The conversation between colours in an artwork can make it complex and busy. When you reduce your palette to shades of one colour, you reduce the noise, and make a much more minimalist piece. It can still be intricately detailed, and multi-layered, but doesn’t get as intense.
Collage presents a unique way of including a wide range of textures and shapes while sticking to shades of a single colour.
a super easy way to paint abstractly with paint
how to keep abstract painting minimalist
Tanyalee Kahler teaches how to make three types of minimalist watercolour backgrounds that you can quickly use to fill up an art journal.
Fairy Tales Hi, Messy friends! Elizabeth here to take you into the woods (or into the depths of your handbag) as we forage for art journal supplies. Growing up, I had a...
One of the biggest questions we receive that's not journaling related is how to take photos of the art journals for sharing on Instagram. The creative team is here sharing their secrets for success... Katie I use different programs for editing different things. On my...
Hey Get Messians, Katie here! How many art journals do you have that you work in? Right now, on my desk I have 5 that all have a different theme: My general art journal, an art journal...
This week we have the amazing Sarah Fuchs here with us to teach us all about color theory, what it is and how to use it to improve your art journal pages. I remember clearly when my mum...
In the class I teach you how to draw faces from start to finish, but for this free lesson, I wanted to share a printable with y’all and demonstrate how you can use faces in your art journal. So I’ve created 4 different printable faces for you to use (whether or not you take the class!) in your work.
Botanicals in art journaling > Bonus BECOMING BOTANICAL BY COLLAGING FLORALS It's kind of obvious now that one of my muses in art journaling is all things botanical. I have a fun...
1.2 ArtWatercolour Smooshes • How to create watercolour smooshes • Art Application: Germany / Love • Art Application: t / eReady for the easiest art lesson you’ll ever receive? HOW TO CREATE WATERCOLOUR SMOOSHES Told you it was easy! One supply. One colour. Loads of...
3.1 CatalystBrain Dump • How to use the Brain Dump Creative Catalyst • Art Application: Kaylee • Art Application: When We Have Less • Art Application: Freedom HOW TO USE THE BRAIN DUMP Morning pages are something incredible that I took from a meh book. A short while...
III. JournalHandbound Journal for Less Stuff • Handbound journal inspiration • How to Hand Bind a JournalThis journal uses up your supplies. It provides you with a base made out of paper that you already love. It removes the fear of the blank page. If you put in the...
2.2 ArtTaking In / Letting Out • How to dip dye paper • Art application: Resistance HOW TO DIP DYE PAPER Watercolour dyeing is something that I have been in love with for years. In the video below, I show you how easy it can be. ART APPLICATION: RESISTANCE Put...
Vanessa Oliver-LloydInner LandscapesI am so proud to know Vanessa Oliver-Lloyd as both a fellow artist, a collaborator, and a friend. I am just as proud to introduce you to her as our first guest artist. Now, if you already know V, you will know that she is not the...
I. CatalystThe Minimalist Art Journal Manifesto • How to Use the Catalysts • Eight Principles of Minimalist Art Journaling • You As An Artist • Art Application: Although you WorkHOW TO USE THE CATALYSTS Firstly, have you downloaded the catalysts yet? Download them....
2. Simpler ProcessMind Travel KitTaking In / Letting OutBotanyLacy PatternsStacked Shapes
3.2 ArtReduce the Noise • Process your ephemera • Morning Pages in the Morning PROCESS YOUR EPHEMERA Ephemera is one of those things that can get seriously out of control. Watch this video showing tips for maintaining a collection of ephemera that you truly love,...
IV. JournalPlain journal for a simpler process • Plain journals are awesome too You have permission to use a plain journal. I use pretty much exclusively Moleskine – this isn’t the perfect journal. It does not enjoy paint even a little bit. Do not go out and buy a...
2.3 ArtBotany • The Minimalist’s Paint Pour: Acrylic Smoosh • The Minimalist’s Paint Pour: Flow • Art Application: Botany • Art Application: She Had a Feeling THE MINIMALIST’S PAINT POUR Paint pouring is a beautiful technique, but it gets very overwhelming and busy....
1.1 Mood BoardCreative Catalyst for Intentional Creating • How to use the Mood Board Creative Catalyst • Art Application: Always be Kinder • Art Application: Am I Good Enough?HOW TO USE THE CREATIVE CATALYST This is one of my favourites for ensuring that a page has a...
