Tis the season
Originally uploaded by JournalArtista

Dark, grungy and a great page.

I’m kicking back this AM drinking a coffee and considering
the issue at hand. If you don’t know already Ning, the site I host
ArtJournaling.ning.com on is going paid. They sent out a letter saying they
will be phasing out their free services over the next few months and we’ll get
more details over the next 3 months. I’m waiting to hear about what the pay
structure will be like if the lowest price will be $10/ month as it is now or
if they will raise it to their lowest without advertising cost of $25/month.

Starting now I’m paying the $10/month to be a premium
network. I believe in ArtJournaling.ning.com and $10/month I can afford, hell I’ll
just skip 2 trips to starbucks and it’s paid, right? It’s only $120/year. I
want and I PLAN on keeping this site going. I’ve found a few free sites and I’m
going to check their features out and see if they are an option to use. I’ve
gotten very accustomed to NING and its cludgy interface. (I’ve referred to it
repeatedly as a club when you really want a scalpel.) Over all it’s perfect for
what we’re doing. I love the mix of images, PDF, and discussion. Really I
couldn’t ask for a better interface for the journalers!

So for now I’m paying and I’m waiting to see what the new
charges will be but I’m also looking at migrating us to another site if the
need arises.

For now I’m headed into the DayJob for a little Saturday
business.

So for what it’s worth, don’t worry about any major changes
to Artjournaling.Ning.com nothing is happening yet.

pattern of a map
Originally uploaded by chance.press

This is great. Done in ball point pen.

IMG_0002
Originally uploaded by magnusmangomango

I'm not exactly sure what this means but it made me chuckle when I first looked at it, so I figured I'd share it with you.

For Now
Originally uploaded by 20sk | Lee Crutchley

ahahahahah. I saw this and it's stark lettering combined with the message was hilarious to me.

and here's part 2

waterBrush On Train
Originally uploaded by HEAVYLOX…..ups

I love my water brushes, everyone should get 1 or 2 or 5…

This is not a Mistake
Originally uploaded by Belknits

This is a great image. I'm not much of a quote journaler but this is a nice image.

A week so or so ago Dawn Sokol of  d’blogala wrote a post about materials and
how you don’t need name brand materials to create a great art journal. She was
afraid it would offend. Artists are like Coke VS Pepsi drinkers in their rabid
love of their particular brand of materials. Let’s face it, it takes a long
time to find #1 a brand you like #2 a brand you trust and finally #3 a brand
you love to use. Once you get past that search you become devoted to your
brand.

For instance, I’m not a fan of Golden brand acrylics. I’ve
tried them a few times and I found no real discernable difference between them
and Liquatex. I’ve been using Liquatex since college. I know them, know how
they will respond to my brushes and how I can get the effects I’m seeking. This
doesn’t stop me from buying other brands if they are on sale and testing them
out.  I have a tool box full of various
brands of acrylics that I’ve purchased over time. I like to buy those sample
sets of small tubes when I find them on sale. They always have a color I’m
looking for and I get to test out how they mix, colors I can get and see how
they respond in my art journal.*

You’ve read/heard me harp on here many times about buying
those sample sets, about 6 to 8 tubes of paint that retail anywhere from $12 to
$40. These sets are worth it. You get 6 to 8 tubes of paint that tend to mix
colors well and you can try out a range of colors in a brand’s range. You also
don’t need to commit to large tubes of color, so if you don’t like a color, you
only have a small tube to worry about.

You’ve also heard/read me suggest that if you’ve never tried
acrylics to buy a cheap box of student acrylics. There are many brands and
places like Michael’s have a store brand but also carry a brand like Reeves, which
is manufactured by Grumbacher. These student grade acrylics do have a lot of
filler and the pigment is thin. These can be a great way to learn if you like
acrylics or not. The price tag for a set of 12 colors is always under $20.

While we’re at this discussion, I’m going to reiterate what
I’ve always said. Buy what you can afford. If you can’t afford anything but a
set of Crayola watercolors and a black ink pen; go ahead and journal with that.
Art journaling shouldn’t break the bank it should be fun and you shouldn’t
stress over the materials that you are using to journal. Art journaling is about thinking and working out ideas so you should use what you like. I met paper maker Richard Lee** back in 1998 (subsequently I saw him again in 2002) all of his journaling and sketchbooks are done with an ultra fine point sharpie, color added with watercolor. He has traveled the world learning about paper but all his journals and sketchbooks are done in Sharpie. I asked him if he worried about the migration of the ink and the color fading. He shrugged and said "no. It's about the moment. I like them becuase they are cheap and I can find them anywhere. They are immediate and I can use watercolor on them immediately after I draw."

I’ll also reiterate my hate for craft acrylics here. Craft
acrylics tend to change colors over time, stick together and will peel off the
page over time.

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