Art Journal Ideas for Beginners: 10 Easy Page Ideas

If you've been searching for art journal ideas for beginners, I have ten for you, and not one of them needs you to be able to draw.

Every idea below comes from a page made by one of our Wanderlust teachers. I've kept each one simple enough to try this week with whatever you already have: a journal, a glue stick, a few paints and some scrap paper. A little watercolour set is lovely too, but not essential.

Pick one. Give it twenty minutes. Don't aim for pretty, aim for finished.

10 easy art journal ideas for beginners

1. A page full of hearts

Paint a few scraps of paper in any colours you like and let them dry. Cut out hearts of all sizes and glue them across a spread, then add a few words by hand. Birgit Koopsen's page is pure play, the way we all made art when we were four.

2. Little windows

Draw four to six small boxes on your page. In each one, paint or sketch something small you noticed this week: a bare branch, a cup of tea, the colour of the sky at four o'clock. Nicole Warrington calls hers winter windows, and they turn an ordinary week into a tiny gallery.

3. A small collection

Gather three to five objects that belong together, like shells, leaves, buttons or keys, and draw them loosely in a row. Lorraine Bell fills a page with seashells and lets each one hold its own little meaning. Wobbly lines are welcome here.

4. Paint the weather

Wet the page, then drop in blues and greys and let them run into each other. Flick a few splatters with an old toothbrush. Kelly Herrick paints a storm this way, and it's a wonderful page for the days when your mood feels a little stormy too.

5. A poem page

Copy out a few lines of a poem you love, or write four lines of your own, straight onto the page. Then paint soft colour around and over the words. Ayozie Pollendine lets the poem become part of the painting, so the words and the colour belong together.

If you'd love to be guided through pages like these, from the very first mark to the last, with tips and in-depth technioques that’s what we do in Wanderlust 2027: a new art journaling lesson every Friday, all year, from me and guest artists.

6. Print with your recycling

Bubble wrap, a bottle lid, a leaf from the garden: brush a little paint onto the object and press it onto your page. Keep going until the page is full of pattern. Carolyn Dube prints like this on a gel plate, but pressing straight onto the paper works beautifully when you're starting out.

7. One big word

Choose one word you need to hear, and write it as big as the page allows. Colour it in, outline it, collage over part of it. Beth Chien's pages feel like a city wall covered in old posters, and they're a brilliant way to make a statement without drawing a thing.

8. A circle for what nourishes you

Trace round a bowl to make a big circle. Inside it, collage or write the things that make you feel safe and cared for right now. Claire Stead turns hers into a snow globe, a little world that holds what nourishes you.

9. Your least favourite colour

Follow this idea from Casey Turner. We all have a colour we avoid. Make a whole page in it. You may be surprised how much you like it by the end.

10. A gratitude page

Paint a soft background, add a few leaves or flowers, and leave a space to write. Then fill that space with what you're grateful for this week. Helen Colebrook's harvest spread has its own little writing

spot, and it's the kind of page you'll want to come back to.

None of these pages needs to be good. They just need to be yours. Try one this week, and if it goes wrong, glue something over it and carry on. That's art journaling.

And if you'd like a new page idea waiting for you every week, with a teacher beside you the whole way, come and have a look at Wanderlust 2027. A whole year of guided pages like these, from me and 40 wonderful artists, and yours to keep.

Kasia x