Happy President's Day...is that the correct sentiment? However you'd like to say it, I hope it's a nice day. I slept in. Took a long shower. Drank a spinach smoothie and am now writing this little bit and sharing some pages. This current journal has been a little funny in the fact that it started as a folded book and I pried it apart and did two pages spreads as one page. I'm still considering how I'm going to bind it all together...but that's part of the fun, right?

I've had some requests and I said some time back that I would talk a bit about my process. I'm very fickle and don't really have a uniform procedure that I follow, so very sorry if that's disappointing! (If you care nothing about my process ramblings, move on to the pictures and be happy. LOL)

My beginning steps are usually the same:

Paper (I like a nice heavy paper--watercolor or mixed media--a bit toothy)
Gesso
Collage down some 'background' (usually pages of books I'm not smart enough to read)

Often from there, once my collage is dry, I will do a thin coat of white paint, maybe some acrylic paint or some ink  mist across the page. Next, I might do some swipes of acrylic or watercolor...maybe even lay down a little bit of  Inktense color...side note, have you tried these? I'm IN. LOVE. I will admit to having splurged, not only on the pencils, but the blocks, too.

The following step is my personal preference and I'm not sure how many people really do it this way. I just grab my favorite pen and draw some doodles. Swirls, circles, whatever is bouncing around in my head. Very rarely do I actually journal at this point. Most times, I will have six pages 'drawn' before I ever write a word.

Why do it that way? Probably, like many people, I think and feel a lot of things that I never tell anyone. Just making the shapes and act of putting that pen to paper feels very calming and sorting to me. Sometimes, after I draw a few pages, I don't feel the need to say the words at all and then use the page to tell a different story that I might not otherwise remember. That's why you will see some pages with journaling and some without for right now. Work In Process...that's me. (I have purposely blurred a few of the pages too personal to share publicly, thanks for understanding!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You might notice that on the majority of these pages, I went with a single color story. I may go back and color some more...I might not. I'm kind of digging them just as they are. I did color a few, though...

 

 

So there you have it. Some pages, some process and some ramblings. I think I maybe have a few knitting bits to babble about in the coming days...and I might even have a few more things to give away...it's still February, after all!

 

I basically shared all my (very non-exciting) secrets here today...now tell me a secret!

 

 

Comments

[Michelle Adams]

You're pages still amaze me and fill me with awe! Just beautiful!!!!
Hum... a secret. I know that Eric has been drinking his spinach smoothies and it made me smile to hear you are too! K - maybe not quite a secret - LOL! :)

[Kelly Rodgers]

AMAZING pages Jenn. You have some serious talent in those fingers!!
A secret - dying for some kind of chocolately goodies.......diets suck!

[iHanna]

Awesome yummy pages, loooove them!

[Amy O'H.]

These are lovely! Your pen work is amazing! Thanks for sharing bits of your process.

[tera Callihan]

I love your art and secret tips! :D ok a secret ... I talk in my sleep and get more art done in my head than I ever actually get on paper :)

[Sena]

Your doodles are amazing! Love them! When you collage, do you use the gesso to glue the paper bits, or do you use something like mod podge and then gesso over it?

[Linda]

Thanks for sharing your process with us! Your doodles and inky splots are really an inspiration to me...such simplicity, but so much impact. My secret is I love to draw and paint, but tend to be paralyzed about starting something. It's the perfectionist in me--I know, I need to get over it :-)

[Paty Shaulis]

I love your journal pages and thank you for sharing your process! I do have a question....You said that after you gesso and add color, you take your pens and add doodles. I have very bad luck when I do this. I have lost may expensive pens because they 'gunk up'. What kind of pen do you use? If it works for you, it should work for me right :-). I would greatly appreciate your tips on this. Thank you so much!