A Gentle 30-Minute Journal Face

When I work in my art journal, I’m not trying to plan everything ahead of time. I’m responding — to the page, to the materials, and to the feeling I want the face to carry.

This is the way I usually build a face in about 30 minutes. It’s loose, forgiving, and rooted in simple choices rather than rules.

You don’t need to remember all of this at once.

Think of it as a way in, not a checklist.

I almost always start by outlining a face, neck, and dress.

I use:

• A black watercolor pencil, or
• A water-soluble ink pen

The important thing is that the line can run.

Once the shapes are there, I take a wet paintbrush and let the line soften and spread. This immediately gives me:

• Early shadows
• A sense of form
• Permission to be imperfect

At this stage, I’m not worried about light and dark — I’m just letting the face appear.

From there, I keep working with the same black pencil or ink:

• Layering around eyes
• Touching in the nose and mouth
• Adding weight under the chin or at the hairline

Water does most of the work. Smudging, bleeding, and unevenness are welcome.

This is how the face finds its expression.

I don’t use many colors.

Usually just:

• Hair
• Cheeks
• Lips
• Dress
• A few scribbles or splotches elsewhere on the page

I want color to support the face, not compete with it.

Coffee stain often becomes part of this stage too — it warms the page and ties everything together.

I like pages that already feel lived-in.

I tone with:

• Coffee
• Gesso
• Or both

Sometimes this happens before I draw.

Sometimes it happens as I go.

The goal isn’t coverage — it’s atmosphere. A toned page removes pressure and helps everything belong.

Almost always, my last step is adding white acrylic paint.

Not everywhere.Just where the face needs to breathe.

This might be:

• A cheek
• The bridge of the nose
• The forehead
• Or the center of the face

I blend it with my finger and then stop.

This is often the moment when the face feels present — when it gently comes forward from the page.

I don’t usually decide a focal point in advance.

But I do decide what I want to protect.

Most often, that’s the face.

I let:

• The background stay busier
• The edges stay soft
• Other areas remain unfinished

If the face feels calm and held, the page is working.

If you want a little direction without pressure, try choosing just one thing next time:

• Let one area go slightly lighter
• Or deepen one shadow
• Or decide ahead of time: “The face stays clear; everything else can blur.”

That’s it. One choice.

And even if you don’t — the above approach already works.

There are many ways to build a face.

This is simply mine.

It’s shaped by years of looking at art, working in journals, and trusting that softness often says more than precision.

If you forget the words, trust your hands.They know where to go.