time. I am working on keeping a sketch book handy so that all my ideas, thoughts, etc. are in at least two or three places, instead of scattered everywhere. One of my goals for the coming new year is to be more creative, hopefully to  do something creative everyday; my sketchbook-journal will enable me to carry that goal through the entire year. This is the beginning of a new creative journey, come along with me through the year, there is no telling what we will discover.

http://sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com/