The compounding interest of sketchbooks
Visual memory bank
This week I gathered together my current sketchbooks. There were eight of them, scattered around my house and studio, in various sizes and at various stages of being filled.
And I found myself feeling rather enlivened by seeing them all together, my visual memory bank, my personal laboratory and artistic wonderland all gathered together.
A creative home
I think of my sketchbooks as my art’s home ground. Somewhere I can always come home to.
My sketchbook practice is a really important part of my creative life, it has helped me discover all sorts of things about who I am as an artist. I meet myself on the page, again and again.
The joy of compounding
I enjoyed seeing so much of my own artwork gathered together. Pages of experiments, drawings I made for the sheer glee of it, things I'd forgotten about. Some of these sketchbooks were started many months ago, so I was looking at years of my own creativity all at once in one place.
I found seeing it all together quite life affirming, perhaps even a little moving. It felt like my personal wonky, analogue, hand drawn, rebellion against art created by robots.
More than most
I have more sketchbooks on the go than most people would ever need. Art is my profession and my hobby. I teach about sketchbook practices and I use my sketchbooks when I’m working with clients.
But even that doesn’t mean I am working in my sketchbook all the time. Life often pulls me in all sorts of directions, and there are plenty of days and sometimes weeks when I don't get around to making art in my sketchbook. But looking at all those pages reminded me that I have actually carved out plenty of time for my creative self, over and over again.
The joy of compounding is that it all adds up to something substantial.
A double win
I love a sketchbook for the time spent with art supplies, head, heart and hand. Doing something that feels tactile and tangible. Doing something which invites in a playful energy into my life.
And the pleasure doesn't end when I close the sketchbook. I can return to those pages notice things I love, rediscover old ideas, see beautiful connections and find new directions to explore.
I think that's one of the great pleasures of a long-running sketchbook practice. You get to enjoy the making in the moment, and then you get to enjoy everything that that accumulated experience gives back to you; the visual memory bank you have created.
Types of sketchbook
Here are some of the sketchbooks I like, but sketchbooks are a personal preference and come in so many different shapes, sizes and varieties, the sketchbook that is right for me, may not be right for you. The best sketchbook to use is always the one you already own.
The Venezia Book from Fabriano
Stillman & Birn, Zeta Range
The Ebony Artist Book from Daler Rowney, this is the giant A3 sized book I like to use
Dylusions Creative Journal Large from Ranger
Seawhite of Brighton Pocket Concertina
(Some of these links are affiliate links, if you buy something through them, I might earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. I only ever share the products that I actually use. )
If all this sketchbook enthusiasm has made you fancy spending some time in your own, you might enjoy one of my online sketchbook classes:
I’m teaching an hour long class at a free online retreat, Art Oasis.
Wander and Wonder: Filling a sketchbook full of nature inspired moments £58
Joy Filled Flowers: A mixed media sketchbook class that teaches you to loosen up, trust your instincts and let joy lead your creativity. £58
More to explore:
