In these videos and blogs I like to share what I’m up to in my art practice and as the year draws to a close I find myself in a reflective mood.

I decided to gather together all the sketchbooks I worked in this year and meander through them with an inquisitive and curious heart. To see what I thought, if anything occurred to me, to see if I could spot signposts for where to go next. To see if my art felt how I wanted it to feel.

Intention setting

This time last year I wrote a few words to help guide my art making in 2023. I defined how I wanted my art and art making to be:

• Bold, playful and joyful

• Brave and exciting

• Unrestricted and unrestrained

• Enthusiam and expansion

• More exciting and more wild

I can’t say that I’ve nailed this brief. When I see my art gathered together like this, it does feel playful and joyful to me, however I think I have a long way to go in terms of bravery and wildness. I feel like I’m making small incremental moves in the right direction though…

Joining the dots

I often find that looking back helps me to look forward.

My sketchbooks are a safe place where I can store and record my art making and reflect upon it, sift through it and join the dots. My sketchbooks help me to better understand the things about my own art making which interest and fascinate me, the things about the world that interest and fascinate me.

Why I love sketchbooks

Sketchbooks are a place where I make art for myself. The pages are not necessarily filled with ‘sketches,’ the art is not necessarily a draft for something more important, although it can be, I think of my sketchbooks as a place where I experiment and express myself. Sketchbooks are where I gather together the hints, whispers and clues of my artistic practice. Sketchbooks are the filing cabinets for my art making. They are a place to collect and curate small delights and large curiosities. They are a place to make art for the joy of creating, a place to find a path through, problem solve, follow a thread. They are both a homecoming and an adventure…a safe harbour and an adventure playground.

Compound effect

I was slightly astonished by the quantity of work I’ve made in my sketchbooks this year.

I know, as a full-time artist, who is evangelical about sketchbooks and who also teaches sketchbook techniques, I am always going to have a lot of sketchbook work, but the amount surprised even me. I don’t work in my sketchbook every day, and it’s often an hour in the evenings whilst also doing something else. But I do consistently make time for my sketchbook, it’s a valuable practice for me and so I make time for it, even if this is small windows of time.

It is a good reminder that ‘little and often’ has a powerful compounding and cumulative effect. Small actions added together over a year add up to something significant…