I finished my Hahnemühle D & S Sketchbook
and am well into my new Nostalgie journal;
this is a rambling last look back, at the things I had no time to post that I can share. Sometimes I can’t share, mostly because it involves someone else and
I don’t feel comfortable sharing that person’s story, and occasionally mine too.
I love raw writing, LOVE autobiography, and
am willing to share the juicy scary bits many won’t share.
I may be busy, but busy usually means that I don’t have time
to process the images to share with you…
It never means I am not journaling, writing about our life,
and sketches go hand-in-hand with that…
A cross page spread, I sketched the fiery smoke-filled skies
several times this summer. It was a dominant part of our life in Portland.
Summertime is ending, and with that goes the summer fruits…
I like apples, but I LOVE the summer berries and peaches and nectarines and melons.
I am going to miss them terribly!
On various pen and ink or watercolor groups, I’ve noticed more people asking how to keep a journal, what to write in their journal, how not to mess up a journal, sharing how they do all these practicing sketches outside their journal! It is all about their FEAR of screwing up a finished product… their journal is their
finished product! It freezes them!
My journal is not my finished product, and I suspect that the peeps who show you magnificent journals of amazing perfected sketches aren’t showing you their thinking journals!
Besides, if you freeze every time you have an
Important Project you stifle all creativity anywho…
*that should be a word so i leave it*
best just get on with it and let the screwups be part of the handmade or redo it.
Life’s a learning thing.
I used to teach creative blocks and practices that move you through to stream of consciousness and easy comfortable writing… It may mean that sometimes incorrect spellings are inserted or tenses change, but all that is okay —
like my journal entry above. I am going to teach again, but online.
My journal is for personal inquiry, reflection, ideas for paintings,
bits of ideas for a book I am writing, funny stories,
insecurities (such as regarding the painting of George Washington above), fears,
crappy politics, working through anger when necessary.
I have some beautiful drawings, and lots of screwy sketches some of which
I can’t decipher, like the times you were loaded in college
and wrote heavy thoughts which later were nonsense!
Here is the wrap up of strange endings from my last journal,
and a promise that soon I will have a class or group to work on easing into total comfort — or at least getting over that fear-stopping-hump of what-if-I-mess-up, for all of you.
I will post less, I think, b ut .
So I want to know,
what questions do you want to explore
about keeping a journal?
To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com
“Memory is more indelible than ink.”
Anita Loos, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
“I think not….”
Me… why I journal!
Hahnemühle D & S Sketchbook,
Noodler’s Lexington Grey Ink, Super5 Frankfurt ink in Pentel Aquash waterbrushes.
Every pen I own with every ink combo, but often:
Lamy Joy with De Atramentis Document Black ink,
Lamy Joy with Super5 Darmstadt ink,
Jinhao with Goulet 1.1 stub nib and Super5 Frankfurt,
Pilot Metropolitan with Super5 Frankfurt ink,
Jinhao with Goulet 1.1 stub nib and De Atramentis Document Brown ink,
Platinum Carbon pen with De Atramentis Document Brown ink,
Conklin Duragraph w/ 1.1 Stub with Super5 Australia ink,
Platinum Carbon Pen with Platinum Carbon ink waterproof cartridges;Da Vinci, MatteoGrilliArt, JazperStardust, PfeifferArt, Sennelier, Holbein, MGraham and DS Primatek watercolors, and Daniel Smith Watercolors
©D. Katie Powell.
My images/blog posts may be reposted; please link back to dkatiepowellart.
☾
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access to some content not on this website,
sneak previews, goodies, discounts on classes.
I teach architectural sketching,
art journaling (art+writing), creativity, watercolors.
That annoying loud-mouth editor/critic in your head? GONE! How great would that be?
D.Katie Powell Art 
I love raw writing too, raw everything actually.
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Yes.
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I’m thinking about Pema’ quote. Thanks for sharing this post!
