Art Planner-Ish

So in case you don't know it, I've become a bit of a planner junkie. It started  in February, and I've just gotten a little crazy about it ever since. I used to use a planner years ago--back when I had tons of appointments and such to keep track of. It was very helpful. It was never an actual Filofax--but those are really cool (and also really expensive). I kind of grew away from using a planner though. And then over this past winter as I was cleaning my office, I was amazed at the number scraps of paper I had all over my desk with notes on them--and post-it's tacked to my computer monitor, and things like that. And it just kind of hit me--I needed to use a planner so I could keep all of this info in one place, and off my desk. 

And so my addiction began. I got a planner--a beautiful mint green one from kikki.K in Australia. It looks like this:

I love that thing! I keep appts in there, track bills and birthdays, list all my contacts, plan meals etc. And I know what you're thinking--I have an iPhone that could do all that stuff. But you know what? I like using my iPhone for many things--but not for that stuff! I don't want to have to rely on a battery, and I like the idea of being able to flip through everything all in one spot--rather than in multiple apps. I use my planner every day and it's been great to get me organized. I also like to decorate the weekly pages with stickers and washi tape. I like to be creative--what can I say. I even joined several Facebook groups for people who like to decorate their planner pages too, so at least I'm not alone. :)

And I have another planner too--which I am really not using as a planner. Instead it's more like a journal. This planner is from Paperchase. I have pages in it where I list my "Gratitudes," journal pages, photos, a section for Poetry (I am known to write the occasional poem), and a section to list favorite quotes. That stuff wouldn't have fit in my other planner, so it's nice to have it in its own binder, separate from everything else. And this journal binder looks like this:

Which then leads me to planner number three. I know. Excessive much, Tina? Yeah, sometimes. But if something works, why not really work it?! I fell in love with a Paperchase planner that has vintage London design on the cover, so I decided to get that and use it for an Art Planner-Ish.

Isn't it pretty? I've never been a fan of purple, but I loved this design. It's so me. So I got it and went to work moving into it. But how am I using this for Art, you might ask? Well, let me show you.

This is the inside cover and "dashboard."

I have a biz card and some clips on the left in the pockets--will add more stuff later. 

And the dashboard is a great place to put a sticky note or to clip things on so I won't forget.

It's got a fairy on it--you know I love fairies. :)

 This shows my Tabs and sections.

Dream, Create, Live, Learn, Plan, Inspire

(and a few have subsections)

This is my Dream section. It has 2 subsections: Ideas, and Wish List

Here I can list project ideas and/or notes, along with making Wish Lists of things

I want for my studio or for a project or something.

This is my Create section.

I use it to add photos and notes about the projects I create.

Since I give a lot of art away, this will be a good way for me to remember all the art I've created.

I'm noting the Project title, Date, Media, and some notes about each project.

This is my Live section.

I have a Week on 2 Pages inserts here.

I'm using them to plan and track blog posts, studio work, and anything else I might want to add.

Next we have my Learn section with 2 subsections: Art Books and Resources

I listed all of my Art Books here that I own, along with resources for where to buy favorite supplies.

Having the Art Books at a glance will be handy when I'm ordering new books--to make sure

that I don't duplicate any that I already have.

Next is my Plan section--my monthly calendar pages.

I'm keeping track of weekly challenge projects here, making notes of little things,

and doing some doodles too.

This is my Inspire section--with 2 subsections: Artists and Quotes

I'll be noting my favorite and most inspiring artists here, along with favorite Art Quotes.

And last but not least, at the back--a place for art-related business cards.

Isn't it all so very left-brained of me to do all of this? It's weird, I know. But I enjoy it. And I like having a place for everything--and more importantly, a way to document my creative life and leave a record of it behind for my family for when I'm gone. I'm really using ALL of my planners for that reason, just as much as for being organized. After having lost my mom, I just know how important her life was, and how important it is to leave something behind that is meaningful. And believe me, it is ALL meaningful. So I'm going to document as much as I can while I have the desire to do it.

As I said, none of these are an actual Filofax, but they are great planners from kikki.K and Paperchase. Much more affordable than a Filofax too, which is nice, because I'd really rather spend my money on art supplies anyway. Which reminds me...my collection of washi tape has grown from 0 to probably 70 rolls since I started using my planners. I use them to decorate the pages. You just can't get the right-brain side of me to quit, no matter what. :)

I Must Have Flowers

The challenge this week for The Documented Life project was to use a quote in our journal page. I decided to pick a quote by Claude Monet. 

I mostly used colored pencil for this one. I was sitting on the couch on Friday evening, not feeling the greatest thanks to a cold, and I felt like drawing. So I picked my quote and created some flowers as I sat watching FRIENDS reruns. :)

Becoming Yourself

This week's challenge for Journal52 is the theme of renewal and rebirth. For some reason I was feeling like Fairy Art for this challenge, so that is part of my inspiration for this art journal page.

