In April, I shared some thoughts on sketching and the lack thereof in my life. I do not do enough scribbling on paper for the sake of scribbling, and I have been working to address this. I have been working to address it for a long time, but I may have finally cracked that nut. Maybe.
One of the times I wish I could and would sketch more is when traveling. When I am away from home, I leave behind everything that keeps me from drawing, but until recently, I haven't had a good way to facilitate sketching once I am traveling. I have tried many types of sketching media, various bags and satchels, and worked hard to build a routine while traveling to ensure I draw. And I think I may have finally figured it all out. I am sharing this not as a guide or a how-to for others, but more to show that this is a process and one that is likely extremely specific to each artist. Going into our trip to Spain and France earlier this month, I did all I could to ensure that I would draw on the trip. And it finally all came together. While I would say that likely half of the success was the bag I finally acquired, today I am focusing on the half of the solution, which is the sketchbook and my relationship with it.
I am currently using a Soho toned paper sketchbook that has an exposed binding so that it can lie flat. I have had it for a while, and it meets many of my needs. It has traveled with me to conventions and to Europe twice, and it is finally seeing some action. While I have had it for years, it has seen more use this year alone. I first took it with me to SXSW a few months ago and used it for notes and doodling. I didn't expect it to be so valuable for note taking and ended up with many, many pages of notes after the event. As mentioned in April, I took it to Record Store Day to take advantage of my time in line. And most recently, I took it on our trip, where it finally evolved into what it always needed to be for me to use it regularly. And while I will discuss how the bag I carry it in has helped later, it is how my relationship with my sketchbook has fundamentally changed, and in doing, has allowed me to use it more. So let's get to some pictures, and I will explain more.
My sketchbook has some wear and tear, which is perfect because clean and new don't scream use me. The splatter and masked area on the front is where I have attached Magic the Gathering artist proofs so that I could add art to them. This creates the phantom rectangle you see here. The green dot is a sticker I placed on my shirt when we toured Gaudí's Casa Batlló in Barcelona. The green dot and phantom regular are physical memories of things I have done, which I need to do with my sketchbook to make them more usable. I have to make them unmistakably mine. I have to fill them with not only art, but also artifacts of the journey they have been on. And doing this has been one of the single most important decisions that I have made regarding sketching. I need to collect, document, and sketch.
While I am not sharing everything I drew on our most recent trip, I am sharing the important pieces.
This was likely sketch number three from the trip and was the first I was happy with. Even though it might seem a typical sketch for me, I was consciously working against my go-to marks and shapes. This set the stage for me to start pushing what I do with the sketchbook.
Now we are in it!
Finally, after so long of wishing and planning, I finally sat down and drew what was around me on our travels. I dated the drawing and included the location so that I would remember. I have long dreamed of doing this, and it finally came about. This is not a one-to-one of what I observed, but an edited and condensed version that would fit and work better in the book. And that is entirely okay.
Simply scribbling in the sketchbook is good, but not necessarily the goal. I want to be informed by what is around me on the adventures. This creature is based on the unique lighting that you can see around Avignon, France. The light housing has a very strange shape and gives the impression that it has legs. This is definitely something that might eventually come to the Grand Bazaar.
Another drawing of the world around me. While this was begun on location, I had to complete it from memory a day or two later while on the train. I had started this at dinner, but our meal arrived much quicker than expected. I had nearly everything blocked out, and most of what I later brought to the drawing was detail and finish, which was informed by what I had observed here as well as throughout the trip. You will notice the red card to the left. That is a discarded Asterix postcard I found discarded on a pile of free books outside a bookstore. A little artifact from the adventure that is now in my book and is both a memory and a souvenir.
The final drawing I have for you today is one I did at a small bar we discovered in Paris, as the skies opened up while we were without umbrellas. The bar carried local craft beers and gave me some time to draw. But doing this sketch at a place we have good memories of, those memories are reinforced and enhanced by the memories of making this drawing and returning to look at it later. And to the left, a receipt from the bar and an artifact of the day.
Lastly, here is a photo of some random bits in my sketchbook. This spread near the end of the sketchbook has a number of things in it, and they will eventually get spread throughout the books as more pages are filled. But from left to right, you have: a flyer of music performances at SXSW, a beer sticker from a SXSW music show, a pull number for a cafe in Barcelona, the WiFi details of a hotel, a Polaroid photo from IX a few years back, and a receipt from traveling across France. Are these things important? Only to me. But they mark the journey this sketchbook has gone on with me. And through the addition of these little bits and bobs, the sketchbook takes on more of a role than simply a vessel for ink and pencil, it is a journal, a diary, a travel log for my adventure in the world. And I intend to keep this going.
I will share with you the story of my bag next week, as well as the styluses and tools I keep in the bag.
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here on Friday! Until then...