3. Calmer Look Brain DumpReduce the NoiseA Journal as a WholeMonochrome BackgroundLayered Minimalism
II. ArtAnti-Supply List • Swatches • Swatch Table • Colour TableThe Required Supplies list is: whatever you already own Nothing is required. In fact, while you go through this lesson I actively encourage you to give away any supplies that you don’t actively love....
2.1 CatalystMind Travel Kit • How to use the Mind Travel Kit Creative Catalyst • Art Application: Do You • Art Application: Wait / Great Things Take Time • Art Application: PruneHOW TO USE THE MIND TRAVEL KIT CREATIVE CATALYST Watch the video below to see how I...
3.3 ArtA Journal as a Whole • A Journal as a WholeA JOURNAL AS A WHOLE I had a whole bunch of real life ephemera that I wanted to use and let go of. I bound a small, A6 journal, and put it all in there. I put my music on loud and got everything down onto the page....
V. JournalFound journal for a calmer look • Ideas for your Found Journal • Found Catalogue Art Journal in One SittingSee things not as they are, but as opportunities. A found journal is something that you can really play with. I tend to find a lot of calmer looking...
Minimalist art journaling is art journaling that strips away the excess, takes away the non-essentials, and focuses on what’s important. The Minimalist Art Journal is all about finding your calm and putting your emotions on a page. Including 16 lessons and 7 guest artists, you will learn to not fear the blank page and embrace it. Get away from the clutter and overload of normal life and focus on what makes this moment, this hour, this day important. No overload of extras and stuff. Just you, a blank page, and the basics. Take time, do less, and create more art where you are with what you have.
Minimalist art journaling is art journaling that strips away the excess, takes away the non-essentials, and focuses on what’s important. Get Messy Fairy Artmother Caylee Grey builds on the first Minimalist Art Journal class and takes you on a deeper dive in this premium class. MAJ2 Includes 20 lessons with 48 videos and a 37 page workbook filled with creative catalysts, as well as a wealth of guest artists who share their insights and methods. MAJ2 is not about “making time for art,” but about fitting art into the life you already have: the one with commitments and responsibilities. MAJ2 is for those who have less time, less room, and less brain-space to devote to art journaling, but whose need to create still burns.
Let’s start by going over the supplies I will be using in these lessons! I will tell you what brands I use and prefer, but feel free to use whatever supplies you have on hand!
Remember, there are no rules with art journaling, especially with supplies, so make the most of what you already have. A good understanding of what products are will help you make a more informed decision when you are standing in the craft aisle and feeling overwhelmed, so at least give each material a read through to better understand its function.
To start off this first lesson, we are going to gather our supplies so we are ready for a stellar time creating beautiful galaxies in your art journals.
Perfect for beginning art journalers and experienced art journalers alike, Messy Pages includes 6 lessons with tips for choosing the right journal, how to choose the best supplies and mediums for you, simple explanations of art journaling terms, supplies, and how-to’s, plus examples and ideas for how to approach prompts for creating pages. Beginner art journalers will find instructor Tanylee Kahler’s overview of art journal lingo like mediums and gesso and what in the world a gelli plate is approachable and accessible. Experienced art journalers will find challenging fluid and experimental art techniques like painting galaxies, dreamy clouds, using inks, creating abstract backgrounds, and much more. Make a beautiful mess with Messy Pages.
This course is about accessing your emotional self through your art journal. In it, we are going to spend time meditating on different aspects of our emotional selves, and find ways of expressing them through our art.
Botanicals in art journaling > Lesson 4Collage Images of BotanicalsI often use images of botanicals in my art journal to add more layer, depth and variety. In this lesson, I want to...
Botanicals in art journaling > Lesson 2Ink Drawings with a Pointed Nib and Paint BrushUsing ink to draw botanicals is a favorite of mine. I often use one of two tools to get the ink...
Botanicals in art journaling > Lesson 5Line Drawings to use as collage ephemeraIn the last lesson, we explored resources for finding botanical images and collected some images to use...
Botanicals in art journaling > Lesson 3Painted BotanicalsIn this lesson, we are going to be painting botanicals in a more abstract way. Painting abstract rather than realistic allows...
Botanicals in art journaling > Lesson 1 BLIND CONTOUR BOTANICALSWhat is Blind Contour Drawing? Blind Contour drawing is drawing without looking at your drawing as you make it! In...
Mark making can be an instinctive and natural way to add more layers and interest to your art. In Messy Marks, you’ll learn how to create interesting and vibrant marks in your art journal with a variety of tools and techniques. Instructor Torrie Lynn will show you how to expand your idea of mark making and rely on your intuition to create them. She will overview different types of marks, how to embrace your intuition, and how to layer marks in a cohesive way. You will create beautiful layers of details with various supplies such as paint, markers, pens, and unconventional supplies. Elevate your art journaling to the next level with details, layers, and marks with your intuition as a guide in Messy Marks.
