Journal Pages Don't Have to be Precious!

A page of squiggles--I usually try to make a note of just WHAT I'm testing, because I forget rather too quickly...the guy at the bottom was sketched with my Namiki Falcon, though, I think...

Aquacolor tests...

Playing with paint...

Ink testing in my journal...

People sometimes tell me they're afraid of ruining a journal page...but really, you CAN'T, at least in my opinion, because it's your journal.  It's a learning experience.  Share it or not, it's your choice.

Your journal doesn't have to full of beautifully designed pages, with arrangements worthy of publication and calligraphy worth of Denis Brown.  

It can be a place to play, to explore, to test--materials, techniques, or yourself!  I do a lot of that, testing out a new pen, seeing how transparent my watercolor are...it can be a recognizable image, or just lines and spirals.

I often fill whole pages with tests from various inks or pens...at the top of the page I threw in pencils for good measure.  (And as noted that page would be a LOT more useful if I'd written down what I was using!)

Some of us have a fear of white paper, but I love this E.B.White quote from late in his life: "Even now, this late in the day, a blank sheet of paper holds the greatest excitement there is for me--more promising than a silver cloud, and prettier than a red wagon." 

If the first page of a new journal intimidates you, skip it!  Start working several pages in and come back to it.  Or use that page for a traditional beginning--a favorite quote, a hand-drawn map, a list of intentions or goals, or a sketch of your current watercolor or sketch kit, as Liz Steel and Vicky Williamson often do!

Whatever you do, relax, trust yourself, enjoy your journal, and have fun.