Keeping an art journal

Last year I talked about taking a sketchbook with you wherever you go. (September 2019) But today I’d like to elaborate on that a little.

A day at the lake. Loved the fall colors which were more brilliant than I could capture. Many of the boats are readied for winter but there was still a fair amount of traffic on the lake for a beautiful fall day. This is the elongate sketchbook, about 5 x 7, opened to 5 x 14, perfect for landscapes.

This week the temperatures were up in the 80s here in southern Indiana. My husband and I decided to take the day off (heh heh) and go to the lake. We took breakfast sandwiches. He fished while I painted. Later, as we were waiting for the paint to dry, I showed him some of my other sketches over the years.

This particular book is an elongated one, perfect for landscapes. I’ve captured scenes from vacations and travels in many places over the years. He asked if I would ever consider selling the book. After a little thought, I replied, no. It has too many memories.

One word of advice. Date your sketch and make a note of where it was done. Our memories get fuzzy over time and this really helps.

Gare de Lyon. One often has plenty of time to wait in airports and train stations, but this was one of the more beautiful ones that I have been in. What you can’t see are the jillions of people milling about, on their way here and there.

The primary difference between a sketchbook and an art journal (in my mind) is that the journal may have much more extensive writing, like a diary, along with sketches, and even things that have been glued inside. One of mine has the label for a special chocolate shop in Paris. I will visit that if I ever go there again. And I sure would not have remembered exactly where it was. Tickets, photos, postcards…even pressed flowers have all ended up in my art journals.

This is a view of Avignon taken from the hill where the Palais des Papes is. I later used this in a large watercolor painting.

You may wish to keep a running commentary in your various journals. But one thing that I’ve found really enjoyable is to create a dedicated book for a special trip or event.

A museum visit in Paris. I wanted to remember the general layout of these paintings and they didn’t allow photographs. So, I made sketches. AND…recorded the artists’ names.

One of my favorites is a bicycle tour I took through Provence a number of years ago. The journal wasn’t very large, only about 5 x 7, but was easy to slip into a purse or my bike pack. And it really turned out to be more of a diary with sketches than a sketchbook. But it has been so fun to pull it out every once in awhile just to read about my trip and think about where I was when I made the sketches.

I loved this small marble bust of a boy with a wreath in his hair. Sketched at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. You have to get used to people leaning over your shoulder when sketching in a crowd, but really, most people are very polite and may not even notice you at all.

I know we are all feeling the angst of staying at home these days, but do you have any ideas for an art journal? Maybe a gardening one or something dedicated to the holidays? What do you see out of your window? Activities at the park? Let your imagination roam.

Picasso exhibit at the Guggenheim. It was truly a memorable exhibit, but again, no photographs. I completed several sketches under the watchful eyes of the security guards.

There are a number of books about art journaling which might give you a few ideas. Here is one of my favorites by Danny Gregory. He has actually written several books on the subject. Check them out here.

An Illustrated Journey: Inspiration from the Private Art Journals of Traveling Artists, Illustrators, and Designers.