Art Journaling: Lessons from Dina Wakley

I've fallen in love with art journaling. When I don't have the words to express my feelings, bringing them to life through sketching, painting, and collage in my art journal is very satisfying. I try to keep at it regularly, making it a practice.

I also like learning new techniques from experts like Dina Wakley, a mixed media artist and teacher, who has her own product line and she's also an author.  

One of her books that I found at the library is Art Journal Courage. I like that the subtitle is "Fearless mixed media techniques for journaling bravely." Fear and self doubt are real and in many instances, they get in the way for us to even try.  

This is Dina's pep talk for us. Here's to overcoming all our fears!

Now, let me show you an art journal page that I made based on one of the projects in the book ("Painting the portrait" on pages 42 to 45). 

I'm using an old book as my art journal. The printed page and pictures add character but I wanted the words on this page to be less visible. I covered it with two coats of acrylic paint using a paintbrush. Then I let the page dry. 

I'm still in the stage of experimenting with gesso and I applied a small amount on top of my page. Notice that I decanted my gesso in a squeeze bottle (empty bottle of glue) so that I can easily control the amount. 

I used an expired gift card/rewards card to help spread the gesso on the page. I find this better than using a paintbrush because it covers a bigger surface and allows for an even layer. I let this dry for a few minutes.

Then I brushed on some paint. The under layers of white paint and gesso gave the paint some texture...TADA!

I sketched a self-portrait and added paint to enhance the hair and skin tone. She doesn't look anything like me but I keep reminding myself that with practice, I'll eventually get a closer resemblance. Practice over perfection.

Then I included some collage at the bottom left of the page. I also added some journaling: "I am grateful for my body's ability to heal from infection and disease. Thank you body!"

I made this at a time I had COVID-19. The red side symbolizes the infection and the green side represented healing. I wanted to honor my body for its strength and resilience, and that I should never take good health and wellness for granted.

On this page, I was able to express feelings of vulnerability, the lack of control, also relief and appreciation. 

This is how I turned a journal page from blah to TADA!

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