When books meet art

Some recent art journal pages for your enjoyment!

Hello loves,

I’ve had a lot of fun with this month’s sketchbook prompt, Literary. Here are two of the pages I created this month, both using found word poetry/quotes from books and magazines, and another one where I illustrated a phrase from one of my recent favorite book series, Outlander.

I started this art journal page by gluing down a page from an old National Geographic magazine. I read through the text, circling some words and phrases that stood out to me. A little bit of editing, and I had a found word poem. I built up the rest of the page to fit the theme.

The found word poem reads:

resurface, and find
the flotillas have scattered
put down shallow roots on land
honor the spirits
and build new boats
a deep, powerful sea.

I had a lot of fun with this one, using layers of powdered paints {activated with water} and stenciling. I used some collage papers, dyed gauze, and and washi tape to create the focal image, along with some painted masking tape and more washi to add little areas of interest.

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This is another found word quote from an old book. I love the juxtaposition of the bold black stripes with the soft, muted colors on this page.

The little pops of color feel rather like sparks, don’t you think? I love how beautifully this phrase pairs with the painting.

If you’re wondering weather the words always come before the painting, the answer is no. I often find the words after the painting.

I have a bowl filled with phrases cut out from old books. That’s usually my starting point when I’m looking for a quote or words to add to my piece. I’ll pick up a variety of different phrases that I think match the painting, and try different combinations until I find something that fits.

If none of the pre-cut words work, I’ll pull out some of my old books and just flip through the pages, reading bits and pieces until something catches my eye, and build the phrase from there.

Occasionally, I give myself the challenge of finding a found word quote from 3 pages of a book. It’s just a way to ensure I’m not sitting looking for words for hours! If I don’t find something suitable from those 3 pages, I’ll usually just type up a sentiment and stick it down.

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And finally, this is a piece that I did some time back, when I was inhaling Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Jamie and Claire are one of my favorite literary couples, and I really love how Diana brought the late 1700s to life.

Da mi basia mille, the inscription that Jamie had engraved in Claire’s ring, is from a love poem by Cantullus, which means give me a thousand kisses. How incredibly romantic!

I’ve also spent many art journal pages exploring Mary Oliver’s poems. I had previously shared a series of pages that explore verses from her poem To Begin With, The Sweet Grass, which you can see below.

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