Art Journal format change

I changed the format of my art journal.  Daily art journaling has become a part of my life and I found that making boxes for the elements I included on every page was no longer necessary.  Now I put the date somewhere on the page and begin with the intent to include some journaling, a sketch, and word play.  The page is wide open and the next thing to do is start.

Encapsulating this with a MOO -

My journaling has become journaling patterns:

I also create doodles.  This one had its origins in a class I took from Diane Culhane a few years ago called "Doings of a Doodle" where Diane had the class do an exercise taken from Paul Klee's quote, "Drawing is taking a line for a walk".

My line taking a walk :-)

And that day, the drink next to my drawing board was a little cup of green tea:

I highly recommend daily art journaling :-)

Doodling on the grid

Since taking Diane Culhane's class, "Doings of a Doodle", I have become more aware of the subject matter of my doodles.  I tend to draw critters and flora, favorite objects, and lots of patterns.

I have always doodled on bit of paper and on paper pads, Post-It® notes, etc., but rarely kept them.  But now, I also make an effort to use watercolor or bristol paper (better quality paper) or I grab a sketchbook (my doodles are conveniently collected for easy perusal).

A technique that I have adopted from Diane's class is doodling on a grid.  I am not sure why I find grids so appealing - perhaps because they become patterns, too.

Today my doodling led to this:

Working on a grid is satisfying :-)

I like that this is full of color.

Doodles... seriously :-)

A while ago I took Diane Culhane's online class, "Doings of A Doodle" which I enjoyed tremendously.

One major benefit of the class is that I now take my doodles more seriously as sources of inspiration.

This dog doodle -

inspired a sketch that I made into this rubber stamp:

My how you've grown :-)

The final lesson from Diane Culhane's "Doings of A Doodle" online class - growing your doodle!

Mark a grid on a larger canvas and then doodle away:

16" x 20" canvas

I used a fairly limited color palette to finish the doodles.

Introducing the grid

Painting assignment, Lesson 5*:

Line and circle doodling on a grid

I enjoyed painting this so much I did another one :-)

"Signal"

*Diane Culhane's online class, "Doings of A Doodle"

Painted Doodle

The progression continues in the World of Doodle to the happy addition of paint (yay!)

For Lesson 4*, one could choose a existing doodle or create a new one.  I doodled a new one which grew into something more like a tableau:

Rice paper on wood panel  - acrylic paint and Sharpie marker

The rice paper was really fun to draw on with the Sharpie and it enabled me to be very specific in my imagery.  Also adding paint gave "mass" to my doodled scene.

* "Doings of A Doodle" online class by Diane Culhane

The Doodle Grows and Remy and the Rain

More from Diane Culhane's online class, "Doings of A Doodle".

Continuing with the emphasis on a single doodle, Lesson 3 was about "growing" the doodle.

Here is my sheep in a mushroom forest in small, medium and large in grey colors, ocean colors and sunshine colors, respectively:

Doodling a different perspective

The weather has been chilly and grey with thunderstorms.  Remy really doesn't like the sound of thunder and he pretty much shuts down when he hears it.  I am pretty certain that he would rather have sunshine and blue skies return...

O, he does love the sunshine :-)

Little Doodle Book

Diane Culhane's online class, "Doings of A Doodle" has emphasized that one's own doodles are a source of inspiration - they are tiny treasures.

Lesson 2 prep - making an eminently portable doodle book so that one has a nice surface to use whenever the opportunity arises:

Watercolor on gessoed 140# watercolor papers

Slip a folded sheet inside another folded sheet to make an unintimidating book of just eight pages.

My first doodle book:

Sides 1 and 2

Sides 3 and 4

Sides 5 and 6

Sides 7 and 8

Doodles In Isolation

Another exercise from Diane Culhane's online class, "Doings of A Doodle". 

From my sketch books, choose some favorite doodles.  Isolate them and place each one on watercolor paper.

Instead of being lost in a mass of doodling, each selected doodle is spotlighted:

I doodle birds often.

A rare cat doodle

I love dogs.

A sheep in a mushroom forest.

Doodle

Diane Culhane's online class, "Doings of A Doodle" is just finishing up.  The class has been a fascinating exploration of the doodles that begin (somewhere) in the brain and move to the hand and then to paper.

Doodling from left to right:

At the edge of the page I just kept going :-)

A really interesting exercise that I had never done before was to doodle while reading (no peeking at the paper - a "blind doodle"):

Blind doodle while reading a mystery.