This year, I’m going to start adding some of my art journal spreads to my blog. I’m trying to experiment with more ways to make art from travel. Making art journal spreads and doing watercolors are some of the artistic challenges I’m setting for myself. Also, I’m interested in collage and drawing, using either pencils, colored pencils, pens or markers, and making maps of the places I visit.
Below is my first art journal spread for my Road Trip to Nowhere. This depicts my first day of travel, from Virginia to Chillicothe, Ohio, where I stopped to visit Hopewell Culture National Historical Park. You can see my “on journey” post here: on journey: virginia to cincinnati on a “road trip to nowhere”. This day of travel was on September 1, 2019.
Virginia to Hopewell Culture in Ohio – September 1, 2019
Second, I did a pencil sketch of a Tiffany lamp, based on an exhibit I saw at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley on July 28, 2019. After drawing the lamp in pencil, I outlined it in black gel ink, and colored it in with colored pencils and Midliner Creative Markers. I haven’t yet written about this visit.
Tiffany Lamp from the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley
Lastly, I made an art spread for the second day of my Road Trip to Nowhere, where I drove from Cincinnati, Ohio to Springfield, Illinois. I visited the William Howard Taft National Historic Site in Cincinnati, and then drove through Indiana and Illinois to Springfield, where I visited the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. This was on September 2, 2019. I haven’t yet written about this travel day.
Cincinnati, Ohio to Springfield, Illinois
I’m not totally happy with these spreads, especially the last one, which I feel is too busy. I want to try to simplify and pare down on my next spread.
But I hope you’ll give me some leeway, as I’ve never been a visual artist, and until last year, I have never really drawn much of anything. 🙂
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“ART JOURNAL” INVITATION: I invite you to post a journal spread on your own blog about your travels. You can do collage, watercolor, acrylics, stamps, drawing or stencils — whatever art form your heart desires. These are my first art journal spreads and drawings, so I can only hope I’ll become more creative as I practice and play. I invite you to do the same!
If you’d like some ideas on creating an art journal, please see my page: on creating art from travels. I actually don’t have many ideas yet, but I hope to add more as I experiment with different art forms. Also, I would love to see any great ideas from the artists out there. Feel free to add a link to your own blog if you do bullet or travel journals of your own.
Include the link in the comments below by Thursday, March 12 at 1:00 p.m. EST. When I write my post in response to this challenge on Friday, March 13, I’ll include your links in that post.
This will be an ongoing invitation, once on the second Friday of each month. Feel free to jump in at any time. 🙂
I hope you’ll join in our community. I look forward to reading your posts!
~ wander.essence ~ 
These are beautiful, Cathy, but very frustrating! I want to pick them up or get closer so I can examine the detail and read the newsprint, and to know what each signifies to you? 🙂 🙂 I’m a non-artist and not even very good at doodling, so I’m really impressed with what you’ve achieved. You know, of course, that Pauline (Pommepal) keeps magnificent journals of her artwork, and perhaps you know Colline has started bullet journaling to provide calm creativity in her busy world?
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Hi Jo, thanks for encouraging me in your comment. I actually have a work-in-progress on an art journal/art post at the moment…🎨
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🤗💕
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Thanks, Jo. They were fun to do, but I need to practice a lot more if I’m ever going to improve. There just aren’t enough hours in the day! I am also doing a bullet journal for the first time this year. It’s so much fun! And I know Pauline is very talented indeed, and I love the post that she prepared and linked to mine. She’s an inspiration! 🙂
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You can’t be an expert at everything, Cathy, but your energy and enthusiasm is infectious 🙂 🙂
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Thanks, Jo. At least I have enthusiasm. I seem to be one of those people who is decent at lots of things, but not great at any of them! 🙂
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You don’t need to be a genius, Cathy! That’s all angst. Just be you- you’re great 🙂 🙂
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Thanks, Jo. 🙂
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Goodness, Cathy, I envy you your drawing ability! I use a camera because I can’t draw!!
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Thanks, Sue, but I don’t really consider myself to have much drawing ability. I just thought I’d try it out; it seems more satisfying than photography because you have to sit longer with the subject. 🙂
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Goodness, well you’re head and shoulders above me!!
