The Sketchbook Challenge

79 days and still going strong....

2019-03-20T14:13:00.000-04:00

Well we are 79 days into the challenge of drawing every day and I am really happy to say that I've got 79 drawings done! Now not every drawing is a work of art - in fact I'm not sure I'd call any of them a work of art but it doesn't matter because I am having just as much fun with the challenge 79 days into it as I was when it was just a few days old. Here's a slideshow of all the drawings I've done so far....

Created with flickr slideshow.

I hope you are still enjoying the challenge of drawing something every day!

Why I love my sketchbooks.

2019-01-14T19:14:00.000-05:00

Today on the Sketchbook Challenge blog we have a post from a guest blogger! Annabel Rainbow is an amazing art quilter whose work you can learn more about on her website here. Today on the blog she gives us a peek inside some of her sketchbooks and talks about the different ways she uses them. Read on...

Hi, I'm Annabel Rainbow and I use a sketchbook for printing, painting, drawing and brain storming ideas for my art quilts.

There's lots of links in my posting for you to click on if you like something (they're the slightly differently coloured bits of text) and you'd like to know more about the techniques used - please also feel free to visit my blog and have a browse!

Put me in an art shop with a little spare cash and I'll find my way to the sketchbooks. I love the feel of fresh new paper encased in a shiny black hard cover, pristine and ready for me to explore and use for any creative experiments. I can't keep my hands off them, they're just like sweets and of course I have quite a few - one or two are even full up!

I even had one made for myself by a local bookbinder who filled it with a mix of papers I'd chosen, and bound it together with spacers so I could add loose work to it, and he put my name in gold letters on the front. How wonderful was that? It's A3 sized and I'm trying to fill it with portraits but it's taking a long time.

If you're new to using a sketchbook or are a little unsure of how to start, you could easily be put off and feel pressurized to produce something wonderful in it. Don't be, it's yours, go mad - no one need ever know! But if your aim is to produce a beautiful book, then there are lots of examples of completed sketchbooks out there - look on YouTube or google for example where you'll find loads including lots of GCSE and A level students sketchbooks. I tried making a visual diary once with Linda and Laura Kemshall, aiming to make each page a record of life over a 3 month period. Although it was enormous fun to do and lovely to have something as a record of those 3 months, it isn't how I usually use a sketchbook, they're a lot more random that that! You can see a video of its contents here.

How do sketchbooks help me?

As an ideas depository and a way of remembering all the things, silly or otherwise, that come to me at random throughout a day. Maybe I'll have been to a gallery and seen something that's resonated with me, or picked up some overheard words on the radio or seen on a piece of graffiti. I grab a sketchbook, find a clean page and jot things down or draw a little picture. This clears my mind and allows me to progress my ideas knowing that it's all been safely recorded. After all, no one can remember everything!

2 pages from a sketchbook showing recorded ideas for future work.

Sometimes my sketchbook is just a no-pressure vent for any creative juices. A place to try out a new pen or give a new technique a run through.

String pulling using Quink.

Do you ever sit in front of the TV, or perhaps get up one morning, and just feel the need to be creative but you're not sure how or what to do? Your sketchbook is the ideal place to just play, perhaps you could brainstorm about how your feeling, do a quick little drawing of what's in front of you, or mix some paint colours on a gelli press to see what happens. Below is a page using the gelli press and stencils.

You might want to make a finished, considered piece of work, and use your sketchbook simply to work through ideas of placement and colour for example. If however, you dream of doing a wonderful painting, or in my case an art quilt, but flounder because you run out of steam after the initial thoughts, take heart and record them anyway as ideas about what to include in the piece will invariably change over time, and at least you'll have a head start when you revisit.

This idea was for a pencil sketch on gold leaf, which had bits of an underpainted colour showing through. It wasn't successful of itself but the idea is there, it's remembered, it's mine, and I can come back to it with a fresh outlook later on. Priceless.

A sketchbook is also a good place to store little bits and bobs that you collect through life eg tickets to exhibitions, wine labels, stamps, or in the case below a postcard. Can you just make it out in the middle right? It's an image of the roof of the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford. All I've done is stuck it into my sketchbook at used pen and watercolours to extend the image out over my page. There's no reasoning behind this one, it was one of those "I wonder what would happen if....." moments.

You can cut away or tear the pages too so there's less to fill, and you create a layered feeling. Here is a drawing of a seedhead and a torn page on top with a little watercolour flower.

Tracing paper layered on top of a drawing on top of a coloured page. The tracing paper flips over exactly on top of the painting, adding another layer of texture and depth.

