Sketchbooks

When I was a full time teacher it was difficult to have a regular creative practice so sketchbooks were vital to keep me looking and thinking creatively. When I travelled I would always take a small sketchbook with me to record impressions, gallery visits and draw from life. I have kept this practice going into the present day.

When I draw I experience a place or culture on a deeper level. The act of drawing holds my attention and I see more. A photograph is a useful record but through the act of drawing ideas are formed, honed and discarded. Drawing filters out the extraneous and helps to concentrate and identify the essence of what interests me. It might not be until after I have finished a drawing that I understand what was intriguing me. Over the years patterns of interest emerge from sustained sketchbook use.

Sketchbook is a misnomer, they are really journals, a place to collate information, scrap books with resources that I can return to if I feel stuck. They may become works of art in themselves. When we can store so much virtually, it is a real joy to hold a sketchbook in your hands and touch the pages.