On simplified drawing and personal blogs

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On simplified drawing and personal blogs

Lately I’ve been striving for a more simplified drawing style, so yesterday I decided to practice in my Sketchbook Journal with a photo reference—a picture I liked from Chris Glass.*

If you click on the link, you’ll see that I left out many details from the photo in my drawing—other people, gadgets, furnishings—but I learned again that what you leave out is as important as what you leave in when drawing. It’s difficult to make those choices.

I don’t think I could

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A peak into my sketchbook

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A peak into my sketchbook

I haven’t shared much of my sketchbook lately, partly because I’m focused on making cards and more cards! So today I thought I’d open it up and talk a bit about the what I’m learning and working on.

Now you should know there many kinds of sketchbooks and I’ve tried them all—art journals, visual journals, illustrated journals and diaries, bullet journals, composed sketchbooks and messy practice sketchbooks.

These days I’ve streamlined my art practice into projects (like the cards right now) and three books: 1) an “everything” journal, which is a daily tool I use to journal, plan, track my practice and keep notes, 2) an art journal that I slowly fill with more composed pages, and 3) a messy anything-goes kind of sketchbook for daily practice and exploration.

When one fills up, I start filling another in chronological order. In any year I find myself filling three or more everything journals, 1-2 art journals and maybe 4-6 sketchbooks.

The art journal I leave at home for the most part to work on in the studio, but the journal and sketchbook

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Practice with Cut Outs

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Practice with Cut Outs

For a long time I’ve struggled with how to organize my art practice. Over the years, I’ve found some structure. First, I have a well-developed daily art habit and I try to devote at least some time every day to my art practice. And because I’m at my best in the morning, I try to work then.

But I’m always feeling this push and pull. What should I work on and for how long? There’s so much I want to do! Between learning and practice, creative exploration and all the projects I want to finish—there never seems to be enough time.

And then I found

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