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Art journaling is a very personal experience.

There is no right or wrong method to creating and filling an art journal, and every artist has a vision of what his or her journal should look like. Some artists stick snippets of newsprint or magazine pages on pages while others meticulously draw or paint nearly complete compositions.

Some folks purchase neat and tidy sketch tablets for their designs, while other fellow artists bind an odd assortment of loose papers together to create a handmade book. Regardless of what you use or how you go about your creative process, an art journal is a great way to loosen up, work spontaneously and provide a record of your thoughts and artistic ideas.

Stop Making Excuses

There are a ton of reasons for not creating a journal. I’ll list them for you so you won’t waste time completing an inventory of reasons why you shouldn’t start a journal.

• I don’t know where to begin
• I’m not creative
• I don’t have time
• I need to take a class
• I don’t have any workspace
• I need to watch a tutorial
• I have nothing to write
• I can’t draw a straight line

Those are just excuses. Whether you’re an artist-wanna-be or an active, working artist, a journal is a kind of gentle color therapy that grows on you.

Get Rid Of The Perfectionist That’s Lurking Inside

Fear often paralyzes a person. This is true for little fears as well as great big fears. If you’ve ever stood in front of a new canvas or pearly-white sheet of paper and found your mind a complete blank, there’s an example of fear. You’re not afraid of that big blank space in front of you. You’re afraid that what you do won’t be perfect. It won’t be good enough. Get over it. You’re human and humans don’t do perfection well.

A journal is a great way to dispel that fear of perfection. A journal doesn’t have any rules. Whatever you put inside is just right, because it’s a reflection of you. Using a journal gives you permission to be messy, unorganized or even downright sloppy if that’s what you choose.

A Journal Will Accept Whatever You Give

Unlike a possessive beau, a journal will take whatever you have to give. It’s perfectly fine with a few stolen moments before you head off to work. Draw a few posies or write a stanza of bad poetry. That’s a neat thing about a journal. You can put it down or take it up instantly. You can pack it into your backpack or slide it in a briefcase. It can sit on your coffee table, or you can dump it and all your ephemera in a box to tote to the beach.

Some days you may feel like writing. Another journal session may see your palette and acrylic paints awaiting your touch. If you delight in picking up bits and pieces of detritus on your walks, dump out your pockets or tote bag and see what wonders you find. A little glue, a little gesso, and you’ve added three-dimensional interest to your book.

Tools Of The Trade

You don’t need a lot to start an art journal. It’s best if you have strong, sturdy paper, as you may be painting and gluing things to the sheets. A Watercolor Sketchbook or a drawing book with hard covers is best for your journal, as it will take the abuse it may receive.

Watercolor and acrylic paints are great for journaling. You can use professional paints such as Golden or Grumbacher, as they have more concentrated pigments for a depth of color. Conversely, you can use craft brands of paint such a Plaid or Folk Art for their fun and interesting colors lines.

Markers of all kinds are perfect for journaling. You can find a wide array of tip widths, colors and styles from manufacturers like Sharpie, Copic and Prismacolor. Colored pencils, pastels and crayons also add color and detail to your pages.

Other supplies like Gesso and Mod Podge are useful. You can lightly coat your paper with Gesso to make it waterproof, and you can use Mod Podge to coat items to protect them from bleeding or to adhere flat items to a page.

Stamps are fun and useful for journaling. They speed up the drawing process and can be a jumping off point for creating an interesting page. Repeating a design is easy with a stamp. You can purchase stamps of all sizes and designs at hobby shops and art supply stores, or you can create your own stamps for custom shapes and designs. You can use acrylic paint that’s thinned to the proper consistency, or you can purchase stamping ink from manufacturers like Pelikan, American Crafts and Melissa & Doug.

That’s really all you need to get started journaling. You can start with whatever you have on hand and add supplies as you get more involved with your new project.

So, pick up a new sketchbook or pull one out of your storage closet. Place it on your kitchen counter or on the living room coffee table. Eventually, it’s going to get to you, so you might as well jump in and start journaling.