Sketching and Sketchbooks

Here are some pages from some recent sketchbooks, and a few from my days in art school.

While I think that sketchbooks are key in fostering new ideas and creativity, there’s a danger to developing artists who spend too much time working in them.

Years ago, I noticed that when I was pouring forth all my energy into the pages, it was my finished art that suffered. Not that my finished work was bad — but it was clear which forum was more favored of the two.

If you’re the type of artist who loves to work in your sketchbook, but can’t seem to get your actual artwork to go anywhere, you might want to consider limiting your time spent in them.

Don’t get me wrong — keeping a sketchbook is, in my opinion, essential to developing as an artist. However, I think they are best kept private. They’re for your eyes only, like a diary of your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Ideally, they should lead to bigger and better things. It should be a place where you are allowed to “play” artistically. I think of my sketchbook as sort of petri dish of ideas. 99% of it doesn’t come to anything, but that’s the point.

Those little moments where you’re playing around, exploring your creativity, asking “What do I like?” is, in my opinion, the purpose of the sketchbook. It’s a place for you to let go of what you think other people will like, or what you think is “good,” or even what you think you like. It should be organic, evolving, and should never try to be something.

If you want your best art to be seen, you should do it outside of the bound media.