An annual April experiment in creating a Fake Journal~ FAKE: pretend, simulate; counterfeit; to alter.manipulate.
or treat as to impart a false character or appearance.

A fun exercise in pretending to be someone else, maybe in an alternate universe!

Fake Journal 2012 - Student of Japanese Art



April is International Fake Journal Month,
a challenge by Roz Stendahl of Roz Wound Up...
create a 'fake' journal.
You can click on the icon in the side bar
to find out more about the challenge,
or to join in.




What if I had an alter ego.
or
what if there were another 'me'
in an alternate universe?
or
what if I were someone else entirely?
What would my art journal look like?
Would I even keep one?
For the month of April 2012,
I will explore an alternate awareness.

This little journal is Canson Mi Tientes paper.
It doesn't have many pages since it's only
going to be used for one month.
Pages are watercolor and pen.
Explore this new identity with me...



♦♦♦






Seek design balance
deceptive simplicity,
harder than it looks.

♦♦♦

where would you like
to be to make a drawing?
a serene landscape
with infinite possibilities
and unlimited time to
draw and paint
would be ideal...









a twisted tree
makes wonderful shapes
in the surrounding space...
our lives take many


unexpected
twists and turns...
savor each moment.







FAKE JOURNAL 2012





♦♦♦



The Fake Journal continues...
watercolor and pen on Canson Mi Tientes paper.
Red gel pen used to create a "chop,"
the date, and time of the art's completion.



Click on any image to enlarge.

Pink faded petals
torn leaves with crisp brown edges,
yet sunshine touches.



♦♦♦




 Capture true sweetness
of a single piece of fruit;
 feeds more than the eye.


Fake Journal entry for April 19, 2012.
Canson Mi Tientes paper, 
watercolor, Sharpie pen 
and red gel pen.

♦♦♦





Watercolor on Canson Mi Tientes paper.
Brush work without any preliminary sketching.
Sharpie pen and red gel pen.
Click on any image to enlarge, then you can see
that the "chops" are drawn rather than stamped.

Chop: seal or official stamp; method of 
"signing" the artist's name as an indication
of authenticity. Traditionally in red.


♦♦♦


'Fake Journal' entry created
first with pencil sketch, then 
painted in gouache.




Transcript of the above:

The Way of Tea exemplifies elegant
simplicity...beauty need not require opulence.
But the Way of Tea has become rigid ceremony...

Strict adherence to reality is not required.
Asymmetry is beauty. Omitting background
details is quite permissible to give the subject
prominence. The rhythm and variety of
negative space enrich the composition.

Why not simplify the subject to its essence?





♦♦♦



Entry from April 2, 2012,
Watercolor and red gel pen on 
blue  Canson Mi Tientes paper.





April 24, 2012.
Seeking
rhythm,
asymmetry,
and 
elegance...


♦♦♦



Pen,
Watercolor, and gouache on
Canson Mi Tientes paper.



Text reads:
Kawaii~
modern phenomenon. "cuteness."
loveable, adorable or cute...
a prominent aesthetic of Japanese 
popular culture...

Click on any image to
view enlargement.

Thirty days  in April...the

Fake Journal ends with the month.

♦♦♦


Watercolor, Sharpie pen and
red gel pen on paper in Fake Journal.
The last entry on April 30th.

In 1938, Kandinsky painted
mythical creatures in a 
cosmic world...



In 2012 popular culture,
we create mythic creatures in
a cyberspace universe...


♦♦♦



Cover of the Fake Journal~
made from handmade paper 
created by my friend Elizabeth.

Inside the cover I wrote pertinent
information about the project, with
dates and credit to Roz as the
project creator.

My alter ego for the month was
 a student of Japanese art.
  I purposely didn't explain it
in my posts, but I believe it was fairly obvious
in my choice of subject matter and notes.
(My art journals & sketchbooks are filled
with notes about all sorts of art-related
things, I don't always show them here.)

My goals for the month were:
--to draw from life more often than I have been
--to simplify the compositions of the art
--more awareness of the negative space 
around the subject
--to draw with a paintbrush
--explore Japanese philosophy of art





With the effort to simplify, came the idea
to progress to the abstraction of the subject itself.
The 'Stones', above, were my favorite
painting of all the entries in this Fake Journal.

With the idea of abstraction, came the
progression to 'anime' or cartoon-style art,
that is widely appreciated in popular culture.
But being a fan of Kandinsky, I knew that he
had painted abstractions of what looked
like 'little creatures,' so I decided to
include a painting inspired by his work.
The post showing these two pages is here.
Also, with the cartoon creatures, the idea
of a 'simple' composition was left behind,
but the creatures themselves are simplified.





I did not really intend to create a story,
but there is a progression in my pages.
I did indeed draw with the brush more often than
I usually do, but also 'fell back on' my normal
watercolor & pen technique. I did paint and draw
from life. I did simplify somewhat, and that has
always been difficult for me. Complex collages
have been taking place in my other journals
all the while! I do have a renewed appreciation
for Asian art in all its forms, Wabi Sabi, and 
nature in art.  What looks like a 'simple' composition
was probably a most difficult thing to achieve!

I confess that I didn't actually bind 
the pages into a book until I had
completed the art work on each page.
It was much easier to scan unbound pages.
Additional blue Canson paper was
glued onto the inside of the 
front and back covers. A pocket for
research notes, above, was adhered to
the inside back cover.

The Fake Journal could have been
anything, by anyone.  Think Dr. Who traveling
to another version of your own universe.
Wonder what I should do in 2013?

And this really is the end of the Fake Journal 2012.
I promise.

♦♦♦



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