Currently Browsing: journal practice 32 articles
The Freedom of Quick, Loose Sketches for Your Drawing Skills
Over the last 35 years and hundreds of students have confessed to me that they “don’t have time to sketch,” or that they “were physically too ill to sketch.” I always respond that you can always find time, and even if ill you can get something down on paper that will be useful to you […]
In Context: Productivity Matters in Visual Journaling
Productivity matters. I believe it matters more than pretty pages in visual journaling. I say this after keeping a journal almost daily for over 62 years. (I started very, very early because it was important to me to note down what I saw, and because my mother liked that I was occupied.) In my last […]
In Context: What Goes on the Journal Page?
There are a lot of ways to work out what needs to go down on your journal page. The most obvious way is to think about the overall design and layout of the page or page spread. I see a lot of visual journaling students tie themselves in knots as they compose a page—thinking where […]
Breathing Room on the Page (or Page Spread)
One of the most important compositional tools you have in a visual journal or sketchbook is the breathing space on the page (or page spread). The negative space around an image helps define the image through silhouette, and shape recognition. The space will help you correct angles and proportions when you go off—or— if you […]
Another Potential Journaling Hiccup: The Perfect Time and Place
Blog readers and students often write to me about their hopes and deferred dreams for their journaling and their art life. They live with the hope that if they can “just get through to retirement,” or “Just get through this current crisis [fill in the blank as to what that is]” that the clouds will […]
The Journal as Workbook
Below is a video which explains my view of the journal, and how I use my journal in my daily practice. Students in my “Drawing Practice: Drawing Live Subjects in Public” class asked me to share it publicly when I shut down my on-line teaching platform at the end of last year. They wanted to […]
Journal Practice Hiccups?
I always tell people any day is a great day to start a journal practice. Start. But I know that many people think it important to have a milestone day like the first of the year for a starting point. If it gets them to start then I’m all for that. As a new […]
Different Drawing Approaches for the Same Subject
Just this week I was asked by nine people how I start my drawings. I use different approaches to start my drawings depending on what pen I’m using, the paper size, and even just how I feel my eyes are doing on any given day. For a more detailed response I explain that I have […]
Coming Up in July on Patreon
During July I’ll continue my discussion of dog portraits. Subscribers can watch me sketch this ink portrait. I’ll also look at minimal line and wash approaches to sketching a white dog. I hope you’ll come and join the conversation.
Now Use Even Fewer Strokes…
Did you spend your weekend working with your brush pen like I suggested on Friday? If so you’re ready to use even fewer strokes. Draw your subject with as as few strokes as possible. Think before you draw a contour line or make texture marks. Do you really need ink marks for that contour? For […]