Videos Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Art and Creative Living

Art Journaling Backgrounds – The Excitement Starts Here!

Does your art journal begin with a background? Do those colors and mood spark your creativity? Ooh, take a look at what others are doing…

For many of us, background colors and textures inform everything else we do with the page.

These artists videos are short and fun and… wow!

The first is by Purdy Creative Things. I love the variety she achieves, so quickly and with such simple techniques.

Next, this 8-minute video by Mercurial Milk presents some juicy colors and varied ideas, with useful tips for five different art journaling backgrounds.

The next video is by Maremi’s Small Art, and she shows how to create a textured, magical art background. This video is nearly 10 minutes long, but worth watching, even if you skip ahead as you understand each step.

The next video is by that same artist. It includes several one-minute background techniques. All of them are simple and use just a few colors and tools.

The video is about 7 1/2 minutes long, if you watch it all the way through. The techniques are repetitive, but each background is unique. I think the variety will inspire you to try some of her ideas, yourself.

And, in Mark Montano‘s video – about 4 1/2 minutes long – he assembles completed artist’s journals pages.

I’m including this video because many of his techniques are fast and easy ways to create vivid, unique journal page background, too.

After watching these, I’m ready to work on my journal. I hope you’re excited about these materials and techniques, too.

Art Journaling with Magazines – Part 1

Art journaling with magazine images can be relaxing and fun, and make a statement at the same time.

It’s something anyone can do, with no art training at all.

Since the 1990s, that was one of my missions: To show people – especially women – that they could express themselves in art, no matter what.

Initially, I focused on torn-paper collages, because they were easy and were supposed to look a little “messy.”

Also, some of the words & slogans in magazine advertisements… wow! They can be great lines to include in your artist’s journal.

If you’re art journaling with magazine photos and text here are some videos that may inspire you.

How to use magazines for art journaling – with mixed media additions

Here’s a short video of Kelly Kilmer flipping through some of her artist’s journals. She uses lots of magazine images in her work, but also pens, paint and other fine art supplies.

Not seeing that video? It's at https://youtu.be/gVfe1wlwbd0 where you can find more of Kelly's art journaling videos, too.

One way to layer magazine layers in your art journal

In the next video, you’ll see how pitje4life adds magazine images – one over another – in her journal. (This starts part-way through the video, where she’s actually putting the images on the page.)

NOTE: I don’t recommend using white glue to attach paper, because you risk it bubbling the paper, even after it’s dry. But… I’ll talk about that, later. First, the video:

Link: https://youtu.be/uo0Wsf2kaqc

Instead of white glue, I recommend Yes!Paste. I apply it gently with a sponge brush. Then I place the paper where I want it to stay. (However, Yes!Paste is repositionable for several minutes. I’ve successfully moved magazine images as much as 10 minutes after first placing them.)

If you use gel medium as the adhesive, do not smooth it, or you’ll stretch the damp paper and it will stay bubbled after it dries.

(I learned that technique from collage artist Claudine Hellmuth, when we both taught at Artfest.)

Also – from my experience – I have better luck letting the gel medius air-dry, instead of applying heat to rush it. (Your mileage may vary.)

And then there’s a gluestick approach to art journaling with magazines

Some artists use gluesticks, as Jenn does in the following video. It’s about 10 minutes long, and she shows you exactly how her two-page collage came together. It’s from the “One Magazine Challenge.”

Her YouTube channel is Art Therapy with Jenn. Video link: https://youtu.be/H6FFrTRLf84

Where to find magazine images (and more) for art journaling

If you’re wondering where artists find delightful and deliciously quirky images for these kinds of collages, here’s Colleen McCulla‘s seven-minute video explaining her resources.

Link: https://youtu.be/EfliO_D78QE

I hope those videos inspired you to create some magazine collages in your artist’s journals. (I can hardly wait to start a new journal, after seeing these.)

If you have any questions or tips, I hope you’ll leave a comment, below. Thanks!

Folded Paper Art Journals

Artists’ journals can be as big – or small – as you like, especially if you make them by hand.

You can even start with a single sheet of paper and – in just a minute or two – fold it into a simple journal.

Here are some videos to inspire you.

Folded Journal One

First, here’s a video by Cathy Johnson. She’s probably best known for her watercolors and mixed media art. Here’s part of her longer video about folded-page journals.

To see the entire video from the beginning, visit https://youtu.be/CffQyRdTDUc

And, you can subscribe to Cathy’s YouTube channel … she’s posted many videos to inspire you!

Folded Journal Two

Of course, you don’t have to stop with a single sheet of paper. For a larger journal – or a journal-inside-a-journal – you could add more (and larger) sheets of paper.

