Lina is a dreamy nineteen year old girl from Germany. She has loved journaling since she was little. Her favourite things to use are watercolours and ink sprays and she also believes in the power of words and writing. It’s important to her and has quite a big place in her colourful heart.

WHY DO YOU LOVE ART JOURNALING?

The thing I love about journaling the most is that you can get everything out. Your feelings, your thoughts, whatever comes to your mind. But sometimes you can’t put into words how you feel, and then art journaling is my way to go.

I also like to combine writing and art because you have so much more possibilities, and ways to express yourself.

It’s also a lot more fun to look back through an old art journal than through a journal with just plain writing. At least in my opinion.

DESCRIBE YOUR ART JOURNALING PROCESS.

I would say I have two ways of journaling. And it depends on my mood with which I create a page. Sometimes I have an image in my head of what I would like to create and then I try to make that happen on paper. The next day I sit down on my messy desk with my journal and my art supplies surrounding me and I just go with the flow. Grab this paint and try to mix it with gesso or spray a few of my ink sprays on the page and then go from there. I do this and work on the page until I get the feeling that it’s finished and feel like I’m done. Sometimes that takes me days. I also don’t write on every page the same day I create it. So some just stay there prepped until I have something to write about that fits that page.

WHAT TIPS DO YOU HAVE FOR BEGINNERS?

Just start. Just do it. You don’t need fancy journals or supplies to start. All you need is a book or sketch block, a pen and some colour. And you don’t know if journaling will be something you like so wait a little until you invest in a really big watercolour palette or expensive brushes. You can make everything work. Find out if you like blank pages or prefer something with lines and then go from there.

WHAT ARE YOUR MUST HAVE SUPPLIES? WHAT IS YOUR JOURNAL OF CHOICE?

If you know that journaling is “your thing” and you decide to invest in some supplies, I would always go with watercolours. They have such a big variety of colours and you can mix then and use them in almost any project. I own schmincke and Lukas watercolours. (And I was recently gifted some Daniel Smith that are absolutely gorgeous.)

The Schmincke ones are very pigmented but super expensive.So I go back and forth between the two. Brushes are another essential. I got my Daler Rowney ones for €10 at TK Maxx.

Gesso is another thing I would miss a lot. Some basic alphabet stamps are great too, along with a little stapler and some washi tape.

Right now I journal in a Moleskine cahier insert and don’t have problems with too much bleeding but I would love to go back to my Moleskine Art Plus.

If they made an insert/cahier with that paper I would be so happy. I am such a Moleskine Girl.

HOW DO YOU FIND TIME TO MAKE THINGS?

That’s the question I ask myself a lot. But I developed a pretty good routine of prepping pages on the 3-4 evenings/nights I find time. (I am a total night owl and so much more creative around midnight.. the things I do for art. :D) On my way to work, I have a 20 minute train ride and I made it a habit to journal on the train while listening to the Harry Potter audiobooks or music.

I also try to write in the mornings when there is still time left until I need to get up.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR ART JOURNAL REFLECTS YOURSELF AND YOUR PERSONALITY? HOW?

Oh yes I do. I recently counted all my journals, numbered them and of course flipped through my old ones. There is such a big difference between what I did 3 years ago and what I do now. Even 6 months ago.. I can really see how I’ve grown, art wise but also as a person. I often write “facts about me” pages and to look back on them is amazing. To see how afraid I was to not get into university a month ago or the two months in 2016 where I was in a really unhappy place, and mostly did things in muted black and grey colours with sad quotes. And to see that transition to happy bright fun colours. That’s a reflection of my life and my experiences. I feel like an (art)journal does reflect your personality because you are the one deciding what will be on the pages. You create them yourself from your imagination and mix things from people that you are inspired by.

📌 Pin this or share in Instagram Stories: