An open art journal filled with small painted studies beside colored pencils.

Choose one idea and make a small page. These exercises are designed to record something, not to test whether you are an artist. Use dry materials first if you are unsure how your notebook handles paint or glue.

Start with what you notice

  1. Three colors: collect the colors of a place you visited and label where each came from.
  2. One outline: draw a familiar object, then add the detail you usually overlook.
  3. Window frame: sketch the shapes visible from a window. Return another day and compare.
  4. Sound marks: use lines and dots to record five sounds around you. Add a key in words.

Use a memory as the starting point

  1. A tiny map: draw the route of a short walk, marking one unexpected moment.
  2. Photo plus margin: put a photograph in the center and write what happened just outside its edges.
  3. Object portrait: draw something you keep and add the story of how it arrived.
  4. Before and after: divide a page into two panels showing how a place changed during the day.

Experiment with paper and words

  1. Three-scrap collage: choose papers with different textures and give the arrangement a date.
  2. One sentence, three ways: write the same ordinary observation large, small and inside a shape.
  3. Transparent layer: place tracing paper over your own drawing and add an alternative detail.
  4. A pocket of questions: fold a paper pocket and place three small notes inside about things you want to notice next time.

A worked example: the walk home

On the left, draw a rough route from the bus stop. Mark the bakery with a square and the tree with a circle. On the right, add a rust-colored patch for the leaves and a grey patch for the pavement. Underneath, write: “The bakery door was open and I slowed down for the smell.” This fictional page records a sensory detail without needing a detailed street drawing.

Make another page easier

Keep the materials you used together and note which part you enjoyed. Repeat the format with a new observation rather than inventing a style every time. For materials and a first session, return to art journaling for beginners.