my sketchbooks
At Art Club this week, we got chatting about sketchbooks and how they can be used. When I search ‘sketchbook’ on Pinterest most of the images that come up are of very beautiful sketchbook pages that are works of art in themselves. Whilst this is a perfectly valid use of a sketchbook, and something that many people enjoy doing, it is by no means the only way.
In fact, for many, it can be quite off-putting, suggesting a need to maintain a similar amount of beauty and effort for every sketchbook and every page. Even spreads of what is required for GCSE and A-Level coursework sketchbooks is not necessary or achievable for day-to-day sketchbooks.
With that in mind, I am sharing here how I use my sketchbooks, which are many and never-to-be-finished. This is not how all artists use sketchbooks, indeed some do not use any, but I hope these images of scribbled and scrappy pages will inspire you to relax as you fill your own sketchbook with ideas.
To the right are a few pages from many books. I have sketched, stuck in photos and bits of grass, made a mess with paint, included work by other artists, and tried out ideas. Not everything in a sketchbook goes towards a final piece of art. Most of the time I use it to test and make a note of things that pop into my head.
Playing with colour is always fun, and my sketchbook is where I do this. When I get new paint, I test it out mixed with and alongside my favourite colours. I steal other artists colour choices and try out new combinations. I notice how the paint behaves when combined with other materials, and think about how I might recreate the effect.
Sometimes a sketchbook is based on a theme such as ‘nature’ or ‘trees’ or ‘birds’. I record observations, research symbolism and literary links, the history of different subjects. I look closely, and try to draw what I see, practising the most complicated or most interesting parts.
A sketchbook can be a record of a holiday, a change of life, or a change in thinking. It can be a place to collect memories and dream up new ones.
My favourite sketchbooks are the ones I make myself. Simple concertina books, and first attempts at book binding. Sketchbooks can also be repurposed books, the pages cut or collaged, gesso’d blank or painted over. Any book can become a sketchbook.
Do you have a sketchbook? How do you use it?