The cover art of The Painted Art Journal does a good job of conveying the main ideas in the book, that being using the visual medium to tell the life story of the reader. Although the author claims to be honoring a vintage book by defacing its pages and changing the binding, I did not get the feeling that the actual book meant anything to her except a vehicle for her art. I did like the idea of telling my story, of displaying it artistically to pass on to future generations.
There is not a lot of instruction in The Painted Art Journal, with few projects to spark creativity. The book is pretty to look at, but does not go far enough in giving readers true direction. In the end, the author brought me no closer to starting my own art journal than I was before. For these reasons, I would be hesitant to recommend The Painted Art Journal to beginners who have no direction in which to start on their own.
There is not a lot of instruction in The Painted Art Journal, with few projects to spark creativity. The book is pretty to look at, but does not go far enough in giving readers true direction. In the end, the author brought me no closer to starting my own art journal than I was before. For these reasons, I would be hesitant to recommend The Painted Art Journal to beginners who have no direction in which to start on their own.