Sunday 29 November 2020

Old Journals


My tidying and decluttering has meant I have been able to look at my old art journals without lots of things falling off the shelves! I thought I would share some of the pages I liked occasionally. It is strange that some are immediately memorable, and some I don't even recognise! Like this page below. I don't know who or what inspired these two. This journal is from 2014 so not that long ago really.
This page is also not memorable. I think I was drawing photographs from a book about Julia Margaret Cameron.
I know why I did this one. At a certain point in the year there was a massive trend for tartan scarves, which, for some reason annoyed me. Maybe it was because they were not genuine, like Andy's McCallum tartan one is, but fake tartan fashion. So this is my attempted rendering of some fake tartan wearers. In the end, probably the next year, I bought a big tartan scarf too. 
Here is a happier tartan wearer. Maybe I had changed my mind by then.
This journal is one of the ones where I have re-purposed an old book. I have quite a lot of those, and using them involves some preparation, in gessoing or painting the pages with acrylic to make them stronger. Sometimes I leave sections of text or pictures showing, as they are inspiring. This book is 'The Bridge of San Luis Rey' by Thornton Wilder. I have read it but don't remember much, though Wikipedia has jogged my memory. 

I think I must have found this in a Sunday supplement, and the dragon was related to Chinese New Year celebrations at school.

Two forgotten pages.

The book 'A Beautiful Darkness' by Fabien Vehlmann inspired this page.

Reviews to describe it below:

 "A twisted tale that draws from the likes of Alice in Wonderland and The Borrowers, only Beautiful Darkness presents a much bleaker allegory about brutality. As the tiny people lose hope, their underlying pettiness, greed and jealousy become evident despite their polite words and pretty faces." --Los Angeles Times Hero Complex

"It's The Borrowers meets Lord of the Flies." --Comic Book Resources


The last picture is a girl with a rabbit skull as a hat. I found the skull on a walk near a river in Northumberland when we were staying with our friend Phil. Not sure why I made it into a hat!
 

4 comments:

Linda Sue said...

All of the entries are wonderful, love the tartan snobbery and relenting. The faces that you create , to me, all look like you, I guess that is what artists do, it is natural. Good thing you are highly attractive, then. Art journaling was fun, I think I one did two semi finished ones. Yours are inspiring, hope that you continue, it is a lot of work to re-purpose old books, i tried, and failed. The pages all stuck together, impatient, I guess. Love how your brain works, Miss.

Sarah said...

You are too kind! I never know if they are art journals or sketchbooks, but as I use them for more than painting or drawing then that is what I call them. I don't really do much writing though. I tried the daily pages thing for a while but couldn't make the time for it! My pages stick together sometimes too!

Fresca said...

Yay for giving old books new life!

Ha, ha, I've done that too--railed against something, and then thought, Hm... maybe I like it myself, after all.

Also, I forget things I've written or drawn.
Once I went into the house of a pal, where I'd never been, and complimented the pal on a framed collage. "YOU made that," she said.
Ha, again.
At least I liked it.

I love people wearing decorative, unexpected things ("hats"), such as the rabbit skull, on their heads.

I recently saw a new book "Chinatown Pretty" of photos of old people with unique street styles in US Chinatowns.
There's a woman who wears a hat she made out of a Chinatown dragon ornament.
If you haven't seen these photos, you might like them:
instagram.com/chinatownpretty

(Speaking of which, a friend linked to me on your IG, so I am now a follower-love seeing some more of your things & creations that aren't on your blog.)

Steve Reed said...

Beautiful pages! The tartan scarf story was funny -- if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, as they say!