Do You Have a Sketchbook?
Do you have a sketchbook? A notebook? Something you can pull out anytime, anywhere, and be creative?
A sketchbook (let’s call it a sketchbook) is your best friend; you can say anything to it and it doesn’t judge. It’s always there for you - when you’re bored, when you’re fidgety, when you need to express yourself.
(below are samples from my personal sketchbook)
Open your sketchbook - it’s open-minded. It can’t see you, but it’s all ears.
Do you know what I like to do with my sketchbooks?
I like to spill things on them accidentally. Coffee, food, beer, it’s all good.
This does two important things:
1. It reminds you that your sketchbooks aren’t mean to be perfect.
2. It gives your sketchbook character.
Go ahead - make your weirdest, worst art in your sketchbook. Write those bad song lyrics, draw that lady’s head out of proportion - who cares! Nobody has to see, because it’s yours. It’s private. Don’t show anybody. Or show everybody - it’s up to you.
There are many different kinds of sketchbooks. They come in all shapes and sizes. The style you choose is personal. Don’t buy just any old sketchbook you find in Barnes & Noble. Get something you love, something that feels good in your hands, fits in your back pocket, or tucks conveniently in your bag.
Me? I always buy the same sketchbook: a Cachet Classic Hardbound Sketchbook (never spiral) with over 200 acid-free blank pages. (Acid-free means the paper won’t yellow.) I get one of two sizes: either the horizontal 6″x9″, or the small square 4″x6″ size. Both are portable and give my hand room to stretch. This sketchbook is bound like a real book, so you can’t easily tear pages out, but I do sometimes if I want to give a drawing away.
The Moleskin notebooks and sketchbooks are very popular; apparently Hemingway used them, among other famous creators. (They make a really nice watercolor book.) But I’ve yet to meet a Moleskin that suits my needs. (Again, you gotta buy a book that’s right for you - not just ’cause Hemingway used it.)
So, what are you waiting for? Get yourself a sketchbook or notebook! Scribble, doodle, jot down that brilliant idea. Whatever. Use it everyday. Whether it’s a cheapo spiral-bound notebook you buy at Walgreens, or a nice one like the ones I mention above. Sketchbooks are an invaluable part of the creative process and a fantastic way to record and archive your creative journey.
Leave your sketchy comments, or tell us about your favorite sketchbook/notebook!
A small sketchbook always with you is a great thing but you can also adopt “sketchbook” as an attitude for other experiments that don’t fit in a book. They use other types of paper or media for example.
I like to make my own and I never go anywhere without it. I’ve even brought them to weddings, because you never know when the ideas will arrive!
If my sketches looked like these casual pull out of my purse notebook sketches…I would do it too!
Thanks for the reminder though, to pay enough attention to what I see, to be aware enough to sketch with my thoughts at least.
I love your sketches. They are very similar to my dad’s. Each year, my dad has put together a book of the sketches he has kept over the years. They are that thin blue paper when he sent missives home to England from his mandatory military service in Hong Kong when he is 18. They are on napkins, meeting agendas, graph paper. The last book was based on his meetings. My dad was a research scientist and spoke all over the world. All I knew was that my dad travelled for work. To my surprise, in this book, I found autographed sketches of Michael Cousteau and Al Gore. Seems my dad moved amongst the movers and shakers. And what is truly amusing, is that he generally sketched in meetings when he was bored *smile*
Okay, I cheated. This was about my dad’s sketchbook. Yes, I have one too. And I was just mentioning to the Urbane Lion that I need to haul it out of the box it’s been living in for the past 5 years. Time to get back to doodling.
Fun drawings! Way cool! I have journals tucked everywhere. In my car, my purse, by my bed. I like to have them handy for those unexpected ideas that hit you at the red light. I have sketched in them as well.
I like that you mentioned that the sketch pad wouldn’t tell anyone about your sketches in there so it was ok for it to be bad. That gives you a sense of freedom.
Hi Mark,
I don’t have a sketchbook, but do keep my journal handy for my blog post ideas.
BTW: Your drawings/sketches are awesome.
Beth - thanks for adding that interesting point - “sketchbook” as a mindset. Can you elaborate a bit?
Lisa Beth - The book-maker makes her own sketchbooks! How cool. Do you sketch in them at weddings, etc, or do you write?
Harmony - thanks for the compliment! Give it a shot, you might enjoy it, even if you can only draw stick figures!
Ms. Panther - nice story about your Dad! Thanks for sharing. And yes, dust off that book and start scribbling!
Laurie - Red light sketching is a great way to use the down-time! I do it quite a bit.
Barbara - thank you! You always have great ideas for posts so I’m not surprised you have a journal. That’s great.
Mark, I LOVE your sketches! They’re absolutely wonderful.
I also love your idea of sketching in the company of a regular journal. I’m definitely going to do this! What a good way to tap into all the creative resources all at one time. One could lead to the other, after all…
(By the way, I’m in the Boston area, too. Love your pictures of people in Harvard Square - and Kimball Farm)!
Ophelia - thank you! I truly appreciate the nice words, as I’m having a grumpy day. Grrrrrrrrrr. See?
I didn’t know you lived nearby - whaddaya know! After perusing your wonderful blog earlier I saw mention of Concord and wasn’t sure if it was NH or the more local Thoreau’s Concord, where I sometimes go for a nature walk around the Pond.
Thanks and welcome back to the cafe!
Your sketches are wonderful. I can’t get past the stick figure stage, so all my work is done in ten cent notebooks that I buy by the pound at Target when it’s back to school time.
No sketch book- but I do carry a “journal” at all times. It is also not spiral but I do tend to rip out the things I don’t like- because even though the book doesn’t judge I certainly do.
Mark - that was in Concord, MA, on the Sudbury river. (I THINK it’s the Sudbury river, anyway. It’s the river that runs by Concord Academy). I grew up in that area, in Sudbury, and now live further north, near the New Hampshire border.
Glad to have made your day a little brighter!
Writer Dad - thank you, welcome to the cafe, and great name! I look forward to reading your stuff.
MK - I have at least 7 journals I’m considering burning in a big end-of-the-summer bonfire.
Ophelia - Hm…I wonder if you went to Lincoln/Sudbury high. Shoot me an email if you want and we can sort out our potential connections!
Hey Mark,
All smiles!
An update: Oh I do take the sketchy and draw. It’s usually pics I draw in notes I leave for others…I am often laughing out loud (they are usually silly or about a silly idea) when I draw them, and in fact, when I think of them later, I still giggle. Funny tho, others just don’t see what I see.
I always enjoyed the part of the movie “Crumb” where he trades a stack of his sketchbooks for a house in southern France.