Getting Started With Sketchbooks

Sketchbooks can become a safe haven for artists and creatives, a place to explore their innermost thoughts and feelings, and any wild ideas. They are a sanctuary of pure freedom where there are no rules to follow. A sketchbook provides a space for trying out new techniques, experimenting with different materials, and exploring any spark of creative inspiration.

In order to maintain a free flow of self expression, avoid any tendency to view the pages as precious. This means not putting pressure on yourself to create perfect, polished pieces of art. Instead, use your sketchbook as a place to play and experiment, releasing any internal judgments or criticism. Your sketchbook is your personal space. Make it your own. And nobody else ever has to see it if you don't want them to.

The development of a sketchbook is a process, YOUR process, which will evolve over time. So be present in the now and invite your inner kid to play with you. Scribble, draw, paint, collage, or do whatever makes your heart flutter.

To get started, ask yourself what materials you enjoy using or would like to try. Consider what types of marks make you feel good, and what colors make your soul sing. Also, think about what "crazy" ideas you could have for your sketchbook that would make you giggle within.

When it comes to choosing a sketchbook, there are many options available. Some people prefer spiral-bound sketchbooks with perforated pages, while others may opt for a bound sketchbook with thicker paper. Choose a sketchbook that feels comfortable for you and suits your creative needs. A local art supply store is a great place to explore the many sizes and options available.

Here are some of the sketchbooks that I have enjoyed using over the past few years:

Bee Paper Company Pads

Bee Paper Company Super Deluxe Mixed Media Pads: This handles any media I’ve used, including acrylic paints and I’ve even added stitching to many of the pages. It has acid-free paper and the cover is a heavy duty cardboard. I keep coming back for more.

The Bee Company makes a wide variety of pads, including: Bee Paper Co-Mo Heavyweight Sketch Paper Pad which you might prefer… acid-free and for use with pencil, pen and ink, crayon, chalk, charcoal, and light washes.

Canson Mixed Media Book XL

Canson Mixed Media Book XL: This is a hard covered, wire-bound sketchbook with heavyweight paper that can handle a variety of wet and dry media. I’m a real fan of these books. In fact I am planning to buy a new sketchbook for drawing and I want it to be a Canson.

Two concertina sketchbooks with a different number of pages

Hahnemuhle Zig Zag Sketch Book A5: This is an accordion style pad with 18 sheets of acid free, watercolor paper. I bought it by accident when I really needed a concertina book with many more pages. But I was so glad to have this sketchbook with much fewer pages later on to play with inks, collage, and acrylics.

What I was wanting at the time, was the Seawhite Concertina with 35 pages on each side which would give me a total of 70 pages. I did manage to find one on Ebay, in the size I was looking for (around 8” x 5-1/4”). Amazon has a larger sized book (8.3” x 11.7”) HERE.

Feel free to send me any questions you may have and enjoy your sketchbook explorations.

Sketchbook Love

Sketchbook Page: Playful Joy

It’s a joy to get lost in a sketchbook page. The art play that’s done in a sketchbook is a gift an artist can give themselves. I love being able to fill the pages with anything that’s calling to me. It could be pure experimentation and pure play. Any page can be unique and totally different from any other, or it could become part of a series of multiple images, exploring a single concept. The focus might be on an idea that’s been in mind for a while or just playing around with paint and materials with no idea in mind. And each creation becomes part of a hand held collection of ideas, a history of moments in time in an artistic journey.

Each of the 5 sketchbook pages being shared on this post, were a creation in joy. Although they are very different from my works on canvas, I’m fully aware of how my sketchbook art can end up influencing my paintings.

Playful Joy: The sketchbook page above, was started with the paints that remained on the palette from works on canvas. It was a playful process, filled with joy and gratitude. The marks, the colors, the writing, the cloth pieces (remnants of the current work on canvas), all coming together in a sketchbook experience.