One of my favorite artists of all time is Maxfield Parrish. He was a renowned artist and illustrator and I love everything about his luminous style. So I took an old calendar I had of his artwork, and used his work, 'Ecstasy' as the muse for this art journal page. I cut out the girl, and gave her wings, and then added her to a background I created using Neocolor crayons and Mr. Hueys Color Mist sprays. Love, love it! And I love the quote too, which, to me, sums up what renewal and rebirth are all about.

I used this same girl in previous work when I created some Maxfield Parrish Inspired Magnets. Have a peek at those if you're interested. Those are on my refrigerator. :) And now that I've cut up my old calendar quite a bit, I think I need a new one of Mr. Parrish's work!

Rapunzel

I didn't do any art journal pages this week. Instead, I finished up my Rapunzel painting for my little princess, Destiny. If my granddaughter requests a painting, how can I possibly refuse? So this painting is now hanging on the wall above her bed.

And of course once I gave it to her, she requested Belle and Ariel as well. So I think there are going to be more princesses appearing in my studio in the near future. :)

Party Animal

I only completed one art journal page this weekend. I had intended to do both The Documented Life page and the Journal52 page, but I couldn't get inspired enough by the "food box" prompt at TDL, so I just decided to skip it and do my J52 instead. The theme for that one this week is "Party Animal." So since I love kangaroos, this is what I did.

Who doesn't love a party-going kangaroo? LOL. I also started a painting for a very special girl, my granddaughter, Destiny. She requested that I a paint Rapunzel for her, from Tangled. So I began that painting as well. It's about half way done now, and I'm hoping to finish it up next weekend. Next weekend is Easter, so that may get tricky, but I'm sure going to try. :)

Flower Child Mixed Media

I finally finished this painting...though it almost turned out to be a disaster. I had finished most of it a week ago in the studio, but I wanted to look at it again over the weekend and see if I wanted to add any final details to my Flower Child. I decided on a few finishing touches, so I began to shake up one of my blue paint pens--and as I almost finished that, the pen flew out of my hand, the lid came off, and blue paint went all over my girls face and hair! Can you say, PANIC?! 

I went into bionic mode and grabbed some baby wipes and was able to wipe off most of the paint, thank goodness. I did a little smearing in the process, and some small bits of paint did not come off. I had to do a little fixing, but for the most part I was able to fix the damage--but dang, that was close. I really love this painting, and for a minute there, I thought I'd completely ruined it. Yowza!

Anyway, here's my Flower Child Mixed Media portrait. That almost wasn't.  :)

I did the girl first on watercolor paper. That was kind of a mistake because the paper was too thick. And, as I discovered during the process, it does not like to be glued down! But I didn't seem to have any decent drawing paper, so I grabbed what I had. Live and learn. Her face was done primarily with Neocolor crayons, but there is some acrylic here and there as well. Her shirt is embellished scrapbook paper. The background is acrylics rolled on with brayers--then flowers added on top with paint pens. And the dangling stars, hearts, and moons were a stencil and I embellished them with paint. I did the word, Beautiful, freehand. I had planned to use a stencil I got for that, but it didn't fit right in the space, so I just winged it. Finally, the bird...I drew that little gal as well and used paint pen to fill her in.

I love how this turned out. Thank goodness I didn't ruin her!

A Star Can Never Die

It's no secret that I'm a Michael Jackson fan. So whenever I get the chance to put Michael in my art, whether it's in digital form, or a painting, or in my Art Journals, I jump at it. This week's prompt for The Documented Life gave me that chance. The prompt was "Monochromatic." Well, I've painted Michael twice in a monochromatic color scheme, so I decided to use a photo of one of those paintings as my starting point. This was the result.

Once I got the photo printed out, I sealed it with some Judikins Microglaze. I use that on almost every image that I print out to protect it. Then I embellished the photo just a bit. And then I created the companion page, using Inktense blocks and an Uni Posca paint pen, with one of Michael's quotes that I love. What can I say, I love knowing that Michael's face is in my art journal!

If you'd like to see the original oil painting of Michael, just click on the link below:

MICHAEL JACKSON IN SHADES

And the quote reads, "A star can never die; it just turns into a smile and melts back into the cosmic music, the dance of life."

Rain or Shine

This week's prompt for the Journal52 challenge is Rain or Shine--or anything related to weather. I immediately thought of that song, Rain or Shine. Many greats have sung that song, but my personal favorite is the Ray Charles version.

Anyhoots, this is my creation for that challenge.

Some of the words of the song make me think of my mom, so the winged heart represents her. And the words I chose from the song are the ones I need to remember--the remind myself that she is with me...always.