Showing posts with label Art Journal Freedom How to Journal Creatively With Color & Composition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art Journal Freedom How to Journal Creatively With Color & Composition. Show all posts

Art Journal Freedom: How to Journal Creatively With Color & Composition by Dina Wakley (2013)

, 14 Jun 2022

Without a good composition, images simply don't work.

I'm a fan of Wakley's art products so I thought I'd give this book a try. This is a short enjoyable read, great to understand basic rules of composition and colour. Everything is explained in a very simple effective way, in a language that has no technicalities or complexity. Wakley also shows how to break the rules and when to do it. By the end of the book, one gets to understand why some images work and others not. Subjects discussed in the book are:  symmetry/asymmetry, white space, continuance, closure, proximity, dominance, repetition, colour basics, contrast with colour, and colour as composition tool. 


THINGS I LOVE
> The book is a workshop on its own.
> Good for anyone wanting to start painting not just art journaling.
> The summaries at the end of each book with taglines about the major points discussed.
> Everything Wakley says is exemplified by images coming from her own artwork, so it is not just theoretical talk.
> Each chapter has a tutorial, simple but beautiful, really well explained and photographed.
> Each page has prompts to put some of the points discussed in practice.
> Although the book is for beginners, it has plenty of value for intermediate artists.
> Great Kindle edition and quality images. 

 
I DIDN'T LIKE
> The fact that a sewing machine is one of the tools needed. I don't have one, and I don't think this is really necessary. Some of the things Wakley does with the machine can easily be achieved with a marker or pen, so why not providing this alternative?
> Although I love Wakley's artwork, I would have loved having visual examples from other artists exemplifying what she says. 


MIND
> This is a book thought for beginners, so take it as such.
> This is a book about mixed media not drawing or painting per se.