Happy Saturday Friends! I hope you had a great week! This marks the second week that I have been teaching on zoom. So crazy. I am hoping to be back in the classroom with my students in January. It is so wonderful to interact with them and actually see their work in person. I have learned through this whole teaching online process the importance of being with people in person!

Artist Sketchbook tips

Anyways…today I am going to talk to you about a topic that I feel pretty passionate about. Sketchbooks. I am a high school art teacher and I assign sketchbooks to my students weekly. I feel it is a great practice where students can work small and if they mess up, it is not a big deal. It is also a record of their work and can demonstrate growth and progress (all important things for keeping people motivated!). Sketchbooks are a great place to work on new techniques and ideas on a small scale. I personally use my sketchbook to formulate ideas for my larger paintings.

6 Tips for How to Improve With Sketchbooks

I am going to talk about my personal sketchbooks today and tell you how they help me grow and develop my own personal artistic style and why I try to work in mine at least a couple of times a week. I have used sketchbooks as a means of experimentation, practice and idea development. If you have not started using sketchbooks on a consistent basis, I highly recommend you try!

1. Start with a smaller sketchbook.

   I personally feel less pressure if the size of my paper is not too big. I started out using a 5 x 7 inch sketchbook and felt this was a great size to begin with. As I used the sketchbook more frequently I did work up to a 7 x 10 inch sketchbook. 0 Eventually I felt this was the perfect size for my daily paintings. It was portable and easy to throw in my purse. If you like to work large that is fine too! Get what suits your style.

2. Create an environment that ensures success.

   Make sure you have your sketchbook and paint/pencils/pens out and ready to use. When you create an environment that makes working easy to do, you will most likely do it! I always have my sketchbooks out and ready to go whenever I feel inspired.

3. Date your sketchbooks and write notes on the back of your sketch.

   On every sketch I put the month, day and year. I sometimes write about what went well in my sketch that day and also the location if I am traveling. My sketchbook becomes a visual diary of my life. It is fun to go back through my sketchbooks and see what I did throughout the year.

4. Don’t worry about messing up.

   The sketchbook is a place to get all of your ideas out. If it is a disaster that is fine. You can always rip out the paper and throw it away. Or even paint over your mistake. I like to tell myself the layers make the art interesting! I usually like to keep those mistakes in my sketchbook though because I often will look back and learn from them later. I like to think of the sketchbook as where the seeds of ideas are being planted. This is where you can hash out ideas and eventually create larger artworks that stem from these small sketchbook pages.

5. Play and have fun in your sketchbook.

   Use this as a safe space to play with materials, take notes on your favorite artists, cut out inspiring pictures and glue them in your sketchbook. Mix colors, play with different art media, investigate compositions. Have fun. If I am stuck and not feeling creative, I often will work in my sketchbook and just play around with the paint and see what comes out. This is often the best remedy for me when I am feeling stuck.

6. Put it in your calendar.

   This may sound weird but it is important. If you don’t make working in your sketchbook a priority, it won’t happen. Life is busy, you have work to do, laundry piles up, etc. Find a time of at least 15-20 minutes (even 10 will work!) that you can work in your sketchbook. Put it in your calendar because more than likely you will do it if you create a schedule for it. I do it usually during my 20 minute lunch break. I eat and paint at the same time and it is my favorite time of the day!

I hope these tips have helped you out in working in your sketchbook. These tips work for professional artists or even for those who pursue art as a hobby. Working in these small books is a great way to document your personal artistic style and help you explore multiple techniques without the pressure of messing up an expensive canvas. Often my sketchbooks lead to larger paintings and they have helped me create a series of artworks based on ideas in my sketchbook. I encourage you to use your sketchbook and have fun and enjoy!