People art journal for all kinds of reasons, one of them being that it’s so cathartic. I love art journaling as a form of creative expression, but it’s also a reminder to me how wonderful my life is. Hence the name of this blog: Joyful Art Journaling. 🥰 I think we can all use a little more joy in our lives, which is also why I decided to share these 38 joyful quotes for your art journal!
My hope is that you will read through these and find at least a few that call to your heart. Then you can incorporate them into your journal. I don’t always love my own handwriting, and if you feel the same way, you can always come up with creative ways to use them, like:
- Cutting the words and/or letters out of a magazine
- Cutting the shapes of the letters from printed paper, old art work, magazines, etc.
- Using a Cricut machine
- Use an alphabet stamp set and stamp your quote(s)
- Or, simply let go and use your own handwriting, as a chance to make it better in the process
As a bonus, I’ve created a few of these in black and white, so you can print them and include them as quotes in your art journals. Simple right-click to save the one(s) you like, or use the form at the bottom of this post to get all of them in a handy ZIP file.
“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” – e. e. cummings
“The earth laughs in flowers.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.” ― Marianne Williamson

“Bring me the sunset in a cup.” – Emily Dickinson
“A joyful life is made up of joyful moments gracefully strung together.” – Brene Brown
“Be comforted, dear soul! There is always light behind the clouds.” – Louisa May Alcott
“All good things are wild, and free.” – Henry David Thoreau
“If you find some happiness inside yourself, you’ll start finding it in lot of other places, too.” – Gladiola Montana
“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Joy is the highest expression of love.” – Abraham-Hicks
“Forever is composed of nows.” – Emily Dickinson
“A joyful life isn’t about others; it’s about the brightness that is associated with being alive. Your path to it is through anything that replaces thinking with pure flight, pure joy.” – Martha Beck
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” – Rumi
“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.” – John Muir
“Go find your joy. Whatever that is, go find your joy. Are you going to have a good day or are you going to have a great day? Because it’s completely up to you.” – Sandra Bullock
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau
“I like good strong words that mean something…” – Louisa May Alcott
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.” – Walt Whitman
“Joy is not in things; it is in us.” – Richard Wagner
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all.” – Emily Dickinson
“Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home. It’s your responsibility to love it, or change it.” – Chuck Palahniuk
“The healthiest response to life is joy.” – Mark Twain

“Joy is increased by spreading it to others.” – Robert Murray McCheyne
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” Theodore Roosevelt
“That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.” – Emily Dickinson
“Where there is love, there is joy.” Mother Teresa
“Scatter joy!” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
“We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.” —Joseph Campbell
“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” Buddha
“I dwell in possibility…” – Emily Dickinson
“Just follow your joy. Always. I think that if you do that, life will take you on the course that it’s meant to take you.” —Jonathan Groff
“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“When we are centered in joy, we attain our wisdom.” Marianne Williamson
“Whether you know or not, you are the infinite potential of love, peace, and joy.” – Annie Ray
“The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.” – Louisa May Alcott
“Let your joy be in your journey—not in some distant goal.” – Tim Cook

There you have it! 38 joyful quotes for your art journal! As I mentioned above, if you want just one or two (or even all 4) of the illustrated quotes, simply right click on them and save them to your computer for your personal art journaling.
Or (even better, if you ask me!) you can sign up for my email list and I’ll send them all to you right away in a handy ZIP folder.
Either way, I wish you more joy – not just in your art journaling, but in life!

P.S. If you like freebies, check out FREE VINTAGE ANIMAL EPHEMERA FOR YOUR ART JOURNAL!