Sketchbook practice
January 2025 Painting Letter
Hi there,
Happy to see you here again , happy new year :)
Thank you for taking your time and appreciating my work in any form.
I recently finished the A6 sketchbook I was working on and I found that my approach to sketchbooks has changed with time. And my practice with sketchbooks is relatively new. When I finished this one I was happy that I used it more. I used it with whatever material I had and whatever amount of time was available for me to work on. If I wanted to draw a line on a spread with whatever material I had in hand, I wanted to be able to do so. Not to be stopped by too much analysis.
From my little sketchbook experience I think it is nice to carry a sketchbook with you and, sometimes, it may help to not spend an enormous amount of money on a very nice sketchbook if this fact is going to keep you away from free/careless creation.
On my youtube channel you can watch a recent video where I am finishing this sketchbook. It is a quiet sketching session.
I had a lot of nice time working on this last sketchbook and I think I used it more freely compared with others in the past. This fact helped my painting practice in different ways. If I need to put down some paint or ideas (the need to create immediately) I can do that in my sketchbook. It helped me to warm up. To improve my drawing skills. For example I could just open my sketchbook and draw no matter the subject matter was, because the focus point was more on the need to create. Just drawing, practice, keeping memories, just painting.
Another thing I did sometimes, that I enjoyed was leaving my sketchbooks opened to facilitate the task of sketching. I usually spent time thinking and researching about ways to facilitate the access to create my work espace/material wise and I found sketchbooks are great for that.
I already started a new sketchbook, the same size and brand. These are 2-3 minutes black Neocolor II sketches from life I did recently.
What I usually bring with me for sketching: my pencil case, water soluble graphite, my sketchbook and if I need some colors, I take with me some gouache painting or acrylics. I also enjoy so much oil pastel, but it can be so messy I have to keep in mind to bring some baking paper with me.
There is a video on my youtube channel where I am sharing with you my favorite art supplies at the moment for sketching on the go if you are curious about it.
SKETCHBOOK SESSIONS: Launching a new tier on my Patreon page.
I am happy to share with you the launch of a new tier on my Patreon page that will be dedicated to my sketchbook practice. It will be available from 1st March 2025.
In this new tier I will be sharing my sketchbook practice and the materials I use.
Until the next Painting Letter you can follow my work on my Instagram page, my Youtube channel or support me on Patreon.
I hope you all have a nice day, thank you.
See you next time.
Elena.