On simplified drawing and personal blogs

/
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

Read More

Drawing and traveling

/
Drawing and traveling

I’m doing a little traveling this week—first in northern Washington and.then on to L..A.. These sketches are of an abandoned “insane asylum” left to the elements in a small town outside of Bellingham. We visited it in the rain and I took lots of pictures—and then spent some downtime drawing from the photos. Super absorbing and fun to draw!

Bellow are a few of the photos - plus a few others from the trip so far. Enjoy!

Read More

Self talk

/
Self talk

Currently, I’m not working on a project or taking a class and I’m not participating in #The100DayProject that just started again this year. And what that means is that without some direction every day I get to wake up and ask myself, ‘what will I make today? 

I use the word “get to” intentionally. It’s something Jill Badonsky recommends as a way to reset inner dialogue. Because let’s face it: it is a privilege to create. A privilege for one who does not have to put all their resources into survival. And a privilege granted by our own Selves—those of us who prioritize and value our own creativity. 

So I get to create. And I do make it a priority in my life to create every day. And saying so reminds me of that.

Because otherwise? Not knowing what to make next scares the bejeezus out of me. Artist or not, it’s more than a little scary

Read More

Rethinking the sketchbook habit

/
Rethinking the sketchbook habit

“routine behavior repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously”

“An acquired behavior pattern followed until it has become almost involuntary”

“Something you do often and regularly, sometimes without knowing you are doing it.”

—Dictionary definitions of “habit”:

If we want to make art and we want to get better at it, we’re told to build a daily sketchbook habit. Now, I do create almost every day in some way, and I do keep a sketchbook, but is it a habit?

Definitely not.

I sketchbook in bursts. When I’m inspired. When I have ideas about what I want to sketch. Otherwise, I do something else.

This strategy of course is not a habit, and if I’m honest I’m just not satisfied with my sketchbook practice. It lacks consistency and pages often feel random. I struggle with finding something to draw every day—and while I love art projects, I often wrestle with self doubt when it comes to my sketchbook. (Why am I doing this? What’s the point?) And bottom line, I just don’t work in my sketchbook enough.

I’m not embracing its place in my art practice.

So I had a rethink.

Read More

My continuing sketchbook saga

/
My continuing sketchbook saga

I have a confession to make: I’m sick of my current sketchbook—the Crescent Rendr.

This sketchbook, which I’m more than half way through, is too big even though I thought I wanted a larger sketchbook after the last smaller one, and the paper is unsatisfying. It might be good for Copic markers—alcohol ink doesn’t bleed through the paper which is amazing (and the reason I bought it) —but it’s not so great for anything else.

Watercolor and gouache smear rather than soak into the fibers, and I just don’t like the feel of it on my hand. It feels kind of coarse--but it actually has no texture.

And…yes, I admit it, my disillusion with the current one might also have something to do with the allure of a newer

Read More

A peak into my sketchbook

/
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

Read More

10 Things I'm Doing Lately

/
10 Things I'm Doing Lately

Greetings! I’ve wandered away from the blog a bit, but now I’ve come back. Blogging is one of those items on my “all the things” list from #4 below that I am prioritizing. It’s something I want to do consistently, reliably and meaningfully.

Why? Well, because writing helps me think clearly and I like to read blogs. But I think what keeps the flame burning is that it simply feels important to share what moves through me. There’s something to share.

Yep, that is why. So this blog continues and I hope you will find it interesting and useful and that you will subscribe. It’s free and you can get new posts by Email or RSS Reader.

So - to bring you up to date, here’s a list of 10 things I’m doing lately:

Read More