more sketches of Life Art Journal

Dear friends,
Today I'm sharing a few drawings I did at the end of last year. I first sketched/drew them in pencil, sitting alone at cafes. Yeah I did most of the sketches while sipping coffee (or tea) and sometimes, people-watching!. I colored them all at home :).

Yeah, that was Arthur questioning :).

This one symbolizes me, breaking free from my ever-so-serious-scientific-world into a colorful, happier of the art-heaven. Butterfly wings simply mean the changes I'm enjoying now :).

This one inspired by a paint advertisement I saw in a magazine and a quote from Beatrix Potter.

Can you spot a pair of eyes and a nose here?. Hard to see because I got them all too smudgy & runny :).

I LOVE to draw plants since I'm not good at gardening:).

A reminder to myself that I don't need to be heard. I do things because I'm having fun doing them :).

I saw a wall decor of porcelain plates on Pinterest, that triggered me drawing these fun frames :).

I'm sharing the ideas behind my drawings, hope they gives you inspiration on how you can create yours. Don't hesitate putting a small idea on paper. It's okay to start small :). I too, carry a tiny notebookwhenever I go out doing my daily things outside. Try it :). HUGS.

P/S : If you like to learn how to do watercolor sketches in your journal, come visit us @ Scrappingville for one of the 'Life Art Journal' classes :). 

Another fun thing to do with old books

Sweet friends,

How was your week?. Mine is great so far, a friend from Singapore  visiting [Hugs to you, Yvonne :)] and we had a little city tour and an afternoon of mixed media play!. 

The week before was super mundane, super low with inspiration to create, LOL. The only thing I did was sketching in an old book I got from the flea market. You know, I LOVE this so much!. I've been altering old books forever, and doing this for a change is refreshing :). Come take a peek;

I don't read Shakespeare but it's a gorgeous little book. It was owned by a 15-year-old boy from 1954!. And best of all, the pages are still great to paint on with watercolor :).

I drew a few of Alice In Wonderland subjects;

And birdies;

I think it's great to turn them into collage and later frame them :). We'll just see what transpires from this. So, enjoy the rest the week & lots of HUGS.

Oh, and this is Arthur. My boy looks mean these days, LOL.

' Life Art Journal ' for Scrappingville

Hello dear friends,

To end the year and early celebration of the new year, my friends and I at Scrappingville are embarking on a new artsy journey :). We are soon to introduce a new class dearly called, 'Life Art Journal'.

It's an ongoing journal class where students purchase a hard-bound journal and work together with ourselves on different sessions, filling the book with lots of LOVE and beautiful thoughts. Think of it like your personal diary, where you write your thoughts, feelings, reminders, wishes, and splash in some paints, mediums, and colors in between!. Ahh, it is so liberating. Just the thought of doing anything you want with the journal. Anything goes :). We are here to inspire you to journal from the heart, speak through art, challenge the mind to speak the mind, to draw, to sketch, to mix-media, to paint, to collage and to anything :). Be bold to decorate the covers to your hearts' content :). 

I'm so excited for this new journey. I'm sharing here what I have done in my 'Life Art Journal' so far. Hope you'd be inspired to keep a journal. Start with something small, if you prefer :).

Front cover.

Back cover.

The original journal covers were in black. I would spoiled them with light-color paints anyway [I'm messy when work with paint, LOL]. So I decided to make them look aged, by giving a good distressing job. I stenciled with texture paste both the covers and mod-podged crumpled tissue papers to create the vine-looking texture all over the covers. When dried, painted with taffy acrylic. Then distressed them with Brown Stazon.

Heavy texture on the cover.

I decided to fill up the journal with mostly watercolors, sketches & doodles in pen. Something different from my usual art journal entries. I wrote lots of things in it too, like places to visit, things that make me happy, my strength and my weaknesses and how to work things out. 

I added a pocket to hold random thoughts and aspirations. Little notes to remind me how lucky I am, to be living in these times of infinite opportunities. Thoughts on how to continue making me a better person, artist and friend.

I'm going to use lots of pens, sharpies and watercolors. Maybe a bit less of thick mediums and heavy collage. Here are some pages to show what I meant;

I wrote in-between-entries some notes to self (just like a diary). Only thing I'm sharing them with my students and everyone here :). Don't worry about filling them with grand artwork. Just know that everyone is an artist. If you bake, or you cook, you are an artist. If you can draw lines, you are an artist too. If you sing your kids to sleep and read them storybooks, you are an artist. This, I BELIEVE.

If I had somehow make you pick up that pen, I have done good. Hope you'll enjoy this journey with me as much as I'm enjoying myself. 

Have a great week!. HUGS.