Dive into the world of portraiture with Sketching Faces. Experienced illustrator, Katie Smith, will teach you her method for drawing beautiful faces no matter your skill level. This class starts at the very beginning with supplies, then walks you through, step-by-step, in easy-to-follow videos, drawing a variety of facial features, different profile views, and hairstyles. You will also learn Katie’s secrets for coloring in sketched faces with watercolor paint. The class includes multiple printable templates to help you practice and grow your skills, as well as guides, video tutorials, and ideas and challenges for using your new artwork in your art journal. Take your artwork to the next level with the ability to draw lifelike faces with Sketching Faces.
Wouldn’t you love the ability to create beautiful, vast starry night skies in your art journal? Resident galaxy painting expert, Katie Smith, shows you how in this guide to painting the cosmos. In this technique based class, you will learn how to create stunning starry scenes using watercolours and acrylic paints. If you’re new to working with these mediums, Katie will guide you through learning and mastering these tools, including turning household items like a toothbrush into a star wand! Following Katie’s simple teaching style will have your pages shining like the Milky Way in no time. This class is designed for anyone who has looked up into the night sky in awe and longs to translate that beauty into their artwork.
Rituals is about more intention, thoughtfulness, and awareness in your year and in your art. With Rituals, you can finally take action to focus on your art, be intentional about it, and ground yourself in time. Each month, Vanessa Oliver-Llyod leads you through a different art technique and/or medium that will help you meditate on the month’s themes and immerse yourself in time and place. When you enroll, you will receive immediate access to the 12 months of content. You can start at the beginning, start in the current month, or work at your own pace. With Rituals, you can create an art practice filled with depth and intention that only you can create.
The Heart Journal will get you connecting with your emotional self and exploring her in your art journal. Essie Ruth will lead you through exploring joy and happiness, sadness and grief, anger and rage, wonder and surprise, and peace. Alongside Essie, you will look at how great artists have conveyed emotion in their own work and draw inspiration from them. You’ll consider how artistic media can best communicate certain feelings. You’ll contemplate your relationships with different emotions and what you think about them. And most importantly, you’ll take everything you’ve learned and use it to create expressive, satisfying, and rewarding works of art. If you’d like to start putting your heart into your art journal, then this class will help you find ways to do just that.
Find and integrate your personal symbols into your art journal with Totems. Instructor and archeologist Vanessa Oliver-Llyod will introduce you to four different sources of symbolism: spirit animals, archetypes, elementals, and claiming the feminine. You do not need any prior knowledge of personal symbols to take this class as Vanessa will walk you through each step of understanding, researching, seeking, identifying, and incorporating unique symbols in your work and life. She will then teach you interactive and intuitive art techniques that will allow you to incorporate each symbol into your artwork. With this class, you will go on a deeply personal journey to identify the symbols that represent your personality and life to return to again and again.
Make grown up art with your favorite childhood supplies. Pen & Ink is a class that is about 3 simple tools: water, pens, and inks. The class teaches you over 40 techniques using these tools, but these techniques are not for the perfectionist. They are for the child and the wild artist inside of you who longs to splatter, pour, and fling paint into this world. If you are ready to let that child out, follow your teacher Julia Cusworth as she shows you how to use these simple products to build background pages, simply play, or finish pages in your art journal. This class is perfect for anyone who is ready to let their inner artist child take the reins and Get Messy.
With this class, you will fulfil all your creative needs and desires to create the perfect custom books and journals to hold all your beautiful art and precious thoughts in. Led by Vanessa Oliver-Llyod, Basic Bookbinding includes four tutorials and one bonus tutorial. With step-by-step photos and written instructions, Vanessa explains what tools you need to get started, plus options for using what you likely already have on hand. The lessons in this class are suitable for beginners and experienced art journalers who want to stop buying run-of-the-mill journals and start creating one-of-a-kind books. The books you will create with these techniques are perfect for art journaling, writing, list-making, idea-catching, collaging, cutting, pasting, and anything else you can imagine doing in a journal.
