Last night I was looking for something and came across one of the sketchbooks I promised myself I would get back to this summer. It was 9:30pm but I proceeded: 15-20 minutes of drawing. By the end, I was half-asleep. Again, not my best effort… not particularly excited about it either. This morning, I defiantly added some Micron and felt better about it.
There would have been a time for me that this was not good enough to share. Some say: why keep doing something if you don’t like to do it? (I have asked myself this!) But I think it is important to follow through. The process of making art takes work and practice – even if one is not up to it and even when it doesn’t look the best.
I think I have outgrown this sketchbook to be honest, but I’ll continue to chip away at it as a convenient way to document the botanicals in my life. I notice my interests in mark making have changed. It also holds a record of the last four years and is a good way to see where I’ve been keen to draw and when life/distractions/duties have intervened.
Included, a few pages illustrating drawings I’ve done over the years. This idea for a perpetual journal came from the phenomenal botanical artist, Lara Gastinger. I am grateful for her sharing and have made peace with the fact I will never have the patience (or eye sight!) to draw the way she does.
b wanhill 