Sketchbook Page: Grid First

Grid First: This painting was begun by drawing out a grid and once again, using up the leftover paint on the palette. The goal was to just play with paint, pencil writing, adding a bit of paper collage, and some scrapes and scribbles. The quote that I added was within arms reach, the first one I saw. Usually the quotes I use are related to the focus of the work, but this was for the fun of it.

Sketchbook Page: A Dialogue

A Dialogue: I began the page with the following written words: “a painting is a container for a conversation… dialogue between the artist and the Divine, between the created and the creator. It’s a give and take, a shared creation, a joint effort - the co-creative process.” When I paint, I am well aware of the dialogue taking place… the questions asked, the answers given. With this page, the focus was on that conversation… on the co-creative process that resulted in a playful sketchbook experience with a different look and feel.

Sketchbook Page: Color Play

Color Play: The goal here was to use a different palette, one that’s out of my comfort zone. The first colors I thought of were purple and quinacridone crimson. Then with some pink, red, and a bit of orange added in, this collection of colors didn’t look at all like me and what I am used to. I found this color palette to be too loud for me. I prefer a quieter, more earthy set of colors. Yet, I have to admit, I found the experience to be totally enjoyable and look forward to playing with new mixes of colors in the future.

Sketchbook Page: Playing with Paint

Playing with Paint: My primary focus here was to take the opportunity to get lost in a sketchbook page… to fill it with paint and then flick some sprays of paint off an old toothbrush I use for such things. I wanted to keep up with the sketchbook even though my days were being filled with the development of a new series. That’s where my head was at the time. So, I stepped away from the new works on canvas and gave myself a playful sketchbook experience.

I have lots of ideas on how I want to use the sketchbook moving forward. For now, I am more focused on the works I’ve been developing on my easel. But maybe this post is a reminder to take some time, from time to time, to show up and experience the joy that can be found on a sketchbook page.

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Finding Inspiration in the Sketchbook

Finding Inspiration in the Sketchbook

Recently, I completed a 30 day sketchbook challenge course from Cheryl Taves of Insight Creative. The completed pages were shared on Instagram and reposted to Facebook. Although I would love to share many of the images from that experience, today I’m focusing on the artwork which has been inspiring me outside of the sketchbook.

A pocket to hold notes in my sketchbook.

I’ll begin with the page that filled me with joy and delight, both in the conception of it and in its creation. Now, I’m thinking of taking this idea and creating a similar piece in a larger size… and it has already inspired some titles for additional paintings. (Maybe a series?) I amused myself with this one by creating a pocket to hold my “notes”… while using my most favorite material: raw canvas. And the addition of the circle, paper, and threads made me quite the happy artist.

Sketchbook page with text on cloth.

For several years, I’ve held a vision of a painting I wanted to create on canvas. So with some cloth and the words of Albert Einstein in hand, I proceeded to play with the idea on a sketchbook page. I loved the experience of seeing my idea come to life in an altered form. Now, both the original idea I had in mind, along with this sketchbook creation, have taken up residence within me, inspiring a desire to play with it more. (Variations on the theme on canvas?).

Sketchbook page using cutouts from prior page.

At this point, I might as well share this page too. I couldn’t resist taking the cloth pieces I cutout from the prior page and placing them in the same location they would have been but on a new page. (Playing with my first variation on the theme!) Once again I used the words of Albert Einstein and added some asemic writing scraped into the paint, a red square, and a similar black background.

Sketchbook page created with limited palette in a limited time.

I fell in love with a new color palette in the creation of this painted page. Since I was getting ready to leave for the day, it made sense to limit the time spent on the sketchbook page to 30 minutes. I grabbed some ivory black, titanium white, and yellow oxide paint to work with a limited palette, in order to create something in a limited time. I finished off the page with some text and music scraps that were on the art table within reach, and managed to achieve the 30 minute limit. Since that day, I have been inspired to use this color palette again and again.

I’ve loved experiencing the gifts of this sketchbook challenge… playing with ideas that have lived in my mind, exploring concepts that stimulate my creative thinking, trying things out that I would hesitate to do on canvas, and being reminded that we can continue our sketchbook practice even when time is limited.

