Studio Notes: Recent sketchbook pages

Drawing on location + trying something new

Jul 17, 2024

Some of my yearly art goals included starting a location drawing practice as well as generally making art more regularly and filling in more sketchbooks. It took me some time to start working towards these goals due to a creative block I experienced in winter, but it seems that I am starting to see some progress!

Recently I purchased this art creation sketchbook following the advice of

Citlaflor

and I am really enjoying working in it. I love the smoothness and creamy colour of the paper and the fact that it can handle some water when I am working with watercolour crayons and pencils. It’s also very cheap, so I don’t feel too precious about it and it really makes a big difference!

So today I want to share some of my recent sketchbook pages. I experimented quite a bit with some new approaches and creative prompts.

Creating page spreads with inspiration gathered on location

Sketchbook spreads created in pencils and crayons — Going out and trying to take "notes" of composition, colour and texture on location. I used coloured pencils, watercolour pencils and Neocolor II crayons.

Creating value studies in grey scale and colour

Sketchbook spreads with magnolias created with pen brushes — Two types of value studies - exploring the value structure in grey scale and then creating studies using unlikely colours. I used Faber Castell and Koi pen brushes.

Drawing variations of an object + trying out some still life compositions

Sketchbook spreads with sketches of mugs, jugs and teapots. Still life compositions. — Warming up with creating a variety of teapots, mugs and jugs and using them as reference to create some still life compositions. I used Faber Castell Pitt pen brushes.

Quick drawings of flowers and trees made on location

Sketchbook spreads with sketches of flowers and trees made in coloured pencils and crayons. — A swatch of my Neocolor II crayons and quick studies of flowers and trees made on location. I used my water-soluble supplies and water brushes.

Attending online art sessions to try something out of my comfort zone

This spread is from a session with

Nishant Jain

from

The SneakyArt Post

. I always struggle with capturing architecture due to all the overwhelming details, so it was very insightful and I instantly felt more confident. Next step - adding tiny people!

Sketchbook spreads with sketches of flowers created with coloured pencils and crayons. — Some expressive flower studies created with my water-soluble pencils and Neocolor II crayons during an online session with Pauline from the Creative Cocoon.

These are flowers I created during and after a session with

La Scarlatte

from the

Creative Cocoon

. I am trying to be more loose and expressive in my work, so working with a limit on time really helps!

I am also working in one of my handmade sketchbooks, so will be sharing some pages soon!

What are you creating in your sketchbooks this summer? I’d like to hear from you in the comments! If you found something interesting in this post, feel free to share it with an art friend!