An art journal is usually a combination of a portfolio of your VISUAL ideas and themes artistically, mixed with annotations of what you have glued/drawn/scratched/painted/written into your journal, together they convey a message to your teacher/lecturer or friends/critics of your work (if you are a professional artist).
An art journal helps you vent your ideas and themes and helps you to resolve unanswered questions you discover in your theme/main idea, and aids you in achieving a final artistic "resolution".
An artistic resolution usually comes in the form of a series of finished pieces, be they paintings, drawings, sculptures or mixed media.
Have fun in your art journal, it is a reflection of you.
make sure you pick a topic that is close to your heart. If you want photos of mine, hit me an email