In Transference, Tiffany Julia will show you how to create image transfers using acrylic mediums and combine them with other mediums like paints, inks, and different types of papers to create beautifully intricate pages and spreads in your art journals. Image transfers are a simple art technique that create soft layers and the dreamy appearance of hand painted art. Following the lessons in this class, you will learn how to create art journal pages that pull viewers in to take a closer look at the layers and details that lie just beneath the surface. This class is perfect for anyone looking to expand their creative toolkit and work slowly and methodically in their art
Learn how to think like a junk journaler – becoming more mindful and creative with what is available around you and enjoying and embracing imperfection. In Pieces, Johanna Clough will show you how to repurpose bits and pieces you have collected and put them to use in your art journal. You will start by creating a simple no-sew art journal in a junk journal style. In each lesson, you will experiment with creating pages with items that you have collected and repurposed from your life and use symbolism and interaction to give your pages depth. This class is perfect for anyone who enjoys creating pages based on found elements or anyone who struggles with allowing themselves to let go of perfection.
Infuse your art with nature’s most lovely masterpieces. Flowers and plants provide an endless amount of inspiration for creatives all around the world. Through this floral focused art journaling class, Alicia Schultz will guide you through a multitude of different ways to use botanical beauty and inspiration in your art journal. You will learn six new ways to incorporate flowers and plants in your art journaling with various techniques like drawing, collage, painting, and more. Through these lessons, you will create art journal spreads that are blooming with beauty. If you love blooms and are awed by their beauty, then this is the perfect class for you.
Welcome to the class!
why it’s important to keep your tool kit small
how to build an art journal kit that you absolutely love
what my ultimate tool kit is
Cait SherwoodLacy PatternsI am still starstruck whenever Cait talks to me. I still feel like I am not worthy of talking to anyone who makes anything this beautiful. I’m still in disbelief that she said yes to contributing in this class. Cait is an artist who creates...
Sarah RondonMultimedia CollageSo Sarah really needs to start being arrogant about her mad art skills. She once helped me figure out how to mix the colour for my exact skin tone in three sentences. And I am really dumb at colour mixing. Her art knowledge is deep, and...
Tina AszmusMonochromatic BackgroundI first became aware of Tina from my scrapbooking days, and I have loved seeing her art develop over the last few years. Her style is very clean, her art is quirky, and her colour palettes are made of my dreams. Tina also has a real...
Katie LichtStacked ShapesKatie Licht is the undisputed Queen of Collage. I remember finding her art on Flickr way before social media was in full force, almost an actual decade ago. I would go through her photostream again and again. I was ecstatic when I found her on...
Alicia SchultzLayered MinimalismI fell in love with Alicia’s work as soon as I saw it. The pastels, the florals. It spoke directly to the inner depths of my heart. The thing that strikes me most about her work is how she manages to create so much depth, and still keep...
Merel DjamilaRecycled PaperArtist Merel Djamila has an exceptional eye for distinguishing elements that are unrelated but together tell a beautiful story. Scroll through her Instagram archives to see pages that interact with their environment, and let her show you how...
The Minimalist Art Journal > Lesson 3.1Preventing Over-EmbellishmentWelcome to Lesson 3.1 of The Minimalist Art Journal. In this lesson, we’ll be learning how to prevent over-embellishment by...
The Minimalist Art Journal > Lesson 3.2Using Found ImagesWelcome to Lesson 3.2 of The Minimalist Art Journal. In this lesson, we’ll be learning how to alter found images to be more minimalist...
The Minimalist Art Journal > Lesson 3.3Image TransfersToday, one of my favourite artists, Tiffany Julia, is going to be teaching you how to how to create image transfers using printed ephemera,...
The Minimalist Art Journal > Lesson 3.4Botanical MinimalismToday, one of my favourite artists, Zinia, is going to be teaching you seven different floral designs to try in your art journal. ZINIA...
The Minimalist Art Journal > Lesson 4.1Say what you needWelcome to Lesson 4.1 of The Minimalist Art Journal. In this lesson, we’ll be learning how to say only what you need This is an...
The Minimalist Art Journal > Lesson 4.2Get it all outWelcome to Lesson 4.2 of The Minimalist Art Journal. In this lesson, we’ll be learning how to get what you need to say out, but still rock the...
Our guest teacher Anika Lacerte will walk us through making an Impact with Less.
1. Less stuffMood BoardWatercolour SmooshInner LandscapesRecycled PaperMultimedia Collage
Jennifer Bilton helps us reconcile the business of Collage and Lettering with minimalism.
While I love writing in my journal, there are also times where I just want to get my paints out and play. This lesson focuses on just that. We will still be documenting things we are...
In this lesson, we will cover different ways to decorate tags that you can add to your journals. They are a quick way to get creative and make a lovely addition to your journal pages....
