A little, often—journals and other small work

A little often:

It’s hard to find time every day for creative work, but if you can, even for a few minutes, it can make a big difference. Drawing is like exercise, you get stronger the more you do it—even if it’s just a little a day. Instead of muscle, you build those eye-hand connections. And as you get better at drawing, you get better at looking. Which makes life much more interesting!

Journaling is one of the best ways I have found to do a little often. The size of most journals makes sure we keep our drawings small and our time limited. 

Here’s what Frances says:

Taking your Illustrated Journal class marked a significant change in my life—it was a doorway that took me from being someone who consistently thought and spoke of myself as “not artistic”…to someone who learned that I had the potential to express myself through drawing…I gained confidence, eventually taking other courses, eventually being willing to show my pages to others, eventually (and this has been gratifying and so amusing) hearing others say, “Oh, I wish I could draw like that. I have no artistic talent at all!” 

Frances Sprout uses a mix of collage, pen and ink, and watercolour in these pages.

Margaret says:

Journaling for me has brought art - and the idea of myself as an artist - into my daily life. Art became more than sitting down to paint a picture or make a sketch. With my Illustrated Journal at my side I made lists of what I was doing and experiencing and drew what was in front of me. Keeping the journal caused me to really look at everything around me. I can experiment, test out tools, practise, and capture the moment. I re-read my journals all the time - to see how I have progressed, to bring back memories  and places  and events  - more vividly even than words can.

Margaret Litch captures outdoor as well as domestic details in these quick pen and ink watercolour journal sketches.

I will be teaching Keeping a Visual Journal this summer at the Gibson’s School of Art (Aug 8-11). We’ll be working in a spacious art centre, making our own journals, exploring papers, drawing and painting materials, and heading out sketching on the streets and the beaches of this beautiful little community, a short ferry ride from Vancouver. 

If you can’t travel to Gibsons, you can work through Precious Moments —Keeping an Illustrated Journal a self-paced course for $50. The course includes 6 videos and supporting PDF’s on everything from how to build your own accordion journal, drawing nature with pen and ink and washes, simple ink landscape, watercolour skies, gelli printing and collage, simple figure drawing, and telling a story in your journal.

Meanwhile, while many of us are still inside, you may be tempted by the 100 day project, a global art challenge. I’m trying to do one 3 1/2” x 5” painting a day.

Working small allows us to experiment with new ideas or materials quickly. These are made with collage, resist, acrylic paint, and ink glazes.