Currently Browsing: Doodling 52 articles
Mixed Media View of the Backyard: Expanding Your Visual Vocabulary
It’s always a great idea to take a moment and look out the window. Our neighbors at the back of our yard have a lush growth of ferns at this time of the year. I turned the page in my journal and sketched on this pre-painted background—the verso page background was in the same vein […]
Sketching with Neocolor II Water-soluble Wax Pastels—Doodle of a Chicken
Today’s post is all contained in the video below. In this video I discuss how to transfer a drawing using graphite transfer paper; build up a color sketch from my transferred doodle using Neocolor II water-soluble wax pastels; discuss different ways I use this art material; and provide a lightfastness chart. I’ve come back to […]
The Creature of Chronology Takes a Break
In my March 28, 2026 post “IFJM: Sometimes Projects Creep Up on You,” I discussed, in response to people asking about a public celebration of International Fake Journal Month, why there wouldn’t be one this year. Then I set about thinking how to encourage people who wanted to do one anyway. I ended up setting […]
Art Supply Gifts That Derail Your Practice
It happens a lot, according to my students’s stories. A friend or family member gives them a fabulous art supply gift—all the watercolor tubes in the Daniel Smith line; all the gouache from Holbein; all the color pencils in the Primacolor Premier line. And the artist recipient hits overwhelm. Having an abundance of new options […]
Book Arts Pocket, Some Dogs, and Some Beans
Make your journal work for you by utilizing your book arts skills and make a pocket! Sometimes there are scraps lying on the drawing table and I sketch on those scraps. (And yes, tape scraps together to make bigger scraps if necessary [bottom right].) These dog sketches on scraps of Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media […]
Found Some More Grids
Sometimes life can seem very quick, agonizingly slow, and full of all the wrong things—all at the same time. If your life feels like that it’s important to pick up your journal and start writing notes about your life and activities; and to keep drawing (or start drawing if you haven’t already). These activities will […]
Helping Minnesotans
Yesterday I wrote about what is happening in Minnesota. There are a lot of ways individuals can help in this current situation, whether you live in Minnesota or not. In response to my post yesterday a friend who used to live in Minnesota wrote she was going to donate to the Immigrant Defense Network. (This […]
Building a Journal Grid with Collage and Sketches
Here’s a journal grid I created last fall. We’ll start with the final view, with every portion of the grid completed. You’ll be able to follow along with the building of the grid in the images which follow. I was working in a handbound book which I made using the Old Gutenberg paper (pre 2017 […]
More Fun with Journal Grids
Here’s a finished grid from a journal in May this year. I worked in a Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media Journal (7.75 x 9.75 inches, soft cover). I pre-painted the grid squares using Nichiban masking tape and Montana markers. The spaces on the recto page were brushstrokes of acrylic color. Sean was glued down […]
Creative Ideas Stick with Us and It May Take a Lot of Thumbnails to Work Them Through
Creative ideas stick with us over time. Sometimes it’s just days or weeks. Sometimes it’s months, years, and decades. The time something sticks with you is not necessarily a clue that you’re on to something worth pursuing. But it is an indication that your attention is still engaged. It makes sense to recognize these themes […]