LK Ludwig – part of the original artists’ journals movement – filmed this several years ago. In less than a minute, you can see various ways she uses fold-out pages in one of her handmade journals.

I think those are brilliant folding ideas, to get the most from any artist’s journal.

Here’s the link to her YouTube channel: Lk Ludwig

But maybe you want something small, different, and a little quirky. The next couple of videos may inspire you.

Folded Journal Three

This one is a journal-in-a-journal, best if you want to expand an existing journal. It’s from Paper Pixie, and it’s a fun idea.

You can watch this video and others at Paper Pixie's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrE5BOtFFlaurAulAU3C0Ig

Folded Journal Four

This video is longer than the others – a little over six minutes – and filled with ideas. In some ways, it’s similar to Cathy’s video… but this is simpler. Also, unless you attach a couple of these – back to back – it produces an art journal with fewer pages.

I love this concept if you’re starting with scrapbooking paper, or sheets of paper ephemera.

It’s one of many projects Maremi features at her YouTube channel.

What are your favorite folded journal ideas? I hope you’ll share your thoughts in comments, below.

Altered Book Art Journaling – How-To

Altered books are a great way to create an art journal. It’s recycling, in a way, but with lots of added benefits.

Drink up these videos for ideas!

The next one is a lovely demonstration by Art by Silas. It shows how to create a mixed media artist’s journal. It includes torn paper collage – one of my favorite techniques. And it’s a good way for a beginner to get art journaling ideas. (The video is about five and a half minutes long.)

Here’s the video:

If you like this video, be sure to see Silas’ other videos at YouTube. She has a delightful sense of style.

The next video features a style almost 180-degree different from Silas’ style. Dana S’s altered book is somewhat dark, Steampunk-ish, and a bit Goth. I love the variety in it!

And here’s Karen Gaunt’s “lazy” tips to altered book art journaling. If you want to cover pages quickly, her tips can be very useful.

And finally, if you want to go extreme with your altered books, check this next clever concept… a book with added drawers!

Coloring in My Own Books…

Do I color my own coloring pages? Yes, I do. In fact, one reason I create coloring books is so I can color in them myself.

Also – as a coloring book artist – I think it’s important to color your own drawings.

Then, you understand the experience.

Some people want big, bold areas to color. They want to complete them in one sitting.

Others want tiny, detailed areas, and pages that take a long time to complete.

And some want a mix of both in every coloring book.

It’s why I create lots of different kinds of coloring books.

And sometimes, I combine coloring styles in one book. Then, you’ll always have something fun to color, no matter what your mood.

My “Good Vibes” coloring book is a mix. This video shows one of my more detailed designs, and how I colored it. (It was a stressful, not-enough-sleep week, and coloring was a way for me to get the tension out. I think a lot of us use coloring to help us deal with life’s little – and big – stresses.)

I’ll post more videos like this, as I color my own pages. They may give you some ideas for how you’d color them… or, hey, maybe how you wouldn’t! LOL

Also, I was using three brands of coloring pencils: Pluqis, Prismacolor, and Staedtler.

I was impressed with Pluqis. For the low price, I expected very hard leads that wouldn’t blend well.

Instead, I love them. They’re not as brilliant as Prismacolor colors, but I often use Pluqis first. Then, I add dazzle with Prismacolor coloring (lightly) over the Pluqis areas, or using Prismacolor for highlights & shadows.

Tip: Prismacolor leads can be just slippery/oily enough that it’s difficult to color over them… unless you’re using another Prismacolor pencil, that is.

So, I usually sketch in my color ideas with Pluqis, first. If I don’t bear down too heavily on the paper, I can usually color over Pluqis with Prismacolor… but not always vice versa.

Prismacolor pencils are pretty much the top of the line for most coloring book enthusiasts. They’re soft, they blend well, and… yes, the price can be daunting. I bought their Manga set, which is priced fairly low at Amazon.com, and it includes some good, juicy brights and subtle darks.

I also use Staedtler’s bright colors (with soft leads), but – to be honest – they’re in third place. Where I used to use Staedtler, I now use Pluqis when I can.

However, I know people who consider Staedtler the absolute best among colored pencils. So, it’s probably a matter of taste. And, sometimes Staedtler is the only line with the exact color that I need.

I hope those tips help. I’ll share more creative ideas – and coloring videos – soon.

Meanwhile, I hope you’ll try my Good Vibes coloring book, and let me know what you’d like more of, in the future.

Start with Why – Simon Sinek

Swing set, empty Yes, this site is resuming its original purpose, as an online diary. After all, that’s where this all started, back around 1995 before the word “blog” was even in use.

Anyway…

Last night, I watched the Simon Sinek interview on Fresh Take (BYU-TV). It was probably the fifth time I’d seen it.

