Do you have an art journal? Or do you always paint on canvas or paper? I usually get out my Canson Paper and I paint. Lately, I have been doodling in a notebook. I sketch in my color journal. I have discovered that painting in a journal feels playful and free. Lately, my journal work has been my best work!

I wanted to play around with leaf shapes. Then it was orange and pink. The color of the vase is right on!

Exploring oil pastels, and watercolors. Again I’m working on a sun-kissed orange. Oh, and I used markers to build texture in the leaves. My only goal was that I wanted to doodle flowers.

I keep going back to these blue flower sketches and the way I feel as I paint in my journal.

I am in play mode. I use the liquid acrylic paint I have been holding onto. I draw with oil pastels because I want to draw with something new. Why not doodle with my favorite color? My goodness even my color mixing is amazing?

I am being entertained and encouraged by the ideas.

All of this wonderfulness brings me to ponder how often should I journal? Should I journal every day? When do I work on projects? Journaling is where my best work is. I should get a good journal and turn these sketches into paintings. How do you journal? Comment below.

This weekend I will buy a journal and begin the 30-day challenge. I will do one painting a day. Maybe I won’t think of it as 30 days and keep painting, see where the journal will take me.