So much inspiration can be found on the pages of a sketchbook.

You may also be interested in:
Inspired by Concertina Sketchbook Pages
Inspired by Concertina Sketchbook Pages - Part 2

2021 Reflections

Cropped images from the concertina sketchbook pages

As I write this, the new year is just hours away. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been reflecting on all that happened (and didn’t happen) in 2021… and considering potential plans and intentions for 2022.

Simplicity pages with ink, papers, cloth, and acrylic on paper.

Last year, I entered 2021 with several ideas for the creative projects I was excited to delve into. 2020 had felt like a slow, never ending experience. And although I had lots to show for it, after spending an abundance of time immersed in exploration, I longed to get back to “my artwork” and the materials and paintings that fed my soul. I had an idea of what that looked like and what that meant. What I didn’t anticipate was another year of exploration and a concertina sketchbook experience that would change the trajectory of my year in art.

I may set artistic intentions, but I learned long ago that my greatest intention is to go with the natural flow of my creative spirit. I know that one artistic adventure leads to the next and they each become stepping stones to all that’s created in the future. Allowing that flow is probably at the foundation of all of my work. It’s like being carried forward with limited vision of where I am headed but also infused with ideas and imagination. The most important place to be is in the here and now, fully immersed in the painting project of the moment… because what I’m doing now is a building block for what will emerge next… and next… and next.

Cropped images of the Elements series.

So, the process of exploring the pages of the concertina sketchbook project carried me into a whole new world of exploration. And although I will enter 2022 with a list of potential painting projects, I am excited to see where the creative flow will lead and what will unfold within the next 12 months in the studio.

Wishing you a Happy New Year
and a fabulous
life adventure that
unfolds in beautiful ways
for you in the coming year.

You may also be interested in:
Concertina Sketchbook Project
Inspired by Concertina Sketchbook Pages
Inspired by Concertina Sketchbook Pages - Part 2
Series of Transition

Concertina Sketchbook Project

Back in February, I began a 6 week course with Karen Stamper on developing a concertina sketchbook. It was a journey of discovery, stretching my comfort at many points along the way, as I became immersed in a process and flow that was new to me.

At first, we filled the pages with marks, using pencils, inks, charcoal, pens and more. I so enjoyed playing with the ink, particularly when blowing on wet ink to create meandering lines. In the process of adding collage elements, I felt like I was able to start making the pages my own, especially when adding the cut circles.

Just beginning to add color. Surrounded by materials on the large work table.

The studio has never been as messy as it was during that project. The table was covered with every mark making tool I own. The floor was covered with the vast array of papers and collage possibilities… photos, magazines, maps, dress patterns, sheet music pages, and bags of the art papers collected over the years. I even found the texture boards and alternative brushes I had made years ago for my daughter’s elementary school class. I used the one with feathers to drag wispy lines of ink across the pages.

Then it came time to paint the marked up pages. Yay!! But before I began to paint, I searched for hidden compositions with my handy dandy cropping tool... an old mat, cut at the corner.

Adding the finishing touches to the first pages.

Once I realized I had been treating these sketchbook pages as if they were too precious, I chose a section, took a deep breath, and I was able to enjoy adding paint. I let go of the preciousness and got comfortable developing areas, redoing others, and covering up full sections. Some pages became pretty busy with additional collage elements and paint, while others were left fairly simple.

Since completing the concertina sketchbook, I’ve been continuing to play with the images, processes, and ideas that took shape on those pages, in order to get more out of this experience before moving on. Although it feels as if I’ve been on an adventure, traveling far from my way of working, I’ve had the opportunity to grow and expand my choices in the future. As I prepare to explore the new work that’s now tugging on my sleeve, I’m curious to see how the concertina sketchbook will end up influence my creative flow moving forward.

Cropped images from the completed pages for future inspiration.