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🙂
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I really love these journal pages, definitely not too busy as I think they have captured the essence of your trip. Like Jo I would love to pick them up and have a closer look. I am in the process of putting together a journal/art post so this invitation is timely and I will link to this post when I have it ready.
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I love your post that you created with your journals, Pauline. Thanks for sharing them. They’re an inspiration. And thank you for your kind words. I really need to practice a lot more. 🙂
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I don’t do anything in my journals every day. Sometimes not for weeks. Then I’ll go somewhere and be inspired again.
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Good to know, Pauline. I can’t possibly find the time to do it every day or even every week! 🙂
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As someone who can’t draw for toffee, I am totally in awe of anyone who can sketch, paint, daub or whatever and have it resemble something. So, I think these are great. I can’t be critical because I know nothing although I haunt art galleries and can tell you everything you want to know about Renaissance pictures and artists, and the pre-Raphaelite movement (my two fav. periods). My husband could paint, sculpt, draw, whatever but me….. that side of my brain refuses to connect. Good luck with your project.
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Drawing definitely doesn’t come naturally to me, Mari, but it’s been fun to try, and to play around. It’s more of a Zen thing than photography, where you can get involved in it for long periods of time. I like it for that reason. 🙂
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All the leeway, Cathy. And Happy Valentine’s. The journal pages are delightful; the collage approach allows the page to be larger than it is (in every way). I’m still all for the trip to nowhere, particularly the places you got–the Shenandoah Valley, Chillicothe, Cincinnati (where I used to live), Springfield. I think I saw Tiffany glass at the Corning Museum in New York; if it wasn’t Tiffany, it was beautiful nonetheless.
I agree, your journaling is a marvelous remembrance of your journeying–now marvelous for everyone!
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Thanks for the Valentine’s wishes, Christopher, and same right back to you! I’m glad you like my Road Trip to Nowhere; I have so much more to share on that trip, which I really loved. Much of it was solitary; I always love to travel alone. Cincinnati is a very nice town, and Lincoln’s home in Springfield was fun. I loved the Tiffany lamps at the exhibit I saw; they’re so rich in color and pattern. It’s so much fun to do the journal, and have it to hold and flip through. Somehow it seems more satisfactory than writing online and then having it disappear into the ether. 🙂
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For inexperienced creator of sketchers I think you have done very well. Especially to inspire me to start doing it. Have been thinking about it for ages. Though just for my eyes.
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Thank you, Suzanne. Well, if you do it even for your own eyes, I’d still love to see your attempts. They can’t be much worse than mine, so if you’re brave enough to share, we would all love to see. 🙂
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Very clever Cathy!
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Thanks, Carol. They were fun to do!
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Wow! These are superb. So much work goes into everything you do Cathy.
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Thanks, Jude. You’re right, it’s an especially a lot of work because I have no idea what I’m doing! Haha. It’s a challenge, but I love having the journals as solid recollections of my travels. 🙂
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They are truly beautiful.
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Thanks, Jude. 🙂
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Your creativity is inspiring, Cathy. What a neat thing to do!
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Thank you, Wendy. It’s lots of fun, but time consuming. I need to spend more time so it might come more naturally. 🙂
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[…] “ART JOURNAL” INVITATION: I invite you to post a journal spread on your own blog about your travels. You can do collage, watercolor, acrylics, stamps, drawing or stencils — whatever art form your heart desires. These are my first art journal spreads and drawings, so I can only hope I’ll become more creative as I practice and play. I invite you to do the same! […]
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I’ve taken up your invitation Cathy. Not all travel related pages, but some are. https://retiredfromgypsylife.wordpress.com/2020/02/16/requests-and-cathys-art-journal-invitation/
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Thanks for sharing these spreads, Pauline. I loved them all. I wrote more on your post, and I’ll be linking this to my next one on March 13. 🙂
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👍
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I actually liked the last spread – the last page in particular – the movement and the different techniques. But they are all marvellous.
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Thank you so much, Susan. They were fun to do; I hope I can get better with time and practice. 🙂
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