Currently Browsing: rubberstamp inks 24 articles
Another Grid
Lots of grids lately—something I like to keep coming back to. I’m including this grid, of sketches from Earth’s World Fairgoers, today because it will lead up to something later—a project post I’m taping for the end of the month. My point is to encourage you to look for patterns in your journaling and see […]
Fun with Grids and Studies: Or Things to Do with Leftover Paint
You always have time to make tiny sketches. Don’t forget that! Even the tiniest of sketches allows you to work on your observational, paint mixing, and shape comprehension skills. And in my case, fascination with hair and beard styles. Background Events I’m doing the last bit of journal index catch up I had hanging over […]
What Happened with the Excess Stamp Ink from Yesterday’s Post?
Yesterday I showed you what you could do in 15 minutes with some rubber-stamp ink to prepare some background textures in your journal. You’ll remember there was a scrap of watercolor paper I also painted with the leftover ink. (See the bottom right of the above photo.) Here’s a bit of pattern/texture making fun you […]
Quick, Colorful Background Textures for Your Journal Pages
Lately I’ve been discussing keeping your creative flow going even if you only have 15 minutes a day. And I’ve mentioned pre-painting backgrounds. Today I’m walking you through the use of pigmented rubber stamp ink—but you can also use liquid acrylics or acrylic inks. Remember—if you are not going to use wet media on your […]
In Context: The Difference a Year Makes
The journal reminds us about our lives—what happened on a given day; what questions we’re asking ourselves; what answers we discovered… I thought this glimpse of an interchange between me and Dick, in a happier time, when I still skipped, would bring a smile. Despite the writos—”I careened into a wall.” And “a conversation I […]
The Value of Creative Exercises Lingers
It might seem that a short, creative exercise of 15 minutes can have no real impact in your daily life. But the value of a creative exercise lingers and resurfaces, enhanced by time—opening our minds to new ways of thinking and new questions to ask. This post is about those lingering effects. I’ve advocated painted […]
Playing with Post-It-Notes™ in My Journal
Even before I went into the publishing industry I used Post-It-Notes™ (PINs) when doing my research in graduate school. I thought their invention was the greatest leap forward in note-taking and organization. The heads and fore edges of all my books, notebooks, and journals were encrusted with PINs, all sporting my minute (and at the […]
Thinking about Pigeons and Setting Puzzles for Yourself in Your Journal
I’m always thinking about pigeons. Imagine my delight when a recent New Yorker Magazine humor piece had the quotation you see on my journaling page! When we have an idea or subject in our mind we seem to see it everywhere. Of course If you are interested in pigeons and haven’t read Rosemary Mosco’s […]
Wishful Spending: An Artist Trap
“Wishful Spending”—in which people purchase “items that stand in for the activities they would like to do or the people they would like to be.” —Carrie M. Lane, “More Than Pretty Boxes: How the Rise of Professional Organizing Shows Us The Way We Work Isn’t Working,” as quoted in Jennifer Wilson’s “Chaos Theory” review, New […]
In Context: Pears v. Apples
As you’ll learn from reading this “In Context” page, Pears v. Apples isn’t some weird digital war… I have to smile and say if you work in your journal long enough you end up making a vessel to contain everything ready when you need it. I had pre-painted several backgrounds intending to paint portraits opaquely […]