Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing.
/Salvador Dali

I did not accomplish my goal to fill my handmade Art Journal this summer, but I’m about half way through it now. I’m using it to learn it to learn how to draw and paint from other artists. There is so much to learn from their style, and once you know something more you can make it your own.

Halloween pages 2009
My book with it’s watercolor paper is perfect for sketching with pencil. This is where this summer I’ve been painting SuziBlu inspired Petit Doll Girls quite a lot, both in acrylic and watercolors. I love this journal so much, because each page I make is a surprise to me. I don’t know what will come out on the page. These pages are October themed, even though I’m posting them late, and the skull inspired by artist Theresa Smyth and her Dia de los Muertos art that I ♥ (check out Theresa’s Etsy shop, it’s filled with fab things)!

I don’t have a drawing habit and I don’t draw much from life, but this summer I’ve given myself time to practice. Just listening an hour to the radio and sketching a face, then coloring it in with watercolors. I’ve been enjoying this new to me way of creating more than I can say. The happiness bubbles up from inside when I draw and color. When you create “faces” or little “people” you kind of fall in love with your characters, hence fall in love with life. It’s magic and quite wonderful.

I want to post photos of my own experience of Day of the Dead as soon as I get them edited, and lots of other fun photos and projects too, so stay tuned!

And keep creating!

* Oh, I found another video showing how to make a 31 days journal in a very easy way, using tape as the spine, at Artiste Nouveau. Check it out if you want to try to make your own art journal.

*If you’ve caught The Teesha Bug you should also check out the Zettiology group at flickr.com for more Teesha inspired art. Her style is called zettiology, did you know? You can join this group and add your own art there, and even find some Teesha kind of free collage sheets to download and print. That’s a quick way to become inspired by others too. Nice!