Having kept a writing journal on and off since grammar
school, I am well-versed in the advantages of keeping those little snippets of
inspiration together in some kind of book form.
I have been art-journaling for a couple of years and I was really
excited when two of my favorite artists,
Sue Bleiweiss and
Melanie Testa, both
released art journaling books. Even
though the subject is ostensibly the same, the books are very different.
Sue's book,
The Sketchbook Challenge, springs from the
Sketchbook Challenge blog, an idea that came
from a "resolution to keep a better, more consistent
sketchbook." It uses monthly themes
as challenges to inspire ideas "to move visual concepts and brainstorms
off the pages of your sketchbook and into finished pieces of art."
One of the real strengths of this book is the many
contributing artists who illustrate over and over that there is no wrong way to
keep a sketchbook. From the many how-to
techniques and tips interspersed throughout and the wonderful photos and
informative writing by the artists, this is an inspiring work. It is sized a bit smaller than many art books
and with its rounded corners, it is perfect for tucking in a bag and taking
along. However, with the small size,
comes my only real negative criticism: some of the print is tiny -- especially the captions. I would have liked
larger photos of some of the techniques also.
Melanie's book,
Dreaming from the Journal Page, is a big, bold work of art. The photos are large and colorful. It's more of a how-to-use all of the tools
available to the art journalist. Melanie
offers extensive information on paper, pens, pencils, paints and more. She provides exercises for getting warmed up
and exercises in drawing. My favorite
part is the "Triple Technique Challenges" where several techniques
are combined as "a means to layer and deepen your journal
practice." I've been playing around
seriously with watercolors since reading the chapters on paint and color. However, this book also suffers from tiny
print -- again, my only negative criticism.
I am finding that these books actually work together in my personal little art journaling/sketchbook world. Both are
informative and inspiring and I am delighted to have them together.
Melanie and Sue have agreed to give away a copy of each of their books to readers of this blog and Sue will also throw in a Strathmore 5x8 mixed media sketchbook. The winners will be chosen from the comments on this post.
I am giving away a hard-bound plain paper sketchbook (in my
favorite size of 5 1/2 by 8 inches) with a cover hand-made by me. I have a blog post on my personal blog (
here) outlining in exhaustive detail the making of this cover. I was inspired by both of the books above.
Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite art book or medium is and I will send this journal to one lucky person. Make sure to leave an email if you're a no-reply commenter.
Tune in tomorrow to see Beth Berman's review and giveaway!
