Art Journal Page

This is one of my recent Bible "art" journal entries.  I just use a small coil notebook with lines.  Normally I just draw something - sometimes a full page (which aren't all that big), sometimes just a little picture somewhere on the page, and write a verse. I also usually just colour my drawings in with pencil crayons.

I should start off by explaining that I really am not an artist. I'm just learning.  I have taken painting lessons in the past, but that was about 11 years ago.  I don't really know much about art, but was told by a coworker who has a degree in art that "art is just whatever you make".

I've always wanted to be able to draw and paint well, but I never really sat down and practiced. How else can I do these things (or anything, really), if I don't practice and try.  So, here I am trying my hand at art journals. 

I've been pinning a lot of ideas on my art journal board on Pinterest. Some of the pins I'd like to duplicate because I really like them, others there might be a quote or part of a picture, or colour combination that I like and would like to experiment with myself.  I've also recently been watching some videos watching artists creating art journal pages, and have been feeling inspired.

I don't have a lot of supplies, so for now I have to work with what I have.  There are a few items I'd like to get soon though, because the techniques I watched on some of the videos requires certain supplies.

As I said, my journal is in a small coil notebook and it has lines.  I wanted to use my watercolour paints on this page, after watching a demonstration of how one of the videos showed how they created their background, so I had to use some gesso to cover the page.  I think I should have used more because I can still see the lines.  I'll try using more the next time and see if that helps.  I then just applied various colours of paint around the page and let it dry.  Once that was done I wrote the verse on the page (I have a habit of writing and drawing in pencil first, and then going over it with a black marker pen. I don't have the confidence to do anything in pen alone yet), and took inspiration off two of the many art journal pages I have have pinned on Pinterest.

So far I am enjoying doing art journals (I have this one where I record Bible verses and thoughts about the verse in, as well as a smaller one I use for general quotes that I like).  Hopefully it's something I will keep up with and improve in!