I used to say I didn’t like drawing in a sketchbook. The reality was that I felt too much pressure (especially after seeing amazing Sketchbook Tours on social media). When I finished my first ever sketchbook I felt drained and miserable. I knew I had to change my mindset or I would never complete a second one.
Now, after my second sketchbook, I have new thoughts and the right energy to start another one! But what has actually changed this time? The approach: no longer seeking for perfection, but intention. I learned (the hard way) that a perfectly executed painting is less rewarding than learning something new through an imperfect drawing.
Sketchbooks are made for learning and growing! Just keep this in mind.
Fun fact: I love ugly pages more than the ‘‘pretty’’ ones ;)
Another thing that kept me away from drawing consistenly was the lack of ideas and creativity. The problem was that I was looking for the perfect idea or reference before I even started putting a mark on the paper. But now I figured out new ways to fill my sketchbook and feel satisfied. These are some of them:
I’ve just used a brush and my watercolor palette and I directly painted the shapes I had in mind (fishes are a good subject for this exercise)- no pencil sketch involved
This was my first time trying acrylic markers, so I experimented with different painting approaches
Here I drew mainly from memory things I saw during a walk or make-up from my wishlist xD
I had the idea of doing an illustration with ducks for a while, and before I jumped into it, I drew a couple of pages to better undestand the subject
First time I was using markers in combination with neocolor II pastels
I practice figure drawing quite a lot in my sketchbooks, and lately I've been trying to draw directly with pens or colored pencils, so most of the time I get proportions wrong--but hey, they have more personality!
Here, I was trying to capture the essence of the trees and rocks through different brush strokes and marks
Whenever I run out of ideas, I do all sort of exercises to boost my creativity (you can see some of them in this video), like drawing within random bubbles of color or carving negative space and so on..
You can copy one particular artwork or bits of different artworks - you’ll learn so much by doing this!
I took this photo in Mirano (a lovely place near Venice) because I really liked the building color and the shape of the shadows. So when I got home, I tried to do a little study in my sketchbook
This is the study and also the last painting in my sketchbook!
If you want to see all the art I created in my latest sketchbook you can watch the full tour here:
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