In this lesson, we will start off by creating a beautiful cover for out gratitude journal. We will then select a wide variety of papers and bind them together using a really simple...
This lesson will further explore collaged landscapes. We will build on this collage process by creating a forest landscape and adding a figure and a guide animal to explore that...
In this lesson, we are going to start putting our journals to good use by creating writing spots. There are lots of fun ways to do this and I will be sharing some of my favourites....
Zine-making is historically a mode of expression used by marginalized groups. Zines are inherently underground, queer, feminist, anarchist, punk, and rebellious. They were photocopied works of...
In this lesson, I will be talking you through some of my favourite tips for hand-lettering and faux calligraphy, along with providing you with a brush-lettering workbook. We will then...
The integrating self grows in confidence and is open to other perspectives. As the new integrated self builds its new habits, it makes choices based on its core values. It acknowledges...
The self is ready to bear the discomfort that might come from realigning with its own truth and re-integrating with its core self - its inner child. The self has finally committed to...
Despite its fears and doubts, the self takes the leap of faith! Doubt and uncertainty feel overwhelming to the self. It weighs the pros and cons over and over again. Fear paralyzes any...
The self feels torn between its obligations and disappearing dreams, desires and worth. The self feels obligated to abandon itself in order to meet the societal expectations. It doubts...
The society’s need for conformity widens the gap between the inner child and the growing self. The growing self continues to internalize the beliefs and paradigms that it learns every...
The inner child’s life journey begins to tear it away from its own truths. As the inner child begins its life’s journey, it leaves its core and is programmed to adapt to the requirements...
Make a Zine inspired by pages in your art journal and create a tip-in pocket to store it. Do you have a spread (or more!) in your art journal that you just love? Why not create a zine inspired...
Fold and crease your single page zine in new ways, and use the literal unfolding as a visual journey through your own history or personal layers. When I started making zines in the 1990s, riot...
In this lesson, we begin working in our journals by creating a collaged meadow landscape and adding stitched flowers. I’ll take you through my collage process and how I would build...
This lesson walks you through a step by step process of creating a monthly recap journal page.
Texture is used to describe the surface quality of the work, referencing the types of lines the artist created. The surface quality can either be tactile (real) or strictly visual (implied). Tactile surface quality is mainly seen through three-dimensional works, like...
A little bonus before we say goodbye, we will take a little time to flip through some of my puzzle pieced journals, taking more time with what fills the pages. I’ve also included a few files...
So far in this course we’ve been focusing on being in conversation with the bits and pieces of life we’ve collected, and letting that tumble out onto the page. Now, we are going to shift a...
When we’re putting together a jigsaw puzzle, it often helps to start with the edge or a foundation of sorts. For some of us, myself included, that means putting together all the actual edge...
Let’s use unusual drawing and painting tools, like the sticks and twigs we picked up outside, to draw with ink and make interesting marks on loose paper. Use your twigs to experiment with...
When I am feeling stuck, uninspired or unsure I love to make mini collages. Using all of my favourite scraps of paper ad small journal, I create these mini collages as a way to warm...
This lesson walks you through a step by step process of creating a daily entry page.
MessYour challenge, should you choose to accept it: Create grungy tissue papers with a gel plate and acrylic paints to use as a quick background. Action Steps Bring your imperfect, messy self, take...
EnoughYour challenge, should you choose to accept it: Create a double-page spread in which one flower is explored in two different ways using the same colour pallet. Work with your favourite media...
Mindfulness#gmseasonofmindfulnessMindfulness. Turning towards ourselves and listening. Being patient and curious and open. Imagine how much our...
Every moment offers an invitation to stop and notice what is happening around you and within you. We’re all way too busy to notice everything, all the time (also, that would be overwhelming!)...
Make a zine from start to finish in less than 60 minutes! You’ll go through 6 steps using a variety of art supplies and techniques that you can make your own. Add words, quotes or phrases to...
One of the fun things about a puzzle is that the picture comes together as we work on it, like a journal page. We don’t always have to see the end result to begin, with a puzzle or a page, but...
Creating the edges of our pages gives us a great place to begin, but now it’s time to fill those pages in with all our pieces. And once again, just like a jigsaw puzzle, we will turn to all...
Let’s use repetition and re-creation in our art practice as a way to lower pressure, explore, and develop an idea. In this session, we will be drawing from observation using a fallen leaf or...
Firstly, we will prepare our sketchbook page with a nice dark background with either ink or paint and let it dry. We'll then look at our photographs for inspiration to create nature-themed...
This lesson walks you through a step by step process of creating a media journal page.