On previous viewings, I just couldn’t seem to find a single, illuminated, happy childhood memory. I could look at times when I was generally happy. I could recall incidents in which I started out happy, but they ended Very Badly. (Like the time I went out with my little notebook, deciding to be a poet. And, lost in thought, a few blocks from home, I was attacked by a dog. Seriously.)

But… a single, early, happy memory…? Nope. I kept coming up with nothing. It was kind of depressing.

After that, I watched Simon Sinek’s TED talk. That added even more clarity to the process.

That’s when I took out a lined, yellow pad of paper. It’s what I like to journal on, when I just need to write and vent, and write some more.

I started writing down every happy childhood memory I could think of. And, along the way, I remembered my grandfather showing me how striking one tuning fork could make another one hum. It was a moment of awe, mystery, and delight.

I remember sitting at the back row of the movie theatre with my mother, watching Fantasia for the third or fifth or eighth time, and getting caught up in the fantasy and magic of it. (Mum was sketching ideas for her upcoming Fantasyland board game design.)

I uncovered several more, happy memories, and I found myself writing:

“Wonderful, magical things are everywhere, if you just look for them… and believe.”

Then I wrote:

“Magic and delight as a path, not a destination.”

Wow. That was absolutely illuminating.

I thought about magic — Disney magic, that is — and how it influenced my childhood and my adult life. I thought about faith: the belief and trust in things unseen. I thought about optimism and happiness, and how important that is.

And, I realized that I was pretty far off-course.

Mr. Sinek talks about one “why”… one thing that connects everything that gives your life meaning… everything you do, and love. Mine is about creativity, personal magic & delight, and miracles and beauty.

When I look at what I enjoy most, and what I want to share with others, it all comes down to that. Everything else is just noise. It takes me off my path.

I made a list of the things that can restore that happy, wonder-full vision of life… visual cues, music, books and movies, and even fragrances, that remind me of childlike delight and fantasy.

Along the way, I found myself getting a little sniffly. It’s like I found something that’s been lost (and badly missed), for years.

Advice for Artists – John Cleese on Creativity

In a 35-minute video, John Cleese – who, as part of Monty Python, has been one of the 20th century’s most innovative, creative people – spoke about minutes about creativity.

Unfortunately, the video vanished, online. Looking for it again in late 2020, all I could find were “removed for copyright infringement” notices.

Meh. (I’m tempted to rant about copyright hoarding at the expense of creatives, but I’ll skip that… for now.)

This may be a clip from it:

I’m glad I’d taken notes. Cleese made some very good points. Sure, he’s been a little silly, excessively political, and downright pompous at times. However, I like it when he says things like:

Creativity is not a talent. It is not a talent. It is a way of operating.

…It’s not an ability that you either have or you do not have… it’s an ability to play.”

Thanks to Robert Genn‘s Painters Keys for suggesting this. In his related post, Genn said…

“To be creative we need five conditions,” Cleese says. “Space, Time, Time, Confidence and Humour.” Yep, “Time” comes twice.

In other words, Cleese stressed the importance of time… not just productive time, but time that’s necessary to get that open space in your mind.

To someone else, it might look like you’re doing nothing, or nothing of importance.

However, it’s one of the most essential parts of being creative, and allows you to cast off the limiting and distracting thoughts that stand between you and that necessary, open space.

If you find that 35-minute video online, let me know. It was a gem.

Journal Your Way to Happiness

Journaling is included in this TED talk about the “happy secret” approach to living a more fun, productive, rewarding life.

It starts with how you feel, and how positive you are. Your emotional level — how happy you are — determines how happy your life events are.

Click the Play arrow to watch it. The video is about 12 minutes long, and very worthwhile.

If you’re in a hurry (though I hope you’re not), the screenshot below shows you the point to fast-forward to. Start at about the 11 minute marker. (The graphic, below, is a screenshot… click on the video above, to watch it.)

All of those suggestions can help.

Of course, “meditation” will mean different things to different people.

Journal your way to happiness - studies show that it works! They may include things like:

Prayer
Conscious meditation
Admiring art in a museum, gallery or studio, or even
The simple act of “being there”… being in the moment.

I believe the more of these elements you can include in your life, the happier you’ll feel.

Journaling each day — making notes (words, images, a recording, etc.) about one happy event of that day — can make a big difference in your happiness.

The studies were based on a 21-day practice of… well, whichever of those choices seem most appealing to you.

Sometimes, people will become happier the first day. Others will need to develop the habit, and — somewhere around day 21 — the person will pause and realize that she (or he) is feeling happier.

Colors seem brighter.

There seem to be more opportunities, more fun, and more whimsy in daily life.

Serendipity is in your favor, and life is better.

Maybe you can journal your way to happiness. It’s worth trying.