Sketchbook Update: VOL I

Despite technically having more time and freedom to be creative over the past year I have to say I haven't done half as much drawing as I should/could have done. 



Part of this is because I'm trying harder to be present in the moment and getting out and exploring more. Another reason is that I'm no longer surrounded by like minded people. Back home I have a great network of creative friends with whom I share ideas and encouragement, it's easy to be motivated when you have talented people cheering you on. 

Another setback in the art department was the lack of supplies I brought with me. Thankfully when I was in Prague I got a recommendation for a great art supply store and picked up a few things, including some nice watercolour brushes and a couple of high quality sketchbooks. This really kickstarted my traditional work again and I've been sketching on and off since. 

Top to Bottom: Canson hard cover sketchbook, IKEA blank book in pink, hard cover sketchbook from Prague, Semi soft cover watercolour book also from Prague, IKEA blank book in yellow.

Sometimes I think I'm funny, but mostly I can't write bios. 

Sapsorrow from "The Storyteller" 

Some character concepts from a side project. 

The first Europe Sketchbook features doodles from my trips in Ireland and Cologne, as well as observations from music festivals and other events around Holland. At first I was tentative with drawing in it because I rarely ever buy hardcover artbooks and see them as a pretty precious thing, but I loosened up over time and started getting more experimental with it. I tried watercolours, ink, pencil, various kinds of pen and a few different art styles in this book, and I hope that Europe Vol II encourages me to explore my art just as much.

Sometimes I make mistakes, sometimes instead of living with them I tear a huge hole in my title page.

Another good point about this book is that the pages are perforated at the top which means I can tear out pages to give to people.

One thing I've really gotten into in the past year is painting with watercolours and gouache. While I've used different varieties of watercolour paints in the past I'd never actually tried guoache before, but I like the density of the colours and the fact that it still spreads as smoothly as watercolours. I'm not much of a painter where acryllics and oils are concerned but give me a brush, some water and a set of watercolours and I can paint for days. 

The benefit of a personal sketchbook is that it acts as a sort of diary. 

Disclaimer: I can't actually ice skate.

The IKEA sketchbooks proved to be a bargain. Sometimes having super nice sketchbooks isn't the way to go, especially when you feel compelled to only fill the pages with high quality drawings. The paper in the IKEA books is thin and smooth which is kind of perfect for sketching in pen. Most of the pictures are junk and a lot of it is self-exploratory, they're more like visual journals than anything else. 

The yellow book, which came first is titled: "Blah, Blah, Blah" and the pink, (kind of the sequel) "And then I said..." I also picked up a blue book last time I visited IKEA in preparation. 

It's been particularly exciting for me to explore comics in these books without feeling any pressure for them to be good. I've experimented with layout and style and tone and I feel relieved to know that no one will ever read them (because honestly, they're mostly trash.)

So I might not be drawing every single day but I haven't stopped yet.

xoxo,
Lily