What I’m learning, with my own sketchbook journey, is that it’s a way for me to shrug off the mantle I often put on of control, striving, and perfection.
When I sketch instead of write what I see, it’s not — impressive — I usually struggle far more, at first, because I’m not as skilled or practiced at drawing as I am at writing. Because of that, though, I’m far better at trying new things, playing, and learning from missteps.
In the end, my sketchbook asks me to go deeper with less at stake than I feel with my writing. And it’s a new way of seeing that can only make me a better writer, I’d think.
Beautifully said, Kristine. A sketchbook is a wonderful space to play and, as writers, we don’t often make enough space for that. Maybe because writing can be so arduous? All creativity feeds all creativity, in my opinion.
Loved getting to read through this. Keeping a sketchbook has become a true miracle for my mind and the way I see the world. It’s become a daily habit and I can’t imagine what I did without it.
I took a sketchbook out in public for the first time last week 😱 And it's a brand new habit to even have a sketchbook (thanks to substack and ppl like you) so I was a lil nervous. I drove to a city I'd never been, on my 31st birthday, and sat against a tree and listened to some storytelling at an indigenous arts festival. I drew the buildings and tree next to the performer. It was so sweet and such a lovely way to spend time being more engaged with my surroundings (:
Thank you so much for this article and making it free Nishant! It was meditative in its cadence, thought provoking (I love how you ask the reader a question after every section!), and satisfying in its economic use of words! To your last question, have you started something you don't know where will lead you? Yes. Ten days ago, I started sketching a portrait a day of people who work tirelessly to make the world a better place (but whose faces and stories aren't here on Substack). I started with my existing network of East African permaculture activists and have found as I weave my way through this world, that I am compiling a visual directory of a connected (and sometimes not connected) network of people who are impacting thousands of other people.
So glad to hear from you Emily, and wow that is a wonderful project. In Ep 58 of the SneakyArt Podcast, I spoke with artist George McCalman about his portraiture project, also begun without an end goal in mind, and the unique paths it led down. I think you would really enjoy that conversation (find it anywhere you listen to podcasts). To celebrate so called 'ordinary' people doing extraordinary things is doubly wondrous - not only are you doing something great for someone that deserves it, you are also inviting your mind to find beauty in uncommon spaces. It will help you so much!
Yes! Beauty in uncommon places! My main reflection so far is that by slowing down and listening to their story and also drawing their portrait, I have had to pay so much more attention to the individual. And I have this very deep sense when I do these cameos of their individuality - these are people who have never lived before and who will never live again. There is immense beauty in celebrating one individual at a time. There's also a different relationship that is developed between us. Being drawn and drawing someone - portraiture specifically - has a certain level of intimacy.
Today was the first day of this particular art journey for me. After shopping I stopped at the cafe for a coffee. I observed the people around me, a mother with her baby, two friends. I captured them in a not particularly well drawn way just as the friends stood up to leave. It felt very satisfying and I didn't mind my drawing wasn't perfect. I love this way of noticing.
Seeing a post from sneaky art on Instagram and a conversation about fountain pens there begun my initial exploration into the world of sketching. Keeping a sketchbook (or really just one book where I write and sketch in) as someone who keeps saying she can’t draw has opened me up to so much new possibility. Trying something for the sake of trying it, and starting sketches with no clear end goal has been freeing and was the jumpstart I needed out of a long creative writing rut. It’s such a welcome change from a numbers based day job and the writing process after hours. The bonus is that trying and enjoying this new thing of sketching has given me the motivation I needed to also start learning other things! I can’t be more enthusiastic about keeping a sketchbook, and I love the way you talked about it, Nishant . If any of you haven’t yet tried, let today be the day you let yourself try something new with your focus on the newness not on the potential of ‘failure’, whatever that arbitrary thing is.
Well said, Jo! We should all be more excited by the possibility of new learning, and the excitement of a new journey, over the potential pitfalls and obstacles. So happy to hear about your sketchbook journey!
In February 2024 I took part in the 100 Day Project as someone who had never picked up a paintbrush before and started teaching myself how to paint with watercolours. I fell in love with the medium. Since then my progress has been less structured but I still want to improve my drawing and painting skills further. This year I've recently joined both the local urban sketchers group and the plein air painters group as just doing it is the only way to learn, practice and hopefully improve. Your enthusiastic post is encouraging me to start a small, sustainable, daily sketch habit!
When asked how my art was coming along, I said: "It's like waiting for a bus. I don't know when it will come, I don't know where it will take me...I just know I have to get on it when it arrives."
It occurred to me today that this will also describe my death, whenever that happens.
I grew up in the Vancouver area but didn't get deeply into the sketchbook experience until I spent an intense year attending the Ontario College of Art in Toronto followed by months of travel on the way home madly drawing and painting in a growing number of sketchbooks. That was decades ago now and the many sketchbooks I filled are among my most precious possessions.
My life as an artist has evolved in different directions since then, but my Muse never completely forgets me.
