Beautiful sketchbooks, another form of art

A spread from my old sketchbook

Since the last time I wrote about sketchbooks, I became very aware of the different ways sketchbooks are being used. Sketchbooks as I used to know them, were often a private matter. Pages were filled with sketches that made no sense to anyone else except to the artist. Just usually not shared with the world.

Instagram has changed all this and we have sketchbook pages shared across all the social media platforms. And the pages that are often shown are not the old style scribbles anymore, some of them are becoming beautiful pieces of art.

Some of the most remarkable sketchbooks that I found on Instagram are those from Polina Oshurkova. You wouldn’t know until you look quite closely at her posts, but she is working in small sketchbooks – often around 15 cm in size or so.
She uses acrylic markers and has a distinctive style that she maintains throughout her pages. Her style is colourful, clearly inspired by nature with a hint of folk art style gone modern and fresh. She shows a lot of pages on Instagram, always in her own style and that is quite impressive.

Books and books filled with art

image credit: Polina Oshurkova, https://polinaoshu.com/
Find Polina on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oshupatterns/

Another incredible artist I follow on Instagram with amazing artful sketchbooks is Heegyum Kim. Since her pages are indeed little pieces of art, she gathered some of them and published an ezine from them. You can buy her ezine on Etsy! It is such an incredible way to sell your art from your sketchbook. Pretty smart too!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/HeeCookingdiary

A gorgeous spread filled with adorable raccoons.

You can find her on Instagram, using the name @hee_cookingdiary
https://www.instagram.com/hee_cookingdiary/

My sketchbooks are a far cry from these artists. I wish I could create beautiful pages in a row, just like them. Some of my pages, even if I try hard, are still somewhat ‘beginnings’ and have some visual mistakes. Often the shapes, colour combination or art technique just don’t work so well together. Usual one (or two) of the ingredients are wrong. Or even just out of place.

Those gorgeous sketchbooks on Instagram nudges me to create some pieces of art on my pages as well. But I guess I would have to seriously work harder and differently if I want to achieve that! There are so many pages in my sketchbook that are just blah.
To me, at the moment, those almost forgotten sketchbooks on my shelves are places where I try out some things, play and experiment. The sketchbooks may hold some beautiful pages that I am proud of, but definitely not all of them are pieces of art. Some pages where I try out a new idea have just gone terribly wrong. So, on Instagram I show you only the nice pages!

Seeing the gorgeous sketchbooks on Instagram made me realise that my purpose and how I use sketchbooks are so different from these talented designers. And that might be the biggest difference: my sketchbook is really not an art book. It is a book with lots of errors, smudges, experiments and play. And frustration as well when things don’t work out as I thought they would.

My conclusion: not all sketchbooks are filled equal. Sketchbooks are being used by different artists in different ways. And the purpose of these sketchbooks make them different. Quite different. And let’s not underestimate the skills that one needs to create so many pieces of art in just one book like Polina and Heegyum. That takes a lot of effort, time, talent and dedication.

I am curious about the way that you use your sketchbooks. Do you show every page and every flaw on Instagram? Do you manage to create beautiful spreads time and time again? Or do you prefer to keep your sketchbook private?

Getting into the habit of working with sketchbooks

Picking up my old Moleskine sketchbook and using watered down gouache to paint some flowers and stylised leaves.

Sketchbook versus loose paper sheets

It is quite obvious that my place is filled with paper. You will find sketches, painted motifs, large sheets with artwork everywhere. Some of the artwork that I have been working on, is up on the wall. Some are works in progress, and some need an extra dose of inspiration. And some prints are finished and for me to enjoy.

It is limited to a few places on the wall, and though it might be a bit busy, the wall doesn’t feel cluttered to me. The problem is not with these papers, the problem is with all the other paper sheets that are lying around.
There is the obvious pile of sketches on both my desks, and there are quite a few boxes filled with sketches and art work. And during some days, even a part of the ground is covered with painted sketches and things that need to dry. In some ways, I do like to think that the papers are in some ways organised to me. But to be honest, theses stacks aren’t organised at all.

And then there is this thing that is nagging for years: I should be working in sketchbooks. It is such a smarter way to work. Everything is all kept together in a little or large book. Keeping ideas together and even chronological, all in one place. You can put the sketchbooks in a book case, giving one a proud feeling of accomplishments once you see the collection of these books growing. And, I have to admit, they are way less messy than loose sheets of paper.

So I do understand the advantages of using sketchbooks. And I have tried working in them but often it stiffles my creativity, being afraid to mess up a beautiful sketchbook. Or, more often, the sketchbook isn’t large enough. Working on a large sheet of paper gives me much more freedom. Another problem I feel is when using different media like pencil, markers, watercolours and gouache. All these media perform better on their own kind of paper. This means that I keep on buying different sketchbooks and occasionally draw or paint in them.

Apart from keeping your artwork together, my design heroe Zandra Rhodes mentioned in an interview, how important sketchbooks are. She was quite frank about it and said that everything that you draw should be saved. That even a ‘bad’ sketch or mistakes should not be ripped out. Facing your mistakes is a way to learn and help you to create better art.

Zandra Rhodes is an amazing designer, and in her book “The art of Zandra Rhodes” she shares her sketches, her editing process, the final prints and the printed fabric sewn into her amazing dresses. This book is such a good read as well for any designer as you can follow her process of working as she explains her trail of thoughts.

Zandra has kept complete archives of her drawings and prints. In 2003 she founded the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey, south-east London which contains her collections. So I guess that she was running out of space as well?

How do you like to work? Do you use sketchbooks all the time? Or do you prefer the freedom of working on sheets of paper?
And how do you organise your work? I wonder if there is a better way that stashing them in boxes or have them just lying around. I would love to hear from you.

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IMAGES

Top image: my own sketchbooksSecond image: Photograph taken of the book “The art of Zandra Rhodes” by Zandra Rhodes and Anne Knight

Last day of January

As usual, January has been a cold and grey month. One of my least favorite month of the year, to be honest. I am counting the days to Spring and was so happy to see little snowbells on my walk today. It was so cold though that I even didn’t take the time to take a picture of them.

So for the last day of January I decided to make a mood board and look for the warm mocca, terracotta and tan colours. Colours that make me remember the warm earth, instead of frosty mornings and chilly wind.

One of the best colours to combine these earth tones is with pinks and maybe even soft yellows. Look for creamy colours instead of white for a light but harmonious touch.

Image credits: interior with clock by Artem Riasniansky via Unsplash.com, detail terracotta pattern by Hanna Obersteller via Unsplash.com , flock in mountains by Cheyenne Doig via Unslash.com , pattern by Colourbook Studio.