Sketchbook Habits

Getting Into the Groove

I will willingly admit that I’ve never had very consistent sketchbook habits. As an artist, one would think that a sketchbook would be high up on my list of art supplies that I keep on hand. I do have them. Many, in fact. But most of them only have a few used pages. Strangely, the only ones that ever got more than halfway used were the ones I used when I was in art school. Why, though? Why does an artist like me not use sketchbooks regularly?

To be honest, I don’t have a good answer. They all sound like excuses to me and maybe they are. Time, for example. I don’t have enough. Neither does anybody else I know. I work and I take my breaks and lunch at my desk. I know I shouldn’t, but I do. Getting up periodically is important, but I eat while I’m working. I get myself to the gym and then home. At home, I wash out all my food containers, repack them for the next day, and then make myself something for dinner. Then it’s off to shower and pull out what I’m going to wear the next day. By that time, it’s about 8-8:30pm. I have a tiny bit of time to work on commissions and then it’s off to bed.

Being a detail freak is great when it comes to commissions, but it holds me back with sketches.

I also can’t seem to…well…sketch. What I mean is, I can’t just leave something in a rough sketchy state. I try, but then I find myself investing far too much time on each one, perfecting it as though my sketchbook were going to hang in a gallery or something. I discovered this habit in 2014 when I did do a sketch a day for the entire year. 15-20 minute sketches took me anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. It’s a sketchbook! It’s not meant to showcase masterpieces. But I can’t seem to allow myself the luxury of drawing anything less than highly detailed drawings. This dilemma of course, contributes directly to the first problem of not having enough time.

Sure, I’d love to have a sketchbook full of fantastic drawings. But for me, time really is money. At this point, if I’m not working on commissions, I’m not making money. Still, I’ve seen tons of sketchbooks with amazing sketches…true sketches, rough, loose, and gestural. And I happen to know a few of the artists so I know each one took on average, about 10-20 minutes. So, what’s a detail freak/perfectionist to do?

Practice, I suppose. Practice working with a time limit. That is what I intend to do. I will pick one of the dozens of unused sketchbooks I have and just start. I’ll shoot for 10-15 minute sketches with simple household items first and then work my way up to going to Starbucks, the park, or the zoo. There are several museums I’d like to go to as well. We’ll see how I can work this into my schedule. Obviously, zoo and museum trips will take a good chunk of the day. But stay tuned for the follow up, especially the zoo ones! You can also follow me on Instagram where I post artwork more frequently by clicking on the IG logo below.

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