Turning a Portrait into a Found Photograph in My Art Journal
Lately, I’ve been really drawn to the idea of making stamped images feel less like a focal point that’s been added to the page, and more like something that already belonged there — almost like a photograph that’s been discovered and then built around.
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For this art journal page, my intention was to create a soft forest atmosphere, with the portrait feeling layered into the page rather than sitting on top of it. I wanted the image to feel like part of a memory or a moment, surrounded by colour, texture, and small details that suggest story.
Creating a “found photo” effect
To achieve this, I framed the portrait as though it was a photograph attached to my journal page. This simple design choice helped everything else fall into place. Instead of decorating the image, I focused on building the background and layers around it, allowing the portrait to settle naturally into the composition.
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This approach has become an important part of my art journaling recently. It helps the page feel more cohesive and gives the focal image space to breathe, while still connecting it to the rest of the spread.
Watercolour layering and details
All of the colouring on this page was done using Sakura Koi watercolor brush pens. I love how they allow me to build soft, transparent layers while keeping a fresh, slightly fluid feel — perfect for this kind of woodland palette.
Once the main colours were in place, I added small highlights and details using Sakura Gelly Roll pens. These finer touches help lift areas of the page and add contrast, bringing a sense of light and movement to the background.
Adding atmosphere with collage elements
The mushrooms, foliage, and small heart details were added to support the overall mood rather than to fill space. My aim was to keep the page feeling calm and reflective, with each element contributing to a sense of atmosphere rather than visual noise.
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The small text strip also helps to reinforce that reflective tone, giving the page a quiet narrative quality.
Portrait stamps and storytelling
The portrait comes from Erica Palyfreman’s “And Into the Forest” stamp set. I’ve always been drawn to how her portrait designs feel like characters — they naturally encourage storytelling, which made this a lovely image to use for exploring a layered, photo-style art journal page.
I’ve shared art journal pages using Erica’s portrait stamps before, and it’s been interesting to look back and see how my approach has shifted over time. If you’re curious, you can see earlier pages here and here — but I can really feel how my focus now is more on atmosphere, layering, and creating a sense of place on the page.
Seeing my art journaling style evolve
Looking back at earlier art journal pages using Erica’s portrait stamps, I can really see how my approach has shifted. My focus now feels more centred on building atmosphere, layering backgrounds, and creating a sense of place on the page, rather than centring everything around the stamped image itself.
If you’d like to see some of my earlier pages for comparison, you can find them here:
One of the things I really enjoy about using Erica’s stamps is that each art journal page develops its own identity. Because of that, it encourages me to create in response to each image, rather than falling back on my usual go-to styles.
I’ve also noticed that my blog post style has changed when sharing these pages — it’s become much more about the stories the images tell, rather than simply being “look at me” posts.
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