Art Journal Abstractions

Spring 2013 issue of Art Journaling magazine

About 11 years ago I began exploring visual art as a form of personal expression. My lifelong journal, which had been purely written text up to that point, gradually made a transition to incorporate more visual aspects along with the writing. When I began experimenting with collage, my journal pages included some collage elements – photos, torn papers and ephemera from my life. When I started making abstract paintings, I splashed my journal pages with watercolor, acrylics and ink in the same manner.

 

A page from my journal

Now that I’m sketching, my journal has made another transition. I still include collage elements in the form of photos and ephemera, and I sketch in it now and then, especially if I happen to be writing in my journal in a coffee shop, or traveling. But for the most part, I keep my sketches in a separate sketchbook, for two reasons: I want to share the sketches freely without feeling self-conscious about writing that I consider private; and the paper I like to sketch on is different from the paper I like to write on.

 

A page from my journal

Every now and then I get in the mood to splash abstract shapes and colors on the page, and my journal is still good for that. But the more I explore the world by sketching on location, the less need I have for abstract expression which, I think, is more internally focused. As it should, my journal continues to grow and change as I do.

 

A journal cover

The Spring 2013 issue of Art Journaling magazine features an article about my abstract art journaling style and includes images of pages from one of my journals. Shown here are some journal pages incorporating collage, painting and writing.