24Steps Art and Design

Quite a few of my blogs about art journaling in January were a little on the gloomy side so I wanted to talk about the joy of art journaling.

You can look at joyful art journaling from 2 perspectives. In one you art journal about something that brings you joy – a celebrations of sorts. In the other your art journaling itself is the joyful thing. There is something about colour for me that is so joyful and combined with the feeling of applying it to the page I always find art journaling joyful. To truly have a joyful experience when art journaling choose a prompt that really inspires you.

Joyful Art Journaling Prompts

Here are a few ideas:

1. An important event in the past or future
2. A happy dream you’ve had – or would like to have
3. Spring has arrived
4. “To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” ~ Mark Twain

I like 3 – Spring has arrived. Spring is a really joyful time of year with all the optimistic green shoots and bold flowers like primroses and daffodils braving the cold. Cherry blossom, snowdrops and hawthorn also brighten up this time of year – some fab colours and icons to use on your page. And then there are the cold but bright mornings, sometimes with a frost on the ground that glistens in the sunlight – a great opportunity for using glitter or glass bead gel joyfully in your art journal. Maybe you want to paint a happy face surrounded by icons of Spring. Or maybe use the colours of your favourite Spring things in an abstract way and then add a poem about Spring to your page.

Joyful Art Journaling Colours

For me the bright or highly saturated colours are the most joyful. They speak of a lively soul, of exuberance and vitality. But what does joy mean to you? Maybe it is an altogether quieter colour like dusky rose or mint. It’s all about getting to know yourself intimately and thoroughly. And to me, That is joyful art journaling in a nutshell:

getting to know yourself like no one else ever can

My Joyful Art Journal Page

When I think of joy I am immediately reminded of my son’s dog. What is more joyful than a dog when he thinks he is going to play, especially with a ball? My son’s dog is a young Collie called Harley and he lovvvvvves fetching a ball.

I started with some bright, joyful colours and dripped them on the page without much considering. I enjoyed watching the little blobs of colour land on the white page with a gentle bloop sound. Then I took my pallet knife and smooshed them about on the page, watching the white disappear and the colours blend and merge. Just watching these visual changes is enough to transport me to a calmer place. Because Harley is black and white I added some black stamping and white stencilling on to the background. The white also helps to knock back the colourful background a bit. I roughly drew in a hand, ball and dog head with neocolour water soluble crayons and added a blue border around the page to finish. It’s quite a quick and simple page but it’s all about joy to me. Now what is joy all about for you? I would love to see some joyful art journaling in the comments.

Here are some shots of my progress through the page:





Tagged as: Tags pet, stamping, stencilling