(click here if you can’t view the video)
You’re bound to get a few “ugly” pages in your art journal, but that’s okay. Because art journaling should be for you, it should be about the process to work through your emotions or letting the art flow through you. You’ll have good days and bad days, you’ll produce beautiful pages and ugly pages. Just enjoy the process.
But if there’s a page you really want to make better, don’t give up on it. Keep the parts you do like, and layer over the areas you don’t like.
Layering is AWESOME! There’s no other way to put it… it adds so much rich texture, colors, and depth. You could use gesso, paint, collage, or anything you can come up with to add more layers. Just keep layering over the areas you don’t like, keeping the areas that you do like, and eventually it should result into something you love.
But don’t be afraid to just let an ugly page go. There’s no possible way for all of your art journal pages to be absolutely beautiful. (Even if you think someone else’s pages are all gorgeous, I’m sure the artist has a few they just hate!) Just let your mood or intuition decide whether its something you want to keep working on, or if you should just let it go.
Does the fear of creating “ugly” art in your journal hold you back from fully expressing yourself?
Then join me in “Safe Haven Art Journaling” to talk about setting boundaries and building sacred space in our journals – so that we can begin to see it as a safe haven to fully show up as our raw, messy, beautiful selves.
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Inspiring video Kristal, to let go of the ugly pages and not be so attached to how they look since it’s more about the journaling and the process. I like your idea of layering over the top of what we don’t like.
Thanks for the tips for those unapplealing pages!
Be safe with that hurricane!
WOW – this was timely! I am new at this and tried to paint on another page just yesterday and made more of a mess than art. Thanks for this encouraging post!!
It’s funny how things work themselves out. I’m very new to this and was working on an idea I felt so confident about and the end result is what I’m calling “horrific”. I was so bummed about it. Then I wake up to this awesome message. Thanks Kristal! I’m going to layer over the horrific parts and I’m sure it will turn into something I love!
Thanks for the great, helpful ideas on this.
I’m really enjoying your “101” tips and videos. Today’s video was REALLY good for me to hear. I’ve got a ‘lot’ of ugly pages (IMHO) and it’s encouraging to hear that it’s okay and others go through the same process. It would be so easy to quit and give it up because I just don’t have the creative gene that lets me come up with creative ideas on my own. But thanks to you and others like you, I am inspired to keep on keeping on… and use your site and others I’ve found on Pinterest, etc., for inspiration. My goal is to end up with a few pretty pages :) and that’s alright with me. Thanks!