January 10, 2009

Why so many Art challenges in January?

And why do I want to try them all?  I feel compelled to try every one and then get so overwhelmed with choices I don't get much done at all.  My real art goal for January was to finish the portrait I started months ago. And yet it still sits on the easel looking back at me expectantly while I surf all the wonderful blog sites that are offering these wonderful journaling prompts or art classes.  Too many temptations  for a girl with art ADD. 

Here is my newest journal page prompted by the Art Journal January, Day 4, Spirals and Flowers by Milliande at:

http://www.milliande.com/Art-Journal-January-Day-4.html

Flowers & Butterflys

Used water soluble oil pastels in the background, with a layer of white paint mixed with acrylic glaze over the top .  Added rubber stamp images and black ink pen drawings.  One comment, don't use your nice Pitt pens to draw with.  It ruined my favorite pen.  What ended up working really well was a Calligraphy  ink pen nib that you dip into an inkwell.  This type of pen works because it doesn’t get clogged with the oil pastels. 

It’s still feels unfinished so I’ll probably come back to it.

Also having Art Journal prompts this January are

Misty Mawn  at http://www.mistymawn.typepad.com/

and Kelly Kilmer: http://kellykilmer.blogspot.com/ 

Suzi Blu - http://www.youtube.com/user/suziblutube

Not specifically dealling with art journals but in being creative in many ways is:

Creative Every Day challenge at:

http://www.creativeeveryday.com/creativeeveryday/creative-every-day-challenge.html

I signed up for this challenge, not specifically for prompts but to remind myself to do something creative everyday.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be art but something creative daily.   So toward that effort I have worked on another journal page not shown here and have also worked on creating 10 double sided background pages for a new art journal book(let) I want to make for myself.  (Why do I always feel the desire to start a new journal even when the last one still has empty pages in it? I suppose that question is best left for another post.)

More than once I’d read that having premade backgrounds ready for adding images and journaling makes it easier to create art pages on the fly.  So before Christmas I painted a few pages very simply using some left over paint and found that it worked for me while I was away on vacation.  These were pages that I would have otherwise put off until another time and then never would have gotten around to because the inspiration passed.    Having the pages ready (and remembering to take along a glue stick) allowed me to let my inspiration bloom.  I think I will do this much more often.

I’m also contemplating joining One World One Heart event to make some new blogging friends and I’m wondering what would make a nice giveaway. Would anyone want what I have to give? Hummmm  I’ll think on that.

Oh and about that portrait I talked about earlier, even though it’s saying ‘finish me’, there is something comforting about it sitting there staring at me unblinkingly (is that a word?).  Someday I‘ll tell you why.

So what challenges are you taking part in this year?

6 comments:

  1. Love your Milliande journal page, the colours and black contrast. It is easy to over commit when there is always something happening in the art world. Just do what you feel comfortable doing and that your stress levels can cope with. As for me, it is my year to do nothing - I am in the fat book recycled techniques swap - but that is moreso for the great ideas that will come my way, other than that, I am doing the things I want to do when I want to do them. Ah, that's my idea of bliss.

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  2. Hi, Linda! Really pretty journal page. If you decide to do the One World One Heart thing, maybe make a few ATC cards to give away?

    By the way, I've nominated you for a Marie Antionette Real Person Real Award over on my blog, Gaal Creative! :-)

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  3. Your page turned out beautifully. I had a hard time too when deciding when my page was finished so I added some more black ink to define more flowers and that seemed to work for me. I too have been bit by the January journaling bug. I've cut way back and am going at a bit of a slower pace but still enjoying it.

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  4. linda you sound just like me, I can't believe how many classes are going on right now, of course I joined several, lol! I am only now starting journaling pages, I'm behind, and now you go and give me even more links!!! you know I am going to check them out don't you,lol! I forgot about Milliande so I am heading over there right now
    your journal pages is lovely by the way. Don't worry about the portrait, this is an opportunity to learn from other artists, jump in and have fun! The portrait will come when you are ready :-)
    nice to meet you!

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  5. This journal page reminds me of a little art piece that I created for the one and only art class I took for college credit - way back when. I so enjoyed that class! Thanks for the happy memory by way of your page!

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  6. Loving your journal pages, something I haven't gotten around to (lack of hours in the day) but I love seeing them, especially when they convey a worthwhile sentiment or theme - John

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