You may also be interested in:
Re-Words Concertina
Concertina Sketchbooks

Sketchbook Challenge: Week 4

During the last week of the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge, I had fun playing with shapes and color, exploring new ideas, and continuing to develop concepts from prior pages. One of the pages was inspired by an Andy Goldsworthy photograph and another by a historical event. I experimented with mark making and new textural methods, while filling the pages with papers, acrylics, and all types of pencils (drawing pencils, watercolor pencils, charcoal pencil, colored pencils).

Day 22/30

Day 23/30

Day 27/30

Day 26/30

The piece I created on Day 26 was inspired by the Tulsa Race Massacre. The massacre has been referenced quite a bit recently so I decided to research it. And I couldn’t let it go. I continued to read a bit more each day and finally had to paint something on the subject. The atrocities of that event took place in 1921, in the wealthy black neighborhood of Greenwood. Hundreds of people were killed (estimates vary), and many are believed to be buried in mass graves. 35 square blocks were burned to the ground, leaving 10,000 homeless. I won’t share more here, now, but I do recommend you learn about “the single worst incident of racial violence in American history. “

On Day 28, I wanted to do something different and just be messier… a thoroughly enjoyable process. The idea of dedicating a week of sketchbook play to just messy pages sounds like a great exercise for me.

Day 28/30

Day 24/30

Day 25/30

As I neared the end of the challenge, I felt as if I had to make the most of the last few entries. But the reality is, my sketchbook play does not end with this challenge. I have another 30 pages left in this book and other sketchbooks on hand. I am likely to experiment more in the days ahead and finally get back to the painting I began weeks ago.

Day 29/30

Day 30/30

I have so enjoyed this challenge and the opportunity to develop a great relationship with sketchbooking. It will be interesting to see how this experience helps to shape the work I create in the coming weeks and months. I will be considering the ah-ha’s that showed up during these thirty days, the concepts I want to get back to, and the list of ideas I didn’t get to yet.

I am so very thankful for Cheryl Taves, and for all her beautifully thoughtful sharing, her time, and the effort she put into hosting this fabulous sketchbook journey. It has been 30 days filled with riches.

More posts from the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3

Sketchbook Challenge: Week 3

Something happened , something shifted as I began the third week of the 30 Day Sketchbook challenge. Up until this week, I was intrigued by the circular cutouts and felt drawn to using them on the pages of this book. But suddenly, as I developed the Day 15 image, the power of these shapes rose to the surface and my use of them became encircled in meaning.

Day 15/30

So in week 3, I’ve continued to play with this circular shape and reflect on my connection to it, meanwhile feeling as if I am also taking shape.

And now for the rest of the week…
(all images can be found below)

Day 16: “Black and Blue” was a reaction to Black Out Tuesday (the day before) and the presence of black squares on many and most Instagram feeds, in solidarity of Black Lives Matter and the events of this week.

Day 17: An image that didn’t develop as I thought it would, providing the exercise in letting go, learning, exploring, and moving forward to the next page.

Day 18: Playing with a variation on an earlier page with a similar color palette and elements but with a different layout and design. I love exploring variations on a theme!

Day 19: “ A Complex Society” is a variation on the Day 16 image. During these few weeks, I’ve been playing with new ideas, shapes, and colors, with a need to revisit prior pages and create variations on those images.

Day 19/30

Day 16/30

 Day 20: This was an effort to experiment with some mark making. I’m pretty shy and reserved when it comes to adding marks to a painting. So, I began by filling the page with marks and then painting a thin layer over it. After adding more marks on top of the paint, I ended up covering most of them up with paint, leaving just a bit showing.

Day 17/30

Day 20/30

Day 21: Shortly before this sketchbook challenge, I opened my new sketchbook and scribbled some stream of consciousness words in pencil to form a paragraph. My idea was to cover it with papers and paint but allow some of it to show through. Then during the challenge, I got caught up in using the clean fresh pages and didn’t get back to it... until the 21st day of the challenge. The added pencil lines are my attempt at mark making. I was much more comfortable with these not too bold lines.

