Inspired by the sunset

After taking a photo of the sunset by the bay, I was inspired to recreate those colors on my journal page. Orange, lime green and turquoise appear along with some fuchsia circles. Here's the inspiration photo and then the journal page. What will inspire you today?

 

Inspired by stencils

I love using stencils in my art journal and recently added some new, refreshing stencils to my collection. StencilGirl Products is, of course, my go-to stencil resource for both the stencils used in this page.  After an unexpected trip to the ER, I created this page when I returned home using the peaceful combination of healing greens, plants and the Japanese influence symbols to express a soothing page.

Opposite journal page

Inspired by azaleas

You can't compete with the brilliant colors of azaleas. I was inspired by the New York Botanical Garden's virtual tour this Mother's Day. Here's the result of the inspiration on my journal page.

Inspired by a finished art journal

I love finishing a journal that has documented three years of my life! So full of yummy pages! My life is starting a new chapter, so time to finish this one and start a new journal. This journal was new for me --regular sketch paper that needed some gesso, or not, to get started. Pages that may or may not lay flat because there are no binding rings. And thickness building up on one side, making it challenging but also very unique. I hope you feel the same satisfaction of filling up your journal and then revisiting the pages and times you had creating them.

This is a Canson ArtBook 180 sketchbook.

Inspired by trees

My art journaling is constantly inspired by trees - whatever the season! I started this spread with a painterly and stenciled background of snowflakes. Using a fun punch to punch out negative space on paper scraps made fun tiny white snowflakes shine through. Using a Posca pen, I added the tree shapes with a bit of white highlighting the snow. I started with an inspirational quote, but decided the peacefulness of the page didn't need any text. I hope you let some winter trees inspire your art journaling pages this season!

Inspired by color

All my life I have been inspired by color. In my home, my clothes, in nature. As October arrives I think of orange, the color of harvest and the color of joy. Think of all the beautiful colors of the fall leaves celebrating the season! As I thought about orange, I immediately thought of the bright, joyful Chinese lanterns. I love their color and shape. I used this as inspiration for the cover of my fourth quarter traveler's notebook planner. After using gesso to prepare the kraft cover, I painted layers of acrylic paint until the yellows and oranges blended to my delight. I added white to accent areas of light and make my lanterns come to life!

Inspired by the seasons

Planners can be as unique as you are if you create your own. I enjoy creating my own planners as the seasons and color choices change. This year I've designed quarterly inserts for my travelers notebook - changing the theme and colors based on the time of year. I always love an excuse to paint a sunflower, so I chose to feature this on the cover of my third quarter planner. A bit of gesso, acrylic paint, inks and a permanent pen was used to create the cover shown. I especially like to flatten the cover so I can paint the image on both the front and back covers.