Your faith inspires me. To start, to try, to continue, without certainty- a sure recipe for wondrous outcomes. But, a path and an attitude which, to me, is extraordinarily frightening to assume.
Thank you for letting us in to your process and your world today.🧶
I'm glad to hear that, Jamesey. The fear does not fully leave us, in my opinion, but with experience it gets easier to handle. I am trying several new things in my practice this year, which frighten me, and my instinct is to retreat to what is comfortable. But experience also tells me I can push forward and I will find something on the other side.
I've started trying to express something about my day visually in my sketchbook--not every day, but often. It forces me to find visual symbols for what I want to express. For example, a poisoned apple expressed the toxic tirade of a friend; a coffee cup on a table to remember a conversation with a friend in a coffee shop. This kind of journaling helps me to pull out the sense of the day from the many things that happened.
Portraying symbols is such a wonderful idea! I'm sure it is an excellent creative exercise even to think of the right symbols. And then, why those symbols? What about them triggers this emotion/mood/recollection in you? Fascinating.
I don't have the time and energy available right now that I would like to have. If I had it, I would repy extensively to each and all of your posts. They are inspiring and a pleasure to read, and they always trigger new insights in me.
I just want you to know that your work is deeply appreciated here.
Love the idea of keeping a sketchbook but unfortunately never learned to draw! I started trying to do “verbal” sketches a few years back - not so much describing in detail but trying to capture the “feel” of a moment or place, like doing a very rough drawing. I like the idea of not getting overly intellectual in the process just going with whatever words or phrases come up
Not having learned to draw can be your superpower, Alfie! It means you don't know the rules, which is so useful sometimes. Dive in with enthusiasm and keep a secret sketchbook that no one sees! Your secret communication in a new language! 🙌
What I’m learning, with my own sketchbook journey, is that it’s a way for me to shrug off the mantle I often put on of control, striving, and perfection.
When I sketch instead of write what I see, it’s not — impressive — I usually struggle far more, at first, because I’m not as skilled or practiced at drawing as I am at writing. Because of that, though, I’m far better at trying new things, playing, and learning from missteps.
In the end, my sketchbook asks me to go deeper with less at stake than I feel with my writing. And it’s a new way of seeing that can only make me a better writer, I’d think.
Beautifully said, Kristine. A sketchbook is a wonderful space to play and, as writers, we don’t often make enough space for that. Maybe because writing can be so arduous? All creativity feeds all creativity, in my opinion.
Loved getting to read through this. Keeping a sketchbook has become a true miracle for my mind and the way I see the world. It’s become a daily habit and I can’t imagine what I did without it.
Thank you Matt! Your work is beautiful. 🙌
Thank you so much for those kind words and for taking the time to check Gentle Drawings out! I'm honored.
I took a sketchbook out in public for the first time last week 😱 And it's a brand new habit to even have a sketchbook (thanks to substack and ppl like you) so I was a lil nervous. I drove to a city I'd never been, on my 31st birthday, and sat against a tree and listened to some storytelling at an indigenous arts festival. I drew the buildings and tree next to the performer. It was so sweet and such a lovely way to spend time being more engaged with my surroundings (:
I know how much bravery it takes to do that for the first time. Congrats! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed being present in the moment that way.
Thank you so much for this article and making it free Nishant! It was meditative in its cadence, thought provoking (I love how you ask the reader a question after every section!), and satisfying in its economic use of words! To your last question, have you started something you don't know where will lead you? Yes. Ten days ago, I started sketching a portrait a day of people who work tirelessly to make the world a better place (but whose faces and stories aren't here on Substack). I started with my existing network of East African permaculture activists and have found as I weave my way through this world, that I am compiling a visual directory of a connected (and sometimes not connected) network of people who are impacting thousands of other people.
So glad to hear from you Emily, and wow that is a wonderful project. In Ep 58 of the SneakyArt Podcast, I spoke with artist George McCalman about his portraiture project, also begun without an end goal in mind, and the unique paths it led down. I think you would really enjoy that conversation (find it anywhere you listen to podcasts). To celebrate so called 'ordinary' people doing extraordinary things is doubly wondrous - not only are you doing something great for someone that deserves it, you are also inviting your mind to find beauty in uncommon spaces. It will help you so much!
Yes! Beauty in uncommon places! My main reflection so far is that by slowing down and listening to their story and also drawing their portrait, I have had to pay so much more attention to the individual. And I have this very deep sense when I do these cameos of their individuality - these are people who have never lived before and who will never live again. There is immense beauty in celebrating one individual at a time. There's also a different relationship that is developed between us. Being drawn and drawing someone - portraiture specifically - has a certain level of intimacy.
So true! All of this comes out of giving them - and ourselves - the gift of time and attention. ❤️
And thank you for the podcast episode reference! I will check it out!
I hope you enjoy it!
Today was the first day of this particular art journey for me. After shopping I stopped at the cafe for a coffee. I observed the people around me, a mother with her baby, two friends. I captured them in a not particularly well drawn way just as the friends stood up to leave. It felt very satisfying and I didn't mind my drawing wasn't perfect. I love this way of noticing.
