Abandoned Pages | Watercolor Sketchbook
I began 2024 wanting to develop a sketchbook practice. I follow many artists online, through podcasts, and even in books who celebrate how useful sketchbooks can be to their creative practice. Some artists even seem to only work in their sketchbooks. As I have attempted to develop my own sketchbook practice, there are some trends that I noticed from following other artists.
Artists who use their sketchbooks to experiment or plan paintings.
When I see these sketchbooks, they always seem rough, but in a beautiful way. They can be graphite drawings in preparation for a painting, ways to experiment with colors and textures, or even a place to combine mediums such as watercolor, acrylics or inks. I think of Laura Horn (laurahornart) when I think about those kinds of sketchbooks. She is a watercolor and acrylic artist and host of the Laura Horn Art Podcast. She does these beautiful sketchbook spreads that combine mediums and mark making. Often they are very abstract or have a botanical quality.
Artists who seem to have perfectly curated pages.
This type of sketchbook style makes me think of Astrid Sievers (astrid_sievers), who I recently started following on Instagram. Sometimes her paintings take up a full page, sometimes, they spread across the sketchbook’s gutter seam, and sometimes her sketchbook pages are divided up into multiple paintings. For example one sketchbook spread was a combination of many elements you would find on a beach: the waves crashing, sand, rocks, etc.
Artists who paint en plein air or document from life.
These are the artists whose sketchbooks can literally document their lives. I think of Samantha Dion Baker (sdionbakerdesign) when I think of this sketchbook style. She is the author of Draw Your Day and Draw Your World. I discovered her work when I first started painting and I thought it was really cool how she would turn what could be considered mundane things we see all the time - coffee, shoes, houseplants, animals - into these really beautiful sketchbook spreads.
I have not felt very successful with my watercolor sketchbook so far. I started out the year feeling pretty good and got a handful of pages done through April and then I hit a creative wall and created quite a few pages of dud paintings that I essentially abandoned. I’m not sure exactly what the problem is. Thoughts that have crossed my mind include:
Is it the paper?
Is it the type of paints and brushes I am using?
Is it the way I am painting that’s the problem? Too much water, not enough water, too much paint, not enough paint?
I thought I would share some of those duds in an attempt to show that painting is sometimes a slog. After flipping through these several “abandoned pages” I also realized that just because the sketchbook painting came out poorly (or completely terrible), it doesn’t mean the idea was a total loss.
Golden Mountain Banner
For this spread, I wanted to paint some wildflowers that are everywhere during the spring. I wanted to create a loose painting of the bright yellow flowers in contrast with the green of the field they were located in and a bright blue sky. What we got were two different versions of yellow blobs. I wanted to try to paint a bit loose and fast, but I just did not like how any of the colors were looking together. It felt like a muddled mess even after two attempts and I decided to just let it go.
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Moss Campion on Mount Blue Sky
I took a picture of a patch of pink and purple moss campion while driving up Mount Blue Sky in Colorado with a friend. You really can only find moss campion in Colorado up in the alpine tundra, but I love how these bright spots of color can pop against the rocks. Again, I wanted to try and paint a bit fast and a bit loose in my sketchbook and I ended up with another muddy mess, albeit of a different variety from the previous page. The only saving grace of this sketchbook spread was that I worked out a little bit of what colors I wanted to use and what shapes I thought were important from the reference photo. I decided to try this painting again, but outside of my sketchbook as a mini 4.5 x 3 inch painting. If you compare the two you can see similarities in the colors and some of the brush strokes, but the mini is definitely better!
Camping in Spearfish, South Dakota No. 3
If you read my last blog post, you’ll know that I decided to paint a slightly more abstract mini painting as part of my Summer Vibes Series: Camping in Spearfish, South Dakota. Before attempting that mini, I decided that I would use my sketchbook to try and work through some ideas. The whole attempt felt like a total disaster. I wanted to experiment with using very limited brush strokes to create elements such as the sky, the dirt road, and the trees. Unfortunately, this did not seem to work in the sketchbook, even though I tried three times. You can even see that I abandoned the fourth rectangle that I had mapped out. While I decided to abandon the sketchbook page, if you compare the final painting with the sketchbook attempts, there are similarities
The sky is confined to the top right of the painting.
The trees are concentrated on the right side of the painting and dissipate the closer you get to the left side of the painting.
The tent is kind of tucked up on the hill.
Dandelion Seed Pod
I dislike this sketchbook page less than the other duds. I did paint it relatively quickly. I do like the brush strokes that make up the grass, and I do like the solitary dandelion that I pulled out and painted on its own to the right of the main painting. However, I really dislike the way the seed pods themselves came out. I feel like they are completely lacking in dimension and depth and they look like white blobs.
Final Thoughts
So how am I feeling about my watercolor sketchbook so far? A little bit discouraged if I am being honest. It’s really something that I was hoping to fall in love with, but for the last couple months it has felt like pulling teeth. I’m still trying to decide if maybe I do not like this particular sketchbook, either the paper or the size, or if I really need to embrace a completely different way of painting from how I paint on my nicer paper. I haven’t completely given up because I was hoping to bring my sketchbooks along on my upcoming vacations… but we will have to see. I still have a lot of pages left in this sketchbook and a whole other blank sketchbook waiting for me.
Do you work in sketchbooks?
What thoughts do you have?