Artists' Journals and Sketchbooks: Exploring and Creating Personal Pages

Sometimes I get intimidated by the lush pages in art journals these days. I find myself comparing my artwork to the pages in Somerset Studios, PLAY, and other publications...and then wonder why I want to rip my pages out and hide them in a drawer! This book changed my attitude. I found a great deal of inspiration in the variety of pages presented. I also found that the techniques for incorporating everything from text to found objects in journals were straightforward without being condescending. Add the pages and pages of eye candy in this book, and you have a good buy!

I don't care how many books you have on altered books, artists' journals, etc., this is a book you'll come back to over and over again. It presents material in an orderly fashion, though never in a predictable one. Not only is each technique or idea explained, but there are examples of each. The only people who might not benefit from this book are the ones who need a literal cookbook of instructions: "Take item A, place three inches from top of item B, on the left." Highly recommended both as inspiration and an easy-to-use reference work.

Money can definitely buy happiness. I used some to buy this book, and am I ever happy that I did. I've been carrying it around with me for a week and I haven't finished reading it all yet. There's so much to see, and such interesting artists to meet within its covers. It would have been great if Lynne Perella had just shown us her own work, but nooooo, instead she has generously incorporated work of many other artists, which gives this book a lot of richness and depth. It's very inspiring to see how simple art materials like acrylic paint and colored pencils can be used in such a fresh way--techniques anyone can learn are presented in an unpretentious, non-intimidating format. Would-be artists are going to be motivated to get out their stuff and start splashing paint around!If you are at all interested in loosening up your own artwork, or just wondering what's up with all the current buzz about journals and book arts, I highly recommend you grab this book as soon as possible, because a couple of similar titles have sold out almost as soon as their first printing was released, and this one might too--it's that good! Buy this book--you won't be sorry!!

As an avid admirer of Lynne's work, I purchased this book expecting to see more examples of her journals, and I would have been very satisfied if that was all I'd found. But the book goes way beyond displays of wonderful journal pages. It's stuffed full of ideas and examples - not just one, but sometimes 20 or 30 different 'takes' on a technique, with a brief description of how to approach each one.The title says it all - Exploring (the examples are fabulous, varied and stimulating) and Creating (there's just enough information to tell you what to do without drowning you in tedious 'how-to'). If you love exploring a new technique, but need only a nudge instead of endless step-by-step instructions, this is a book that you MUST have on your shelf. If you're stuck, and looking for some inspiration, flip to any page and you'll be struck with more ideas than you can implement at one time. If you just want to explore the world of art journalling, this is a great book to snuggle up with and enjoy.I'm thrilled to add this book to my collection, and it's one I'll refer to again and again - not just for the eye candy, but for the solid examples and techniques as well. Lynne has really outdone herself, and has achieved a perfect balance of inspiration and instruction!