In the Studio with Dawn: One Big Experiment (sketchbook flip through)

When It's All One Big Experiment!

Welcome Back to Going Gentle, where we focus on what really matters to our heart of hearts! In this post, I am sharing an unconventional sketchbook flip through starting back about 6 years ago (2018?) This sketchbook covers a LOT of ground and with changes in media over time. 

In the video, I share a non linear approach since it involved many projects, from pen and marker illustration to making colored pencil and pastel art for my Podcast, The Way I See It, to doing pen illustration combining cartooning and fashion. It's all in there and I share the visual and talk about each project in depth. 

Some are super special, like family member pencil or marker and pen sketches; others are more for visuals that I used on my website. 

Coming up with visual art for content I was creating was deeply satisfying and fun. 

Some use sketchbooks for urban sketching with buildings and people out in public spaces. Some use it for sketching wildlife and nature. 

In this sketchbook, it was more about illustrating (whether faces or fashion) and some cartooning since those subjects have always been of interest to me. 

I love being able to change up my media to keep things fresh so I don't fall into an artistic rut which can lead to boredom. I am blessed to have various tools of the trade in my studio practice, which, of course, has taken years to acquire and use with skill. 

I dove into drawing with pencil as a child and dabbled with pen and ink later in my youth, so there's that history I have experienced over time. 

I still love trying out new tools and learning how they work best for the effects I am looking to create, that are the most visually appealing and satisfying to my eye. To me, that's all that matters. If I'm happy, then I know I'm on the right track. 

Oh, and FUN. I say that word frequently as I share different projects from my sketchbook in the video. 
I'm always looking and enquiring about how I can inject fun in to my sketchbook, whether this one where I'm showing drawings and illustrations or the sketchbook I use for my daily journaling, where I use hand lettering to illustrate what I did in my day as well as my wardrobe pieces, which you can see on my fashion page here. 

If you desire to start a sketchbook, don't worry about what others are doing and compare what you're doing. Of course there is a place to be Inspired by other artists (I follow many!) but I always come back to what makes me happy. Faces, fashion, and hand lettering. Always go with subject matter that you are drawn to, no matter what it is. And look for inspiration in varying places. Not just online. But what's right in front of you. 

Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Follow your artistic heart! 
And let me know if you keep a sketchbook practice for any reason; I'd love to hear about it in the comments! 
​Do enjoy the video of my sketchbook flip through and remember that Gentle is Magic! 

Dawn with her sketchbook where FUN is Primary!