If you have a ring bound sketchbook, you'll find it easier to do printing as you can bend the cover right back out of the way. I like the hard bound ones, and it's still possible to print directly into them but I confess it's trickier. Here's a monoprint of Mr Portillo - a family member managed to snap a selfie with him.

Still feel you can't draw? Why not trace and work into it with colours or use black and white to show tones?

Here's a page with a monoprint of a heron, traced from a book, which was then worked into with paint.

A sketchbook allows you to work through ideas, to play, to have a go, to record, to collect, to paint, to draw, to print, to mess up, to have fun. Use it whenever you can!

Thank you for being a guest on the Sketchbook Challenge blog Annabel!
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If you would like to contribute a tutorial (sketching, drawing, watercolor, acrylic, markers etc), spotlight interview with your favorite artist, or a book or product review to the Sketchbook Challenge send me an email to sue@suebleiweiss.com with your idea, some information about you with a link to your own blog or social media account. There's no pay for contributing but the Sketchbook Challenge has a large blog and social media following so it's a great way to get your message in front of an active audience.

any way is the right way

2019-01-09T11:27:00.001-05:00

My good friend Mel Beach posted on the Sketchbook Challenge facebook group the other day about how she is approaching the daily drawing challenge...

Rather than working in a sketchbook with lots of scary intimidating blank white pages she is using 3" x 5" index cards that she is storing in a beautiful embroidered pouch.

Each card starts with a word that sums up the day and then she doodles images related to her day. On the reverse side of the card she adds the date and some notes about the day.

"This nighttime ritual has been a wonderful time of reflection and documenting my day through a word of the day, related doodles and some quick bullets on the reverse side."

I think this is a terrific way to approach the challenge if you are feeling overwhelmed by the idea of working in a sketchbook. If you don't have a special embroidered pouch like Mel has for her cards then use a box that you've covered in pretty paper or embellished with paint or punch a hole in the corner of your cards and store them on a ring so that you don't lose them. Or you could make yourself a pouch to hold your cards, pens and pencil using this free project that I wrote for the Bernina blog when I was an ambassador for them.

Stop by Mel's website here to learn more about her and see her amazing quilt work. Mel's blog is here.

Remember that there are no rules when it comes to the Sketchbook Challenge - any way is the right way! Are you using a different approach than working in a traditional sketchbook for this challenge? I want to know about it so please leave a comment or drop me an email!

Weekly roundup and a call for blog contributors

2019-01-05T16:40:00.000-05:00

In case you missed them on Instagram or Facebook here are my daily sketches from last week:

I think the best part of doing a daily drawing challenge is that it forces me to stop and be still for a half hour and distracts me from all the chaos going on in the world. Each one of these drawings took me a half hour or less from start to finish - that's the benefit of keeping it simple.

And now let's put the spotlight on a few of you who have posted your drawings along with me last week:

Scooter Man by Gerrie Congdon

by Susanne Hastings

by Celemencia R

by Ronna Perry Currier

by Sara Branson

I love how everybody has their own unique drawing and sketching style, color palette and approach to the same challenge! If you're interested in seeing your artwork appear here on the Sketchbook Challenge blog then make sure you tag the Sketchbook challenge on your instagram posts or post your photos on the the Sketchbook Challenge facebook page.

Call for guest bloggers: if you would like to contribute a tutorial (sketching, drawing, watercolor, acrylic, markers etc), spotlight interview with your favorite artist, or a book or product review to the Sketchbook Challenge send me an email to sue@suebleiweiss.com with your idea, some information about you with a link to your own blog or social media account. There's no pay for contributing but the Sketchbook Challenge has a large blog and social media following so it's a great way to get your message in front of an active audience.

It begins!

2019-01-01T08:18:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! Here we are on the first day of a new year and a new challenge. If you are just finding this blog you can get all the details about how the challenge works here. Feel free to jump in and join the challenge at any point during the year - everyone is welcome at anytime! If you'd like to know more about your host for the challenge (that would be me, Sue Bleiweiss) you can visit my website here to learn more about me and see my work.

