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.

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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.

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Series of Transition

Inspired by Concertina Sketchbook Pages - Part 2

Concertina Sketchbook Pages

In art as in life, each step I take leads to the next. The Concertina Sketchbook course I took led to a series of artworks on paper and on canvas. Then the process I used to create the first layer of a few of the canvas paintings inspired the concertina sketchbook I’m sharing here today.

Concertina Sketchbook Pages

I had fun filling the pages of this small concertina with ink drips, collaged circles, sheet music, raw canvas and dress pattern paper. Although I originally thought I might add some acrylic paint, I decided to leave the pages with a more minimalist look. So, no paint. I did decide to add some asemic pencil writing in just a couple of places. The pencil was chosen to avoid the permanence of a pen. I ended up so happy with the gentle softness of the pencil marks and how they added to those pages.

Now, I want to create more like what I have here and find a way of merging this concept with a new series I’ve had planned.

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Concertina Sketchbook Pages

Work in Progress, the inspiration (on canvas) for this Concertina Sketchbook

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.

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A Process Story

“Ennobled” 12” x 12” acrylic, papers, pencil on canvas

The experience of working on “Ennobled,” the 5th canvas in the Portals of Joy series, was a bit like maneuvering a boulder up an incline. All the while, I was able to experience these challenges with confidence and determination. It became an excellent exercise in creating and recreating, making changes, letting go and moving on.

“Ennobled” in process; initial color palette

I began the painting with a color palette that I found attractive but, it just wasn’t quite me. Once on the canvas it seemed goofy, like a Halloween candy wrapper. So I kept altering colors, one at a time, and adding textured papers to cover up some of the colors and create new ones. I found the process enjoyable, without frustration. I was able to draw on my confidence that each alteration would bring me closer to feeling as if I had made it my own. What a time consuming process it was! If I hadn’t been as focused on the unfolding experience of the process, I would not have been able to remain in the joy of creating.

“Ennobled” in process; at the start

Occasionally, a painting doesn’t flow as smoothly. Each time I find myself in that space, I have the gift of letting go and immersing myself in the painting process. I allow it to take as long as it takes, with no expectations and the willingness to continue to apply layer over layer, repainting areas one moment at a time. And with each alteration, I come closer to an image that will look back at me and say, “Ahhh… this is it.”

“Integral Flow” 12” x 12” acrylic, papers, pencil on canvas

Once I had completed “Ennobled", I shifted my focus to the newly started 6th painting in the Portals of Joy series, titled “Integral Flow.” The experience of painting this one was nothing like the last one. The process flowed easily from beginning to end. Of course, I chose a color palette I was comfortable with from the start. And maybe that attributed to the feeling of lightness that surrounded the painting process.

I experienced joy as I created both of these two paintings but that experience was so very different… neither better than the other. And I am grateful for the wonderful diversity of both.

You may be interested in a recent post: New Series: Portals of Joy