Day 21/30

Day 18/30

As the week ended, I reflected on the experiences of these days I’m spending with my sketchbook and where it has already taken me. And I wondered what would unfold in the coming week, both in the world and in my sketchbook.

More posts from the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 4

Sketchbook Challenge: Week 2

During the second week of the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge, I continued to find similar and differing ways to highlight the circular shape that’s become the primary element on these pages.

Day 8/30

Day 9/30

Day 13/30

It seems that each painted image in this sketchbook, ends up calling on me to return and create one or more variations on that idea or concept. That’s no surprise. I love working within a series of paintings, with each piece a stepping stone to the next. This sketchbook journey has become something of a dance, steps forwards and backwards, 1-2-3. Each time I satisfy my need for revisiting a completed page, I find myself focused on another to revisit.

Day 10/30

Day 12/30

This week, as I explored the circular theme, I played with textures and layers, strings and threads, and various color palettes. I had fun scraping paint with a serrated knife, adding raw canvas, and limiting the colors on some of the pages. I’ve found delight in placing one or more red elements (like a dot or circle) for a pop of color.

Day 12/30

Day 14/30

Each day has been a new creative adventure that I look forward to with wonder. I suspect I haven’t finished playing with the circular shape and I would expect them to continue showing up in the week ahead.

More posts from the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge:
Week 1
Week 3
Week 4

Sketchbook Challenge: Week 1

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to join in on a 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge. As I watched other artists beginning to get involved, I kept getting a nudge to play in my sketchbook too!! So with a fairly new 6” x 6” sketchbook, I began creating a page a day. I’m having fun and loving the sense of wonder in what I will come up with next as I use a variety of materials and tools. So far, I’ve played with cut paper, ink, chalk, charcoal pencil, crayon, pencils, acrylic, watercolor pencils, and thread.

Day 1/30

Day 2/30

Day 5/30

In the past, sketchbooks were something I used to brainstorm ideas for a new painting or series, for morning drawing meditations, and to express dreams or concepts. I don’t think I’ve ever used a sketchbook to just play. So as I began this challenge, I was stepping out of my norm and very excited to do so.

I have been loving the process of working in a sketchbook each day. I have found that in the pages of this small book, I’ve been working past the point of ‘done-ness’, continuing to add to what I have. Pushing it beyond and then a bit further. It’s been a wonderful exercise. And being a sketchbook page, it’s easier to take risks. 

Day 4/30

Day 6/30

Day 7/30

In this week of daily sketchbook entries, two elements have presented themselves… the open circle and the grid. I’ve become interested in exploring what I might create with them in the future, individually and in combination. My mind has been flooded with ideas of images to explore on these pages. Each day I wonder, “What creative experiences will be present in the adventure of producing the next page.”

Much thanks to Cheryl Taves for creating this fabulous challenge. I am thrilled to be a part of it. To view the many other sketchbook entries for this challenge visit, #insightcreative30daychallenge

More posts from the 30 Day Sketchbook Challenge:
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

Re-Words Concertina

Re-Word Concertina Sketchbook

Here’s a look at my recently completed RE-WORDS concertina sketchbook, produced on canvas. This book is centered around the theme of RE-Words. Early in the year, my 2020 seemed to be one of redo, rework, recreate, and recover. As 2020 has developed into a year like no other, more and more words keep showing up. (reopen, reconnect, retreat, revise, restart)

Pages 1 & 2 of Re-Word Concertina

In creating this book, I had a few objectives in mind: to create two page spreads rather than individual pages, to combine circular elements with linear shapes, and to spread the RE-WORDS throughout. And most importantly, to create a concertina sketchbook on raw canvas with textures, threads, and frayed edges. (I’ve used cloth, papers, ink, acrylic, with threads and text on raw canvas for this book.)

Pages 3 & 4 of Re-Word Concertina

The process of working on the book became an interesting journey and a means of processing all that was happening out in the world, as I sheltered in place in my studio.

During 2020:

• I’ve had to REVISE my plans for the year.

• I’m REASSESSING everything.