Okay now it's time to get to that giveaway package that I mentioned a few days ago in this post. Since so many of you (61!) stopped and left a comment I decided that one giveaway wasn't enough and so three of you have won something! If you are one of the winners you'll have until Monday January 7th to email me at sue@suebleiweiss.com with your snail mail address so I know where to send your prize package. Okay now let's get to it - the winners are (determined by using a random number generator):

Winner number 1: FIBREARTIST (who left the comment: I am so happy you are doing this Sue! I have your book and I did the challenge a few years ago. I may incorporates the drawing challenge into my weekly documented art journal that I have kept for several years. I’ve been doing this on my own for a couple of years and I would like a group to share with.) You won the following sketching kit:

In this kit you'll find: a 5" square Global Art Materials sketchbook, a set of 12 double sided colored pencils, a set of 10 Superior Needle drawing pens, 2 blackwing pencils, an eraser, a pencil sharpener, a set of 7 metallic Gelly Roll pens and a pencil/paintbrush.

Winner number 2: Nancy (who left the comment: Drawing is such a key skill for an artist. I am in a constant state of re-energizing my commitment and it usually has to do wth exciting new products like these!) You won the following sketching kit:

In this kit you'll find: Two 6" x 8" hardcover sketchbooks, 3 Blackwing pencils, 3 Micron pens (01,03, 05) and a Prismacolor col-erase pencil (perfect for light sketch lines that are easily erasable.

Winner number 3: Lisa Filion (who left the comment: what a great way to kick start the challenge! Happy holidays!!!!) You won the following sketching kit:

In this kit you'll find: a Strathmore 5.5" x 8" visual journal sketchbook, Blackwing pencil, a paintbrush pencil, Micron pen, Pigma Graphic 1 pen, and a Prismacolor col-erase pencil (perfect for light sketch lines that are easily erasable.

If you're a winner you have until Monday January 7th to email me at sue@suebleiweiss.com with your snail mail address so I know where to send your prize package.

And now everybody go sketch something!

my drawing process and a new flickr group

2018-12-30T09:29:00.003-05:00

Okay we're just two days out from the official start of the challenge! I have gotten several emails from those of you who want to be able to share your photos but are not on instagram or facebook. So I've set up a new flickr group for the sketchbook challenge to make it easy for you to share your photos. You'll have to have a flickr account to upload to the group though and there is no way to get around that. I've set the group up as a public group so anyone can join and you will find it here. If you need help with Flickr you can find that here.

I see from the comments that you're leaving that a lot of you have got your supplies gathered and are ready to jump in on the 1st and I can't even tell you how thrilled I am that so many of you want to participate in this challenge with me! Like I said in my last post, I know the idea of a daily challenge can be daunting so remember to keep it simple. No need to get hung up on rendering perfect replicas of what your drawing. Or spend half your day drawing and painting scenes with lots of details (unless you want to!) leaving you no time for anything else. Draw in your own style, use colors you like and enjoy the process. I have been averaging about 30 minutes on my daily drawings. For instance, yesterday I took an early morning yoga class so I decided that would be the subject for my dailydraw.

I always start with a light quick sketch in pencil, then I go over the pencil lines with my Staedtler Pigment Liner (0.3). I use this pen because it's waterproof so I don't have to worry about the lines running when I add watercolor. Then I erase all the pencil lines and then color with my water brushes and watercolor paint. Why do I draw with a pencil first? Because it's less stressful for me - it gives me a chance to make mistakes and change things in the drawing before committing it to ink.

Are you worried about running ideas about what you are going to draw every day? Here's a short list of ideas to get you started:

Something from your breakfast

The tea box or coffee bag

A piece of fruit you ate
The vegetables you had with dinner
The wine bottle

Something from lunch
Your dessert
Shampoo bottle
The milk jug
A stack of books
One of the places you visited - a store, museum, salon etc

The mailbox

What was in the mailbox

The friend you talked with
Your afternoon snack
Did you do laundry? - draw the washer machine, the dryer, the laundry or the detergent bottle
The weather - was it raining, snowing, sunny, hot, cold?

Something you saw on your walk

The car you drove

The bus or taxi you rode in

The place you bought your coffee
A magazine you read
Cans, bottles, the take out containers

The house plants you watered
Book shelf
Medicine cabinet shelf
Something from the kitchen junk drawer
Something from an errand you had to run
Your alarm clock

Your favorite chair

You get the idea - anything can make a great subject for a sketchbook page. Just remember to keep it simple!

3 days to go...

2018-12-28T11:06:00.000-05:00

We're only 3 days away from the kick off for The 2019 Sketchbook Challenge re-boot! I am really excited about getting to see all your sketches - I think we are going to have a lot of fun sketching together every day. I'll be posting my sketches on the Sketchbook Challenge instagram page and the facebook page and I'll be using the hashtags #dailydraw2019 #thesketchbookchallenge and #drawingwithsueb so make sure you tag your posts with those hashtags too. You can also post photos of your sketches on the The Sketchbook Challenge facebook page as a reply to any of the posts there if you're not on Instagram (which is free and very easy to use by the way so you might want to consider it).

