Jan - March In-depth Sketchbook Tour

The 'everything' and place-to-play sketchbook

May 09, 2024

2024 update:

Hello friends! It’s December 2024!

I’ve been a little unwell of late, and so the planned posts I had for December are being re-jigged for the new year. Till then, I wanted to welcome all my new readers with an unlocked Sketchbook Tour.

This was from earlier this year - and feels really good to look back on as I review my creative output for 2024.

I hope you enjoy this video, and are having a restful wind down to the end of the year!

Sending out festive good vibes to you all, and thank you for being here.

The start of the year was weirdly prolific for me in my sketchbook.

My intention was: just show up. Draw anything, and do not place any boundaries around what should be in the sketchbook. I knew that I wanted to start the year with a sense of play, exploration, discovery, and to simply make a commitment to myself to sustain the sketchbook habit.

This sketchbook is the result.

I am currently in a headspace of analysing which areas of my illustration practice I want to focus on, and build. Right now, I want to focus in and actually complete something. However, this exploratory work is fundamental to supporting my whole practice, and my proffessional career.

A sketchbook devoted to discovery, showing up for yourself and pure play provides:

A space of non-judgement for whatever emerges on the page
The freedom of having ‘no brief, no objective, no parameters’
An opportunity to just respond to whatever your mood is in that moment
A feel-good energy of knowing you have made time for yourself
Once filled, a chance to look back, reflect on what has come out and find some connective tissue. For me, its energy, limited colour and strong shape language.

Questions for you:

Now we are in May, fully into Q2, how has the year been for you so far with regards to your creative practice? Did you set intentions at the start that you need to tweak?
Where is your space for exploration and discovery?
Do you agonise over ‘style’ - or are you in a place where you’re not asking that question?

Let me know in the comments!