Beth Baxter Studio | Page 3 | Create, Explore, Inspire

Sketching in My Art Journal

I’ve been drawing on and off for most of my life but have never been satisfied with my results. A pattern design course from Make it in Design inspired me to start sketching again. I decided not to worry so much about the result and enjoy the process.

I debated whether to use a separate book for my sketches but finally decided to do them in my art journal. I like having all my inspiration in one place.

I’ve been drawing flowers and nature.

And also some objects.

I’ve been paying attention to how I arrange my sketches on the page to make an attractive composition.

Here I placed the drawings in a more collage-like arrangement and even added a patterned background.

Winter Windowbox Color Palette

Whimsical Doodled Bricks

Who knew bricks could be so cute?

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It is No Bad Thing . . .

“It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.” ~J.R.R. Tolkien

Improving an Art Journal Spread

My art journal is my place to play and experiment. Unfortunately, not all of these experiments are successful. Lately, I’ve been seeing what I can do to improve the less successful spreads.

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I’ve been experimenting with using more color in my art journal. While I like the paper weaving area of this spread, I wasn’t happy with the doodles. It’s too busy, doesn’t have enough contrast, and the colors I chose are too bright.

I decided to color in some of the areas with a sanguine brush pen. This new version is much more successful. It’s less busy and has more contrast. And the sanguine color blends in better with the paper. I even like how the original pattern is partly visible through the pen. Maybe this will become a new technique?

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