Benefits of Starting an Art Journal

For my entire life, I have always needed an outlet for my creativity. It started with drawings made with crayons, moved into the physical art of dance, and so on and so forth. Whatever I was fixated on had to be creative in some way, and it has helped me immensely with my mental and emotional wellbeing. Pouring my thoughts, ideas, and emotions into an art project is my favorite form of catharsis, and my favorite way to do this is with an art journal. There are so many benefits of starting an art journal, I am so excited to be talking about them today.

One of my goals for 2022 is the learn to love embracing my inner child. For way too long, I was worried that enjoying fun, colorful, and exciting things would make me appear immature. It held me back from enjoying my life to the fullest, but I’m done with that.

Related: How to Embrace Your Inner Child

I feel with time and age I have realized, that I can enjoy the things I enjoy without worrying about judgment from others, and I think that is a beautiful thing. I am going to collect the things I want to collect, watch the movies I want to watch, and pretend like I am a kid doing an art project whenever I want.

So, if you too want to go back to the days of cutting, pasting, coloring, and painting, join me! I’ll be making my art journal a priority this year. And all the benefits of starting an art journal are just an added bonus!

I have also been really into journaling lately! It has been a fantastic way to work though anything going on in my brain by putting it on paper. There are so many benefits of journaling, and focusing on it has lead to so many positive things in my life.

Related: Journal Prompts for a Fresh Start

Mix those two together, and you get an obsession with art journals!

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What is an Art Journal?

An art journal is a visual journal, a collection of your thoughts, ideas, and feelings displayed in a creative and artistic way. An art journal can be whatever you want it to be, which is the beauty of creativity.

There is no strict definition of what is included in an art journal, it is all up to you and how you wish to express yourself through art. Whatever medium or art supplies you want are correct and perfect!

Another type of art journal is called a junk journal. A junk journal is a collection of found things placed into a journal creatively. This creates a super eclectic and exciting art project that is fun to flip through, and completely unique. There is a difference between art journals and junk journals, but the end result is much the same. For more information on junk journals, check out this post from Compass and Ink!

In the end, you have a book full of really cool art pieces that mean something to you and you alone, and I think that’s pretty cool. One of my favorite things to do is go back and look at my old, completed art journals. It is a special piece that I can look back on.

What is the Difference Between Art Journals and Bullet Journals?

At first glance, it might seem that art journals and bullet journals are extremely similar. They both use creative means to put ideas on a page, but that is where the similarities end.

Bullet journals are used to organize a person’s life in an aesthetic and creative way. People tend to use stickers, washi tape, and illustrations to organize their schedules, ideas, and more. There are more words, numbers, and information in bullet journals.

Art journals are a creative expression of what is going on in your head. With visuals being at the forefront of art journals, they are less about the organization of ideas and more about expression.

Basically, bullet journals put information at the forefront while art journals put expression at the forefront.

I am a fan and user of both bullet journals and art journals. There is a lot of overlap in creativity, but with different goals.

What Art Mediums are Used in Art Journals?

As I said, you can use everything and anything you want when working in an art journal. The world is yours. But there are some common mediums and supplies that people use when creating an art journal, here are a few:

• Paint
• Collage of photos
• Found objects (junk journal)
• Charcoal and lead pencil drawings
• Fabric and textiles
• Papercutting
• Markers, crayons, colored pencils, etc.
• Mixture of all

When creating an art journal, there is a certain amount of fun in looking at the supplies you have available to you and working from there. Mixing acrylic paint with collages creates something beautiful and exciting.

Why Should I Start an Art Journal?

The Benefits of Starting an Art Journal

Whether you should or shouldn’t start an art journal is 100% up to you, but there are so many benefits to starting one. A lot of the benefits are similar to that of simply journaling, but with an artistic twist. Here are some benefits I have experienced from starting an art or visual journal:

1. Outlet for Creativity

There are days when I just want to be creative. I want to create something or anything. But I don’t want to start a whole new crochet project or pull out all my jewelry-making supplies. This is why art journaling is so perfect. It gives me the chance to channel any creative energy I have stored up into something productive like journaling.

2. Use the Right Side of Your Brain to Process Emotions

When you are working through emotions, it is important to allow both the right and left sides of the brain to process. After you allow the logical side of your brain to work through what happened, how you are feeling, and the impact your emotions are going to have on your life, you can move to the right side, and use creativity to work through them.

3. Connect to Your Inner Child

I have talked a little bit about connecting to your inner child on my blog, and it can’t be more true with art journaling. There is something so cathartic about pulling out paints, scissors, glue, and other art supplies and dedicating your entire focus to something fun. Arts & crafts were always my favorite activity as a kid, and it feels good to get back to that and do something that puts a smile on my face.

4. Test the Waters with Different Art Forms

Maybe you love painting but you have always wanted to try making a collage. Or you have been drawing with lead pencil for years and you want to start incorporating colored pencils into your art. Art journals are a fantastic place to test the waters with different mediums, art supplies, and art forms. It is a small page in a large collection of art, so there is less pressure to make it perfect. Just have fun!

5. Get over Perfection

In something like an art journal, there are bound to be mistaken. Once you have something inked into a journal, there isn’t much you can do about it except rip the page out. that can be a little scary and a lot of pressure. This is why I think starting an art journal is so great. It is an exercise in relinquishing a sense of control and allowing mistakes to happen. Because once you accept that things aren’t going to be perfect, you can truly let go and enjoy the process of working in an art journal.

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There are so many benefits to starting an art journal. I feel like it should be something we teach in schools. With the push for emotional intelligence and creativity from a young age, using an art journal would be a fantastic outlet for children. It is also a great way for students to take the information they are learning and move it to the right side of their brain! So many benefits!

What are you waiting for? Start your art journaling journey! Have fun with it and don’t worry too much about what it looks like. Just enjoy the process of putting your ideas and thoughts onto a page in a creative way!

Does anyone already use an art journal? Tell me about it in the comments below! What is your favorite medium to work in? How often do you use your art journal? Do you keep the journal when you’re finished?