31 Art Journal Prompts (Mostly Nature-Inspired)

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Here is a list of art journal prompts for each day of the month. They are things that I find inspiring but hopefully there is something there to inspire you too :)

  1. Draw the last thing you pinned on Pinterest.
  2. Paint simple, bright patterns on lots of different pieces of paper. Cut these up and use them to create a collage in your journal.
  3. Illustrate the cover of your favourite book.
  4. Paint a section of your bookshelf.
  5. Hand-letter a quote or line of poetry.
  6. Go outside and find a leaf, feather, twig or other object and sketch it in detail.
  7. Draw a simple map to your favourite locations in your neighbourhood.
  8. Arrange a still life of objects from around your house and sketch or paint them from life.
  9. Paint a page of your journal black. Draw on it with a white felt tip pen.
  10. Just start painting without any plan and see where it leads. 
  11. Paint a scene from your favourite film.
  12. Hand-letter a list of things you are grateful for in your life that day.
  13. Do a watercolour painting of the sky.
  14. Go to the Botanical Gardens and sketch any plants that catch your eye. Take note of their botanical names.
  15. Illustrate each letter of the alphabet using botanical forms (leaves, twigs, ivy, grasses, flowers, etc).
  16. Go to the library, borrow any book that captures your interest (with pictures in it) and draw something from each of those books.
  17. Paint an abstract composition of different coloured shapes.
  18. Wet the page and drop splashes of watercolour paint onto the page. Let the colours bleed together. When the page is dry, do a line drawing using a black felt tip pen over the top of it.
  19. Do a drawing inspired by the season you're in.
  20. Pick a flower from the garden and draw it in detail.
  21. Draw something using only dots (pointillist technique).
  22. Find an old holiday snap and draw it.
  23. Sit on a bench in a city and sketch the architecture.
  24. Use a scene from your favourite novel as a prompt.
  25. Illustrate a childhood memory.
  26. Listen to classical music and paint what you imagine when you listen to it.
  27. Replicate your favourite old master painting to the best of your ability using coloured pencils.
  28. Look through an interior design magazine and paint a room from it.
  29. Go to the beach and draw or paint a shell or piece of driftwood.
  30. Go to the museum and spend a few hours sketching things you find interesting.
  31. Paint your favourite flower using ink.