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.

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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

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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.

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 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.

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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.

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'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...

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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.

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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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