• I’ve spent time RECREATING work from the past.

• I’m RECOVERING from the losses experienced in the past year.

• I am RE-IMAGINING what life may be like moving forward.

• I’ve been REDIRECTING my creative energies and focus.

• I’m REMAKING my life under new circumstances.

• I can’t help but REFLECT on where I’ve been in the past few months, the state of the world now, and how it compares to different times, in different ages.

• I question what of the past is best to let go of and what we will be able to RECLAIM in the future.

• I’m REALIZING that this book will not satisfy my need to explore these words. I’ve already begun working on a Re-Words painting.

• I wonder what the effects will be once businesses REOPEN.

• What will the tapestry of life look like once we RE-THREAD it?

• How soon will I be comfortable to really RECONNECT with friends and family?

• RESTART is the first word appearing on page one and the last word on the final page of the book. Each day and each project becomes a RESTART.

• As I look towards the future and the path forward, after these days of sheltered in place, we will need to REBOOT our lives, RESTORE what is possible and what makes sense, and REBOUND as best as we can... hopefully, in a kind, compassionate, and healthy way.

Pages 5 & 6 of Re-Word Concertina

A concertina book can become a mini series of pieces, all connected as one attached progression. And I love working in a series and I’ve loved working on this book. I can definitely see myself doing more books in the future, on raw canvas. This is where I’m at home... with the textures, threads, and the frayed edges of the canvas.

I’m sure most of you have had your own 2020 reasons to revise, reassess, reflect, etc. I wish you health and safety and the ability to experience the future as a fresh and positive RESTART.

Pages 7 & 8 of Re-Word Concertina

Above I’ve shown them as the two page spreads… And here they are as individual pages, the cover and all 8 pages:

Concertina Sketchbooks

For the past couple of months, and up until last week, I was unable to paint. I continued to feel a strong desire to create… but had absolutely no oomph to continue work on any of my paintings or projects. I found myself in an unfamiliar position… unable to pick up a paintbrush. That’s when I joined the Concertina Retreat, hosted by Suzie Chaney. It was one of the many artist challenges popping up on Instagram as the quarantine days took hold throughout the planet. So, I entered the world of concertina sketchbooks.

For those unfamiliar with a concertina sketchbook: all the pages are connected in one long strip that can fold up like an accordion into a book.

We received instructions on making the sketchbook and then one prompt a day for six days. (Some of the prompts were: botanical, the earth, all beings, and more.) Over the course of the week, I filled the pages with papers, printed text, and stitched threads. I was thankful for the new creative experience.

Front cover of Threads, a concertina book

When I began this project, I didn’t consider the idea of creating a visual connection from one page to the next. BUT, as soon as I began to construct page two, I found joy in the idea of a harmonious flow by using machine stitching and the same papers throughout. That’s when I got excited and engaged in the process.

I ended up adding a 7th page with it’s focus on Peace. Then the cover was completed on watercolor paper and sewn onto the front of the book. I love the way the threads look with all the pages hanging down when the book is closed.

First page of the 2nd concertina book, with a focus on Peace and Simplicity.

I was hooked on concertinas and began constructing a second. The last page of the first book became the jumping off point for the second book. Peace and Simplicity was the new theme, which seemed perfect for the times we are living in… and I decided to keep the color palette monochrome.

Our lives are so pared down now with a focus on the basics. It reminds me of camping. When we camp we have whatever we’ve brought with us and our needs and expectations are simple.

Simplicity in a single leaf. A page in the concertina Peace book.

I am grateful to have found joy and creative solace in the paper collage pages of these books. I’ve been collecting (and using) papers since high school with a large stash to choose from. So, they were readily available for this project.

During recent weeks, I could have focused on the uncomfortable feeling of being disconnected from my usual painting flow…. but instead, I found another method of creating, a new format to love, and each day in the studio became a new adventure.

To view all the pages of these books, along with videos, and to follow the progress of daily creative projects, visit my Instagram Page.

A tiny third concertina sketchbook.