As I have shared in a few posts recently, I made the commitment to draw and/or paint daily in 2023.  Daily-ish.  And I’d say I’ve done pretty well given the number of paintings I have produced and that I’ve finished two sketchbooks that had been languishing in my studio unfinished for a while.  I have already started on three new sketchbooks (I’ll share why I work on more than one later in this post), but I set these aside to do two sketchbook tours together.  Sharing these sketchbooks accomplishes a few things for me.  First of all, it’s a record that I keep for myself in case these sketchbooks are ever damaged or lost.  Second, there is some accountability in knowing that I will be sharing them.  Third, as with everything I share, I hope the sketchbook tours will be an encouragement to someone.  Maybe seeing my creative play, my struggle with profiles, my growth, and my victories will make someone else want to get out her own sketchbook or simply try something new.

I know when I get a peek into the behind-the-scenes of other creatives and makers, it gets me excited to do more.

Both of these sketchbooks were cheap-o sketchbooks that I covered in THIS tutorial.  Covering them and making them my own with pretty ribbon ties and papers made me more excited to use them.  And boy, did I use them!  If you watch the video sketchbook tours with the commentary (there is also one that is just a flip-through), you’ll see that I picked at these sketchbooks here and there and then I went off-to-the-races in January of 2023.  I finished the majority of both of these sketchbooks, which are a pretty good size, in just over a month.  And I can already see growth and improvement in certain areas.  I’m feeling more comfortable drawing animals and people from life and I am just liking my drawings and paintings more.  There are still plenty of “ugh” moments, but there are some sketches I’m quite happy with.

In these sketchbooks, I bounce around when it comes to subject and medium.  I sort of draw what I feel like drawing.  Some of the drawings are preparation for paintings, others are to practice one specific thing for the sake of improvement, and some are just for fun.  I draw off of my camera roll, printed pictures, from life, and from my imagination.

If you’re curious about the pens, pencils, and mediums I use, you can check out this post about my antique pencil box and what’s in it.  I keep refining it, but I’m trying to get everything I want to use into one pencil box with a small supplemental pouch for watercolors and a few extras.  So far, I have mostly been able to work out of the box.  It’s been good for me to be somewhat restrictive.  I prefer painting over drawing, and working from the box has forced me to focus on drawing.  I know it seems like those two are interchangeable, but there is a pretty dramatic difference.  With paints and a brush, I focus more on shapes and values instead of lines.  When I’m drawing, it’s sort of hard to avoid lines, but I’m working on being more painterly in my drawing.  Little by little practice makes better.

It might seem a little excessive, but I like to have two or three sketchbooks I can work in at one time.  It gives me a few different size and paper options, which is nice, but it also allows me to work in two or three simultaneously when I’m working with paints that need some drying time.  I can work on one, set it aside, and work on another while the first one dries.  In the tours of the sketchbooks, you’ll see that I have some paintings that feel like a part of a collection because they were done on the same day.  Right now, I am working on a small watercolor sketchbook, a large watercolor sketchbook, and a homemade mixed-media sketchbook made with toned paper.

I’m also trying to get better at using my sketchbooks for play and the exploration of ideas.  I’ve had fun playing with abstracts and very loose paintings.  They are just ideas in a sketchbook and it usually takes a lot of bad ideas to hit on a good one.  A sketchbook is a safe place for those bad ideas.  One page in a $4.00 sketchbook is a low-risk place to experiment.

In addition to master studies, drawing from life, and revisiting some old photos on my phone, I have been working on specific drawing techniques.  I love landscapes and I want to get better at drawing trees, so I’ve been doing some tree studies, focusing specifically on their interesting shapes.  These will likely become paintings soon…

Anyway, without further chit-chat, here is the video of the sketchbook tours with commentary if you want all of the details…

If you just want a flyover and aren’t interested in spending 30 minutes of your life on sketchbook tours, here is a flip-through that is less than four minutes…

I do want to point out a couple of my favorites from these sketchbooks…

First, I did this Whistler study but didn’t pay much attention to the woman.  I loved the posture of the little boy on her lap and decided to focus on that with just a few lines to indicate the lap on which he was sitting. I was so happy with how I captured his pose.  Anyone who has observed a small child sitting on a lap knows this exact pose and there is something very endearing about it to me…

And this sketch was of my son, Calvin.  I am very intimidated by sketching people from life.  I mean, you get the proportions of a person wrong and it’s very evident.  Not only are there proportions to pay attention to, but likeness, expression…it’s a lot to capture.  I had my sketchbook out, though, and Calvin was sitting in a chair talking to Jeff.  He was still enough that I asked him if he would continue to sit still so I could do a five-minute sketch of him.  I didn’t know if he would agree, but he did and they just continued on with the conversation while I worked.  While it’s a simple drawing, I felt like I captured his position in the chair, his listening expression, and even a bit of likeness.  I can tell it’s him.

My favorite part is falling off the page a bit, but I love his feet.

I’m still intimidated by the idea of drawing people from life, but this little sketch showed me a glimpse of what is possible with practice.

If you take anything away from today’s post, I hope it’s that.  There are all sorts of possibilities to be found in practice.

Some of the books I used for studies in these sketchbook tours –