My cat, Grover, kindly posed for sketches in my latest accordion-fold sketchbook.
I love to read in the evenings, and have been delving into Jane Stobart's Extraordinary Sketchbooks, where I got the idea to make a collaged sketchbook like architect Karen Butti.
I used a base of 140 pound watercolor paper, and glued on painted papers & old maps with Yes! Paste.
Below is the cover of the sketchbook, decorated with music sheeting that's been painted with several thin layers of acrylic paint.
The surface of these papers is slick, which would make it difficult to draw on top of them with graphite, charcoal or colored pencils. I applied clear gesso over both sides of the sketchbook to add a layer of grit without obscuring the designs underneath it.
My cats were hanging out in the studio when I started sketching, so they fill the first pages.
I love that I can sketch with rich, black charcoal and white pastel pencils. The painted paper underneath adds another layer of pattern and color. It feels exciting to have a new sketchbook with a variety of colorful papers
The songbirds hunting seeds in the flower box outside my studio window fit perfectly on the map of Glacier Bay, Alaska.
Dark-Eyed Juncos scratch on the earth for seeds, so I put black oiler sunflower seeds in my flower beds for them. It's a protected spot, and it brings them closer for me to draw.
Collaging colorful papers onto a plain sketchbook adds a playfulness and imperfection that invites doodling. If you're feeling anxiety facing the blank page, maybe a collaged page would help you push past that feeling and make drawings.
The beauty of drawing in a sketchbook is that your artwork doesn't have to be "pretty" or "perfect." Truly in this world, there is no such thing as perfect, so try looking at drawing as an exploration, a voyage of discovery. Every drawing teaches you something.
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