Now I know that the idea of a daily challenge can be daunting and can get overwhelming pretty quickly especially when you miss a day so let me just say this to you: This challenge is supposed to be fun. It's not supposed to add any stress or angst to your life (we've all got enough of that these days) so if you miss a day or two here and there, it's okay. Don't let it derail you from staying with the challenge and continuing with it. Just pick up your pencil and jump back in whenever you can.

Now as far as what to sketch that's up to you. I have found that sticking to sketching something from my day - something I did, saw, experienced, ate - whatever is working really well for me. Even something as mundane as doing the laundry can make a fun subject to sketch. For me, this approach keeps the challenge limited in scope which helps keep it from getting overwhelming. I am using one dedicated sized sketchbook (my favorite 5" square one) and I will only do my daily challenge sketches in this book throughout the year starting a new one each time I run out of pages.

Can't wait to see your sketchbook pages! If you have gotten a head start on the challenge don't forget to use hashtags #dailydraw2019 #thesketchbookchallenge and #drawingwithsueb

Also: don't forget that the giveaway I am hosting is still open for comments so you still have time to get in on it! Click here to get the details!

Are you ready?

2018-12-23T16:20:00.002-05:00

The new Sketchbook Challenge begins in just 9 days! I am really excited about the challenge and based on the number of comments and emails and the spike in traffic to this blog and the facebook page I can see that you all are too. One of my goals for the sketchbook challenge is to keep it approachable and easy to do for everyone and anyone regardless of whether or not you have ever drawn anything or have been sketching for years. One of the things that I think can help you stick with the challenge is to have a sketching supply kit put together so that whenever you are ready to sit and make a quick drawing you won't have to worry about trying to find your supplies.

I keep my sketching/coloring kit in one of my zipit beast pencil cases (I have several of these cases folding travel watercolor set, a fewwaterbrushes, blackwing pencils, black waterproof pens, eraser, pencil sharpener and a little 6″ long ruler. That's it, that's all I need to make a sketch in my little 5" square Global Art Materials sketchbook . I absolutely love the size of this sketchbook for this project. The pages are large enough to create a fairly detailed sketch without being so large that the amount of space to fill becomes overwhelming. Perfect for keeping this project simple and stress free! Oh and I also have a piece of paper towel folded up in a small ziplock bag so I can easily clean my water brushes.

Why not take a few minutes between now and January 1st to put together a little daily sketching kit? Your kit doesn't have to be a replica of mine because you should work with whatever materials and tools that you like. If watercolors don't appeal then go ahead and use colored pencils, markers, brush pens, crayons, acrylics, pastels etc. Use what you like so that the process of drawing every day feels like a joy and not a chore. Just make sure whatever sketchbook you use has paper that is appropriate for the medium that you are using. Maybe you prefer to use a mechanical pencil instead of a traditional one - great! Go head and use that. Not interested in adding color to your pages - that's okay too. Go ahead and work in black and white - there are no rules here!

Actually I take that back - there is a rule for this challenge. Are you ready to hear what it is? Okay here it is:

Enjoy the process and have fun with it

That's it. It's as simple as that.

Okay so I want to get this challenge kicked off with a little "getting started sketchbook kit" giveaway! I am going to give this kit away to one lucky Sketchbook Challenge reader.

Here's what's in this kit: a 5" square Global Art Materials sketchbook, a set of 12 double sided colored pencils, a set of 10 Superior Needle drawing pens, 2 blackwing pencils, an eraser, a pencil sharpener, a set of 7 metallic Gelly Roll pens and a pencil/paintbrush.

Want a chance to win this pretty awesome little sketchbook kit? All you have to do is leave a comment here on the blog by 12/31/18 and I will pull a name randomly from all the comments and announce the winner on January 1, 2019.

Good luck!

p.s. If you have gotten a head start on the challenge don't forget to tag your photos with the hashtags “drawingwithsueb” and “dailydraw2019” You can also post on the Sketchbook Challenge Facebook page here and don't forget to follow the Sketchbook Challenge Instagram account too!

And we’re back!

