Week 3 - INCHIES JUNE JOURNAL

Wow! Where did that week go to?!

Here is my journal completed up to the end of week 3.

What a busy and fun week I've had! There has been lots of good news, starting with my precious daughter passing her Driving Theory Test :), my friend announcing the birth of their first child, baby Max and a friend and colleague completing and moving into their first owned home!  I have been rushed off my feet too, with it being my first week back to work since my surgery in February!  I have also tinkered around doing other watercolour pieces in my journal and making cards for all these celebratory occasions.

        My thoughts on returning to work
An INCHIE version of the card I made for passing the Driving Theory Test 

Two INCHIE versions of New Baby Boy card and
Welcome to your New Home card I made this week.

Since last week's post I have continued to fill in some more "white" spaces on the page including the June title and adding some journaling in the middle area.

Here we are at the end of the week, still busy, packing my daughter's suitcase for her summer holiday to Gran Canaria!  Up early today, Sunday, to take her and Danny to the airport ... Happy holidays.

With just over one week left in June I have been giving some thought to my July pages. I think I'm still going to use the same idea, but this time, instead of drawing pics I quite like the idea of a word a 

day with journaling added around the page.

Any suggestions or comments welcome. Thanks for viewing my blog.

Week 2 - INCHIES JUNE JOURNAL

END OF WEEK 2

Another week over!  At the end of the first week in June the weather seemed promising, but as you can see by the end of week 2, Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th, the rain and dreary weather was back!

Sunshine at the end of week 1


BUT


RAIN and storms by the end of week 2!

However, spending the day with my lovely daughter on Friday, 12th, shopping and doing lunch, was wonderful.




I have throughly enjoyed doodling and journaling as I go, even when I have made the odd mistake!  On the 9th, I drew a picture of fledgling blackbirds nesting, then painted it with watercolours, but unfortunately it turned out very muddy and ugly, so I spent some time pondering on how I could rectify it!  Inspiration struck at last ...

I cut out, using watercolour paper, a slightly smaller than a 1" square and stuck it over the top! Voila. Now all I needed to do was paint something. I decided to journal my thoughts for the day ahead, add a bit of colour and add a doodle border.

I rather like the effect it created, a raised square, giving texture.  I might try something else like this again.

So as not to disappoint, here is a photo of the fledgling blackbirds I hoped to include!

See you next week, I hope!

Thanks for viewing.

Inchies - June Journal

I wanted to start keeping a pictorial daily diary that would be quick and fun to do, so decided on using inchies as a starting point. Also with it being exactly half way through the year, I thought, what better place to start than June?

WATERCOLOUR JOURNAL COVER

For my family June is a busy month with birthdays, my husband's on the 5th, my son's on the 23rd and my daughter's is the 28th! Also for us Brits, the sun does usually start to shine and warm up, a bit, so lazy days and barbecues in the garden can be enjoyed, as much as trips out to take in the beautiful countryside and wildlife alike. Hopefully, with all this potential activity afoot, I'll have an interesting and fun month to document and for you to view!

So here is the start of my INCHIE JOURNAL for JUNE with updates to this blog as I go. Happy viewing.

END OF WEEK 1

In the Beginning

I have always dreamed of being a "natural" artist, for me that is being able to have a thought or a vision and paintting it, not necessarily including lots of detail or  being 100% accurate, but to create an impression which tells a story.  So anyway, I've never really had the courage to put pencil, brush and paint to paper and just have a go ...

... until now!

I don't consider myself particularly good at drawing or painting, but believe my desire to express my thoughts, feelings and visions  in this way is strong enough to try it. The opportunity came for me, to begin exploring different mediums and styles of art, following a spinal operation I had in February this year.  I was told I would need to have a long period of rest and recovery time following the surgery, which meant I couldn't go to back work for some time. Knowing I was going to have this time allowed me to plan and make decisions as to what I could do to keep busy, but still rest as I didn't want to vegetate and sit around doing nothing.  So for me that seemed like the perfect time to begin my journey.

I begun using acrylic paints to produce abstract pictures, along with stamping, collage and wax mediums. I also added quotes and words, which gave more expression to each piece. However, the results, to me, seemed contrived and didn't quite conjure up the feelings I'd hoped for when producing my own piece of art.  That's not to say I wasn't reasonably happy with some of the pieces I had done!

You see, when I was in my twenties, which was many years ago!, I had a go at painting botanical pictures using watercolours and enjoyed the detail and delicate results I achieved. However, having experienced using watercolour paints in this way, I knew that this wasn't a style I wanted to use now, but was keen to explore using watercolours again, but this time more loosely.

I decided I was going to start by keeping an art journal and began to produce sketches then paint in watercolours, which I did on a daily basis.  I am really happy with the results and by just having this feeling of being pleased, tells me that I've found a style which brings me closer to becoming a "natural" painter.

Here is my first attempt at mixed media journaling, inspired by my twin and mum, who are both so talented and creative.