This is the first spread I created in the little traveler’s notebook I made for Sketchbook Revival. I love that you can take the signatures out to work on them and then pop them back in when they are all filled up. This first lesson was by Jeanne Oliver (love her work!) and she taught her technique of quick contour drawing on the go. She used watercolors for the lesson but says she often goes back in with other media to finish up her sketches. She had two printables to go along with the lesson. I cut up the one and pasted it in, and then I painted the flowers from the other printable. They are such lovely vintage botanical illustrations. I ended up having to glue on some leaves to my watercolor flowers because when I did the next spread, the marker bled through. Nothing a little creative collage can’t fix!

This is the second spread and is as far as I have gotten. This was based on a lesson by Helen Wells (love her work too!). I didn’t follow the directions exactly, but decided to use monstera leaves to make a slightly more representational abstract. I was really hoping I could have used my alcohol markers because I have so many lovely shades, but they really bled through the paper and were a no-go (I’m using Canson mix media 160g). The purpose of the lesson was to create abstract shapes with both organic and sharp lines and use that as a quick and easy way to make an abstract design, and then bring in the more thoughtful design elements through color choice and white space. It actually has been quite a challenge to make the colors harmonious. I should have probably used a limited palette. I got a new set of neon watercolors this week (so excited for those!) and used them for the pops of red and pink, but the vibrancy definitely didn’t translate in my evening winter light.

I also wanted to share the inside of my traveler’s notebook because I just love this design so much. Gluing the fabric at the spine gives it such a lovely vintage look. I used white glue on the back of the fabric and then painted mod podge over top so that it wouldn’t budge. I created the book to hold three signatures and you can see the place where the first signature will go when I’m finished with it.

And, of course, if you have been following along for any length of time, you know that I couldn’t stop with just one traveler’s notebook. I actually went and raided my supply cupboard and found a few old books with suitable covers. This particular one has a bit of a history. I can’t remember when I got it, but I first started using it back in my crafting days. I was cutting out the French text to make paper flowers in some handmade floral bouquets that I sold in a gift shop. I ended up using the book cover to rest my hot glue gun on while making the flowers, and so the book was quite a sight when I found it. I scraped off the glue as well as I could and then just sanded off the rest of the residue, which is why the text looks so faded. I drew the flowers with charcoal and then colored them with watercolor. I sprayed the front cover with kamar varnish so it doesn’t smudge. I really like how it looks with the flowers and the faded text. I will likely keep updating the blog with more books as I get them finished.

And finally, my regular art journal content. These are probably a bit more muted than usual, and I quite like having that extra bit of neutrals. I also really like the hand painted pages in the background. There isn’t much of a unifying theme here, but I always like looking through these pages and getting inspiration from the colors and compositional elements that stand out. On the first page, I really like the black and white with the few different shades of pink and that pop of green. I could definitely see making a painting with that palette.

I hope you enjoyed what I am working on lately! Thanks for stopping by!