Congratulations on a first day of beautiful observations!
i started writing a novel in my 20s and just finished it in april. i’m 45.
https://open.substack.com/pub/francesyllana/p/preface?r=1b03t&utm_medium=ios
Wow, congratulations! That is so heartening and inspiring. 🙌
Seeing a post from sneaky art on Instagram and a conversation about fountain pens there begun my initial exploration into the world of sketching. Keeping a sketchbook (or really just one book where I write and sketch in) as someone who keeps saying she can’t draw has opened me up to so much new possibility. Trying something for the sake of trying it, and starting sketches with no clear end goal has been freeing and was the jumpstart I needed out of a long creative writing rut. It’s such a welcome change from a numbers based day job and the writing process after hours. The bonus is that trying and enjoying this new thing of sketching has given me the motivation I needed to also start learning other things! I can’t be more enthusiastic about keeping a sketchbook, and I love the way you talked about it, Nishant . If any of you haven’t yet tried, let today be the day you let yourself try something new with your focus on the newness not on the potential of ‘failure’, whatever that arbitrary thing is.
Well said, Jo! We should all be more excited by the possibility of new learning, and the excitement of a new journey, over the potential pitfalls and obstacles. So happy to hear about your sketchbook journey!
It’s a pleasure to have my attention taken by something of substance, my friend. Thank you for slowing life down, if only for a few minutes.
You're most welcome, Jason. Glad to have you here!
In February 2024 I took part in the 100 Day Project as someone who had never picked up a paintbrush before and started teaching myself how to paint with watercolours. I fell in love with the medium. Since then my progress has been less structured but I still want to improve my drawing and painting skills further. This year I've recently joined both the local urban sketchers group and the plein air painters group as just doing it is the only way to learn, practice and hopefully improve. Your enthusiastic post is encouraging me to start a small, sustainable, daily sketch habit!
It's lovely to hear from you Alison, and I am glad to be a small part of your creative journey. 🙌
When asked how my art was coming along, I said: "It's like waiting for a bus. I don't know when it will come, I don't know where it will take me...I just know I have to get on it when it arrives."
It occurred to me today that this will also describe my death, whenever that happens.
That's a wonderful mindset, Dorian. ❤️
Thanks Nishant, I appreciate it.
I grew up in the Vancouver area but didn't get deeply into the sketchbook experience until I spent an intense year attending the Ontario College of Art in Toronto followed by months of travel on the way home madly drawing and painting in a growing number of sketchbooks. That was decades ago now and the many sketchbooks I filled are among my most precious possessions.
My life as an artist has evolved in different directions since then, but my Muse never completely forgets me.
https://www.instagram.com/dorian_melton_art
https://www.instagram.com/dorian_melton_artist/
All the best to you.
Your faith inspires me. To start, to try, to continue, without certainty- a sure recipe for wondrous outcomes. But, a path and an attitude which, to me, is extraordinarily frightening to assume.
Thank you for letting us in to your process and your world today.🧶
I'm glad to hear that, Jamesey. The fear does not fully leave us, in my opinion, but with experience it gets easier to handle. I am trying several new things in my practice this year, which frighten me, and my instinct is to retreat to what is comfortable. But experience also tells me I can push forward and I will find something on the other side.
I've started trying to express something about my day visually in my sketchbook--not every day, but often. It forces me to find visual symbols for what I want to express. For example, a poisoned apple expressed the toxic tirade of a friend; a coffee cup on a table to remember a conversation with a friend in a coffee shop. This kind of journaling helps me to pull out the sense of the day from the many things that happened.
Portraying symbols is such a wonderful idea! I'm sure it is an excellent creative exercise even to think of the right symbols. And then, why those symbols? What about them triggers this emotion/mood/recollection in you? Fascinating.
Thank you . This is nurturing to me. Am no going to go get my sketchbook. Yes, faith and trust.
I am glad to hear that, Sylvia. 🙌🏽
Dear Nishant,
I don't have the time and energy available right now that I would like to have. If I had it, I would repy extensively to each and all of your posts. They are inspiring and a pleasure to read, and they always trigger new insights in me.
I just want you to know that your work is deeply appreciated here.
I am glad to hear from you, Malik. I hope the good things are keeping you busy, and you are doing well. ❤️ Best wishes for summer!
I'm so happy i found someone else doing this. I've got a lot of these stories, here's notebook number one: https://substack.com/home/post/p-145132869?r=1asdvc&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Cafe stories! Nice work. 🙌
Love the idea of keeping a sketchbook but unfortunately never learned to draw! I started trying to do “verbal” sketches a few years back - not so much describing in detail but trying to capture the “feel” of a moment or place, like doing a very rough drawing. I like the idea of not getting overly intellectual in the process just going with whatever words or phrases come up
Not having learned to draw can be your superpower, Alfie! It means you don't know the rules, which is so useful sometimes. Dive in with enthusiasm and keep a secret sketchbook that no one sees! Your secret communication in a new language! 🙌
Great way to think about it thanks!