2018-12-20T16:30:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since the original Sketchbook Challenge ran and lately I (Sue Bleiweiss) have been missing it. I had such a great time with that project and the result of it was the publication of my first book and it also started me on the path to working and developing my own style of quilting. I still do use a sketchbook but the focus is primarily on working through ideas for quilts. I don’t spend much, if any time on just drawing random things. Then I read the book Draw your Day (which I reviewed here) and I like the concept so much I thought I would give it a try but I found that it wasn’t working for me. I was spending too much time drawing random things from my day and it was taking time from other things. I would end up spending a couple hours or more drawing and then painting and while I love doing it, I was starting to feel like it was too much to commit to as an every day project. So I simplified a bit…

I picked up a small 5″ square watercolor sketchbook and starting drawing just one thing a day. One

thing that represents something that I did that particular day. This makes it much more manageable and because the size of the paper is small I don’t feel overwhelmed by having to fill it up. There’s just enough room for one large drawing or several small ones. I spend anywhere from 15 – 30 minutes at any one point during the day. I do a quick pencil sketch, then outline in black waterproof ink and add color with a portable watercolor kit and my water brushes. Sometimes I break up the steps throughout the day. I might have time to do a pencil sketch and outline but will come back to add color later and there have been a couple of times when I didn’t add the color until the next day.

As you can see I am keeping my drawings simple. Nothing fancy here! Just drawing something that

represents what I spent some of my time doing that day. I have found that it’s very relaxing and it helps disconnect me from the chaos of the day for a little while. I put together a little sketching/coloring kit in one of my zipit beast pencil cases (I have several of these cases and I love them) so everything I need is portable and easy to grab. Plenty of room to fit my travel watercolors, a few waterbrushes, pencils, black waterproof pens, eraser, pencil sharpener and a little 6″ long ruler.

My goal is to continue doing a drawing a day through 2019. If you’re interested in joining along with me pull together a few supplies of your choice and grab one of those sketchbooks gathering dust on the shelf that is still empty because you couldn’t decide what to draw in it. Start with just one small element from your day. If you want you can also add some text with your drawing and don’t forget to date your pages. Just keep it simple! It’s up to you whether or not you want to share photos of your pages but if you do use the hashtag “drawingwithsueb” or “dailydraw2019” so we can find each others drawings easily. You can also post on the Sketchbook Challenge Facebook page here and there's also a Sketchbook Challenge Instagram account that you can follow now.

Looking forward to sharing this drawing adventure with you through 2019!

Sue Bleiweiss

This time with you has been "Highly Prized"

2014-12-31T01:00:00.000-05:00

Jill K Berry here...

This is the last day of a great adventure, and the start of something new. It is bittersweet, being here for this last day of the live Sketchbook Challenge.

Four years ago I wrote the very first post on this blog. A few of us agreed to share our love of sketching with the cyber world, and all of you came. You came to learn, share, and celebrate our collective love of sketching and all of its related art forms.

Aside from the fact that this collection of people has come to mean a great deal to me, I have learned to admire so many of you that I did not know before, but I was challenged to be better, to try new things as we were asking you to do. Because all of you were watching and so many unique and wonderful artists were sharing here, the bar was raised, I think for all of us.

So I want to share with you what I ended up doing with some sketches I have done this year, using the theme we started with, HIGHLY PRIZED. That means, to me, the creatures and characters I live with and around. Most recently I painted my dogs from lots of sketches I did first (most of the sketches were from photos since these dogs move so fast).

This is Finn, my standard poodle puppy. I did this of him as a gift to my son Sam for Christmas. It is acrylic on canvas now. He is the happiest dog on the planet. Literally.

I did this one for Sam for his birthday. It is my other standard poodle, Thiebaud, who smiles a lot and loves being out in the hills with us.

This one is my baby girl. She is big now, getting ready to move overseas, and I am so challenged by letting her grow and use her wings. I spent the day with her baby self doing this watercolor painting, and will gift it to my mother for Christmas. My mom made the pink stuffed bunny she is loving in this picture. Sydney still has that bunny. I may hug it a lot when she goes.

Here she is at 14, after a haircut she was not sure about.

She was so perfectly beautiful, but did not believe it.

Drawing people is not easy, even for me. There is always a small voice in my head judging. Still, I am so rewarded by looking at my people and pets for the long time it takes me to do this. This is when I really see them, my loved ones, my Highly Prized.

Practice, that is all it is, practice looking and seeing and sketching. There are many resources for learning to draw people. Check out artgraphica for all kinds of free lessons.

And check out the Drawing Club Facebook page.

Go do that, push to the next level, add on to the skills you have learned here and enjoy the fact that you are brave and creative.

Thank you, all of you, for four years of goodness.

