Sketchbook Work

Keeping a sketchbook of art has been a great idea for me at best. I have had art teachers and fellow artists who swear by them. Their sketchbooks are amazing filled with random thoughts, collages, ideas, paint, marking and even other artist's art. I like the idea of doodling and sketching ideas and figuring out layouts for future art, but I just jump in and create right on the paper or canvas or linoleum without doodles, just the idea in my mind. The doodle happens on the main substrate. I have started a few sketchbooks, and then something ugly comes up and I just can't get past that page. My perfectionism at it's worse takes over. It is just a sketchbook, they are private and personal and ugly is part of art, in fact, it is a very important part of being an artist, to get past the fear of making bad art.

Summertime

I have a piano student who is studying a very difficult piano piece. He has decided to step back for a bit and give it a rest. He listens to great pianist's recording playing this piece and gets very discouraged because after two months he doesn't sound like them. Comparing himself to an edited recording of " who knows how long they worked on it to record it. " I fall into the same category as my student, comparing my efforts with the "greats", the artists who are in galleries and hanging in museums and sought after by the public.

I am rambling, telling a long story of why I don't have sketchbook art, why I just go for the big art and if it fails just throw it away. The sketchbook should be a place to practice making some fails and successes without pressure. I am giving it a shot, again, and maybe this time I will keep working and practicing art in a book.

Quilt of letters

The sketchbook art I want to share today is a sketchbook that is dedicated for the most part to collage art. Collage art for me is abstract, loose, and freeing. I am just going by instinct, mostly no plan, just a vague idea of pattern or color. I can rip paper, brush on glue and fill up space. I swear, anyone can do this and feel happy. I think I am improving, getting better at design, or my abstract designs are getting more appealing, at least to me. I use a variety of paper, wrapping paper, magazines, ephemera and old book pages. The variety is infinite.

An Artist dozen

These are three of my most recent pages, the first one is actually glued over a terrible self-portrait. I love this book for making art in. It is filled with handmade paper, thick and wonderful to touch.

Thank you for stopping by to visit. Hope your summer is being wonderful. I would love to hear what fun you have been having while the sun is shining.