using stencils in my art journal

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So, I have a confession to make.  While I love to art journal and splatter ink and gesso on blank pages, I am totally intimidated by it as well.  I really struggle to find the balance between being inspired by and learning from other artists, and comparing myself to all of your amazing pages and feeling like a complete novice. Plus, I tend to over think things and analyze all the little details, trying to figure out what should come next, so that one spread ends up taking 2-3 days, which is totally unnecessary.

So, I gave myself a challenge and I’ve been practicing.  I really excel when I can set boundaries for myself and work on one or two techniques at a time.  In the past week I’ve been using the same parameters for each page in my art journal- using stencils, texture paste and india ink to create all my pages.using stencils and india ink on art journal pages

Of course, I did add other things on many of the pages, as well- paper embellishments, and a lot of stamps.  But it was fun and allowed me to work so much faster to know before hand that I was going to be using texture paste and stencils to create the main parts of my pages, and india ink to color them.

using stencils on art journal pages

using stencils and texture paste on art journal pages

I will say this- I am a fan of using a small brush to splatter ink on my pages, and then misting them with a spray bottle.  I feel a lot more in control of where the ink ends up then when I use spray inks.  Plus, the feathered effect that happens when ink splatters are hit with water is super cool.  You should definitely give it a shot!

using stencils on art journal pages

So, what should my next technique challenge be for my art journal?  I’m thinking something to do with text…  I’ll let you know!


 

1 reply
  1. Marti
    Marti says:

    I love looking at other’s Art Journals but art journaling doesn’t do it for me. I need to write in my journal to help me think clearly, painting on canvas however that is definatley theraputic for me.
    Marti

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