Olivia has a post for us this week about overcoming sketchbook fears!
For a long time, sketchbooks were intimidating.
How was it going to look in the end? Would it look good as a whole book? What if the drawings weren’t good enough for the book that I had bought?
I would be thinking about whether my drawing was good enough for social media, evaluating its value, when I was in the middle of drawing! Just I was trying to cut loose and draw for myself, I wouldn’t be able to shake the thoughts.
The weight of my own mental pressure really got to me. Not to mention the pressure to show everything to the internet as part of having a social presence as an artist! All of those beautifully curated sketchbook tour videos and Gumroad downloadable sketchbook pdfs lurked in the back of my mind every time I opened a sketchbook…
It couldn’t just be for me! It had to be perfect, marketable-
But the fear did not win! And here are some things I have learned:
Sketchbooks are meant to be used. So use them!
You bought it to draw in. So crack that thing open and let yourself draw! And, if getting expensive sketchbooks scares you, get cheap ones. Certainly for all-purpose idea noodling, you don’t need anything fancy. Naomi’s favourite sketchbooks were cheap, thin paper A5 notebooks from IKEA (sadly no longer available) and my current small A5 ones were a 3-pack discounted Moleskine bundle. Not dirt cheap but certainly nothing intimidating.
You are drawing for yourself.
I mean, as a working artist, sometimes we’re not. We have clients or professional projects. So, what this means is be aware of when you are drawing for yourself. And to let yourself have that place, away from judgement (whether your own or from others) to simply draw. Don’t worry about what you think your art has to be, or what other people think you like to draw. Just do it! And embrace exploration!
It doesn’t have to be shared.
Now of course, we all know the shy artist stereotype who hides their book when people come along. Don’t look! I had those years, but I admit I’m well past them. Unless I’m deep in concentration or am deliberately seeking space to be on my own and draw, I’m very happy to share my drawings. But it is always your choice!
I try to keep the same attitude re: social media. When I’m drawing for myself, I want to be having fun exploring in a soft zone1. So, I refuse to think about whether I will post it. That is something to decide afterwards, if I feel like it. This could have been part of Point 2 in “remembering that it’s for yourself”, but honestly the presence of social media’s watchful gaze combining into self-consciousness warrants its own dot point. Try to let yourself engage with drawing without considerations for marketing and your online artistic brand. Let yourself be.
I find these reminders so helpful and grounding that I write them (or a version of them) in my sketchbooks. Page 1, Litany time!
I’ve gotten more comfortable in recent years with letting notes intermingle with drawings. It doesn’t have to be perfect and pristine. The beauty is in the doing.
Observational or imaginative, capturing moments or capturing ideas.
As they famously said in Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel Dune,
I must not fear the sketchbook.
Sketchbook fear is the joy-killer.
Sketchbook fear is the little-death that brings total no fun, if we’re being honest.
I will face my sketchbook fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn my eye to see my sketchbook.
Where the sketchbook fear has gone there will be nothing. Only the joy of sketchbook drawing will remain.
I’m really looking forward to seeing Villeneuve’s faithful adaptation of the above quote on the big screen when I go to see Dune: Part 2.
Here’s some recent sketchbook noodling embracing the exploration of trying different mediums! This one was using ink dip pen, drawing meow exploring my desk:
I’ve definitely been on an ink kick in the past half year for the immediacy of line, but each medium has its joys to play with. Blue ink in a water brush to blot in large shapes, sepia ink in a fountain pen, soft smudgy pencils, fine felt-tip ink pens-
I love them all. And they all lurk in my (over-filled) pencil cases.
Further Resources
Some fuel for the fires of inspiration…
I think I come back to this sketchbook video from Iain McCaig annually. His joy for sketching (and art!) is so evident and infectious.
Tommy Arnold’s 2019 article on Muddy Colors about sketching in the Soft Zone has been very helpful for me. While I was finding the link for this article, I thought to check what else Muddy Colors has on sketching and Vanessa Lemen has you covered for Sketchbook Affirmations and Sketchbooks and the Human Experience. Lemen has a lovely exploratory approach to art-making. Rovina Cai (Aussie!) also has a lovely 2022 article called Sketching is Seeing, which focuses on sketching as a way of experiencing art exhibitions.
A recommendation from fellow art nerd Kate, we have a Sketchbook tour from Sophie McPike. I found this interesting for getting a peek into someone else’s sketchbook approach. McPike definitely approaches sketchbooks from a slightly different perspective to me (i.e. she seems to be creating sketchbooks as creative artefacts in their own right with a level of curation, and as a product for her artwork platform. Not bad! Just different), but I loved her enthusiasm and joyful use of colour.
For inspiration, I love the free-flowing lines and efficiency of Norman Lindsay’s (1879-1969) drawings. Great sense of motion and character as well. Lindsay was an Australian artist and author who worked across illustration, newspaper cartoons, and fine art. You can view some of his works in the collection of the Gallery of New South Wales, as well as more broadly online. I have some books of his pen and pencil drawings, and they’re always inspiring. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I also love his drawings of cats2.
For more observational sketching, I have to recommend James Gurney’s YouTube channel and Substack! He has been a huge inspiration to me, and a veritable wellspring of knowledge for both regular observational practice and sketchbook versatility. No need to lug a canvas around for plein air if you have thick enough paper and some gouache! If those links aren’t enough, you can also peruse his Gurney Journey blog, which has been going with 2007.
I was on a kick of nearly daily drawing over the end of year period, which has dropped in this busy past month. But the sketchbooks call again… as they ever do!
So, thank you for reading and, sincerely, happy drawing!
‘Mental Models: The Soft Zone’ by Tommy Arnold (2019) on Muddy Colors.
Images taken from Norman Lindsay’s Cats (1975).
Thank you for the lovely read <3
Lovely Olivia! And all holds so true I can relate to these experiences ~
Lately I’ve been considering how I want to bring this fun and personal outlook on my sketch work and bring it to my social pages in a way that feels just as casual and free to me.
The want to open up and share for my own pleasure and the bravery that comes with it is creeping back! Slowlyyy, and of course with some resistance still
I find I go through waves of stages, either easily letting go and other times totally plagued by my preconceived expectations that hold me back.
The past two years I’ve been huge on sketching as a way to experience exhibitions (without quite realising It had become a habit now to be honest) so super cool to see an article linked to that :D it’s really helped to let go and have fun
I want to sketch now I’m filled with inspiration and excitement! And courage to share! And it’s so fun commenting on a blog post I’ve never done this before! 🌬️🧚♂️