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You are welcome! Great quote.
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I love how much you share about journaling, written and visual. I am absolutely in love with that peach painting. You have captured that warm glow and soft, juicy fuzziness perfectly. I adore peaches and always look forward to peach season when I can glut myself on them. I agree with you about journaling being a liberating thing in that it doesn’t have to be perfect or polished. It’s about exploration and fun and just being creative without being stuck in your own head or fretting over attaining a certain standard. I don’t do any written journaling (other than blogging) but I find my art journaling to be so stress-busting precisely because it’s expectation-free.
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MMM, lovely thoughts on this. Totally agree.
I really want to lead an online journaling class/workshop/group, where ideas can be exchanged. I haven’t taught for a decade and miss it an think online might work nicely.
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Great idea! I know you would be ace at that.
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Love the quotes and “real” journaling. I LOVE drawing and painting in my journals, but when a life crisis hits, it takes all my energy and focus. Even though I need to be journaling through the crisis to keep my sanity, I do not have the energy to do it. I really wish there was a way for me to continue to sketch in my journal through all the ups and downs of life! It would help so much!
Thanks for sharing.
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I went to your site and looked around — I wish I could follow you by email (if you can add me that way dbdcat@aol.com) because I follow you but I like things to land in my box. With permission I am offering an idea. Your journals are GORGEOUS… perhaps that standard keeps you from using them when you are stressed? When I am VERY stressed and busy I use the end of the evening to unwind into my journal, and sometime I draw but don’t paint and sometimes just words. More and more I use the backs of images for writing, and leave them blank and then can just pour it out. Also, I cheat sometimes… when I am on the run and have a moment to pour my ideas out I use a post-it then copy that into my journal when I can. I finally had to make a choice — a crazy-all-that-I-am journal, or a pretty one. I have two. One is an A4 or A5 Hahnemühle Watercolour Journal for watercolors (little writing, pretty, and a very public journal), and the other is my crazy-all-that-I-am journal (family only). I use A Hahnemühle Nostaglie A5 for that — nice paper, not quite as expensive… Just a thought.
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I had kind of come to the conclusion of needing a separate journal for “everything.” When I draw in my regular journal, it is very relaxing, and I just draw the way I draw. I have always drawn, so it is kind of like handwriting to me, but it does take thought and planning. I also agree with you that my “everything” journal would be for my own private, therapeutic use, rather than for sharing. Maybe I am hung up on the idea of the duplication of a second journal. Or maybe feeling like I would get “drawn into” the everything journal and abandon my regular sketching? Who knows. However, if I do start an “everything” journal it may solve my continual search for the “perfect” paper for journals. My “everything” journal wouldn’t need watercolor quality paper. Hmm. I am liking this thought the more I mull it over. Thank you for taking the time to share. My basic site does not have an email sign up option, but someone told me they found a way to sign up through WordPress Reader? Sorry about that. Maybe someday I will upgrade. I really appreciate you stopping by. Happy sketching!
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Hi Fay,
I do A5 also for my everyday journal, and that helps too. If you go to this page (about halfway down) you can see how informal my everyday journals are… and I don’t share everything.
Your addition of an email signup is not about upgr4ade. You can find them in “widgets” I think. You are in reader but the ones I really want to see I have come to my email because WordPress Reader is a bit haphazard.
Bye — DK
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Katie, I did some research and learned that there is a “follow” option at the bottom of the blog page. It shows up as “Follow…” if you are not logged in to your WordPress account. If you are logged in it shows up as “Customize…” If you are not logged in, when you click on that button a box opens up to add your email address for post notifications. If you are already logged in, the box options includes “Manage subscriptions.” Click that option to see all the blogs you are following. Beside each blog is a “Settings” option. Click that to choose to get email notifications and how frequently. Hope this helps.
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Thanks Fay — I don’t like to follow with WP as it means I have to visit WP to view.
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