Hello everyone, my name is Keisha from @k.moartsy.journals and for more art and journal inspiration you can find me on Instagram at that handle. Today we’re creating an art journal that can help you keep track of your artistic progress.  If you are trying to get in the habit of practicing your art skills then an art journal is a great way to get started.  In this blog I will be sharing, what an art journal is, what tools I use, how I design my monthly art journal as well as I how I remain consistent throughout the year.

So here’s what you’ll need:

• *Archer & Olive notebook (choose the size of your preference)
• *Medium of choice (watercolor, colored pencils, and or markers).
• *pencil
• *black fine line pen

What is an Art Journal?

An art journal is a personal and creative space where you can express yourself through visual art. Using an art journal is a great way to experiment with art techniques, materials, and its also a great way to document your creative process each month.

How to design your art journal:

There is no right or wrong way to create an art journal, this method is simply is what works for me. I’m a busy Mom so I’ve come up with a system that is flexible as well as effective. Ideally, you’d want to start your art journal at the beginning of the year so you can get a 12 month range of practice for maximum artistic growth, however you can start at anytime.

The structure of my art journal is really straight forward. There are three sections:

1.   The monthly cover page: The purpose of the monthly cover page is for making the distinction between each month and you could use this page for additional practice for your artwork.

2.   Doodle dump: a doodle dump is similar to a brain dump in the general set up. This is a page made exclusively for doodling, sketching, painting etc. Every artistic technique or materials you want to use can be explored in this section.

3.   To-do list: the weekly to do list is a way to document weekly art projects or schedule times to create art (the journal is set up for weekly practice so what that means is you’ll create a to-do list every week of the month in your journal. For this to work, it is important for this section to be last.)

and that’s it!

What to draw in your art journal:

Now for the fun part! The design of your art journal is totally up to you. I usually create themes to design my journal to make them feel more cohesive but you can literally draw whatever you want, the idea is to get as much drawing practice as possible. In the past I’ve used certain holidays as a theme, woodland animals and I’ve even drawn well known and beloved cartoon characters in my journal such as Charlie brown and Snoopy.

Listed below are a few themes to help you get stared:

• *Food items (Coffee, sweet treats etc.)
• *Sports
• *Bookish things (books, bookmarks etc.)
• *Animals
• *Seasonal (holiday themes)
• *Pop culture (favorite musical artist etc.)
• *Faith (spiritual)

How I stay consistent with my art journal

To get the most out of your art journal the key is consistency. I’ve seen so much growth in my artistic skills over the years and I know it’s because I’ve been drawing consistently in my journal. Overall, the most the important thing is to have fun. Your art experience is your own and your journal can be curated to accommodate your artistic goals.

Another way I stay consistent with my art journal is by doing what feels right, meaning if I don’t want to create a theme for that particular month, I don’t. For me art comes natural when there aren’t any constraints, and having no limitations as to what I can draw helps to keep my creativity flowing.

Thank you for checking out my tips on starting your very own art journal. I hope that you found some inspiration in this blog, check out this video for more!And be sure to check the free printable available with this blog and I’ll see you guys next time, bye!