December slide show

2014-12-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Show time! The last day of each month we have a slide show of the Sketchbook Challenge Flickr group's work for that month's theme. To have your work in the slideshow, be sure to tag it with the theme's tag for that month, given on the first day when the theme is announced.

Thank you to all of our followers for playing along!

Looking Back on the Sketchbook Challenge

2014-12-29T03:30:00.000-05:00

Greetings, everyone! Leslie here, wishing you and yours a great holiday season! I have been a contributing artist to the Sketchbook Challenge project since the outset and it has been an honor.
In the process, I have had the opportunity to become friends with so many other talented artists and feel like I have learned so much from being a part of it. I thought I would share a few small pieces that were created during the years of the Sketchbook Challenge.

hummingbird nest (watercolor)

One of my "imaginary animals", part of the November 2011 theme

This collaged piece was featured in Sue Bleiweiss' book,

"The Sketchbook Challenge"

I attended some local life-drawing classes and try to attend whenever possible.

drew from old photos (this was made into a screen for printing on fabric)

I did a series of drawings on fabric using a ruling pen

I used drawings, stencils, and printing to make numerous collages.

I do a lot of sketching on my sewing machine, as well.

Sometimes I stitch together a variety of things for a journal page.

I love to sketch on cloth!

Watercolors are a meditative process...

And I have developed the practice of taking a small set with me when I travel.

These are a few of the things I have done during the arc of the Sketchbook Challenge. It is my sincere hope that those of you who have followed the project have found some things along the way that have become part of your artistic practice. It has been a joy to be on this journey. My hope is that you will continue to make art and let it be a regular part of your life-experience. Thank you for coming along!

The Sketchbook Challenge- giving and sharing the gift of ART!

2014-12-23T19:13:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, Desiree here!! I am so honored and thankful that Sue asked me to be a part of the Sketchbook Challenge. I have loved the different themes, the challenges and the new friends I have made along the way! It is always an honor to share my passion and love of art with others.

My paintbox

It has been an amazing journey as all of us have watched all of you join in and become part of our artistic family here! I hope that I will see more of you on my sketching blog and on FB. I don't think of this as the end of something, its really more of a change in direction for many of us. As a Christmas gift I thought I would share a tutorial on painting your favorite Christmas Ornament that is on my blog now. Enjoy!

Diane's ornament from Desiree Habicht on Vimeo.

May your days be filled with art and with creating and may your artistic journey be filled with wonder!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

What The Sketchbook Challenge Has Meant to Me

2014-12-18T04:00:00.000-05:00

Jamie Fingal checking in. This was my first drawing on The Sketchbook Challenge in the very beginning in 2011. I have learned so much and been inspired by the other artists, as well as, the artists who follow along and post their work to the Flickr site. Friendships have been made, and strengthened over the years. It has been great fun! Being part of TSC has led me back to my roots of drawing and painting with watercolors. Here are some of my favorite posts over the years!

I have used many, many manila tags for my art. This happens to be one of my favorite ones. I made three girls, and then interchanged their heads and bodies to create what you see here.

An accordian tag book of houses

A house book, using one of those cardboard books, stencils, and acrylic paint. You could see through the windows to see my little drawings

words on a page

Tags of some of my favorite objects from my parents house

Having my work in The Sketchbook Challenge book by Sue Bleiweiss

A page from my sketchbook

Painting with watercolors

The bowl theme from my Moleskin Storybook Sketchbook

These drawings led me to create my first fabric line in 2013 for Hoffman Fabrics 'Home is Where Your Story Begins"

I am a stencil artist for Stencil Girl Products. This one is a sewing themed stencil for Stencil Girl Products - exclusive club for June 2014. One of the many versions that I made with this 9x12 stencil

More stencil designs - love these dresses! You can view my entire collection here

The Moleskin Storybook Sketchbook. I have started number 5.

And now here is where I am. Fabric line #2 'Heart and Soul Sisters' which is all about being bold, brave and strong. My girls are there, my words, drawings and a funky quilt. See my Twisted Sister blog for more info about my fabric line. Being part of The Sketchbook Challenge has brought me where I am today. It has been such a pleasure to be part of this amazing project over the years. Thank you for your inspiration, encouragement, and for following along with us!

Just a few tidbits I learned along the way...

2014-12-15T15:58:00.001-05:00

Hi! It's Deborah Boschert. What a delight it has been to participate in The Sketchbook Challenge! I've really discovered that I like using a sketchbook AND there is no right way to do so. You know that, right? It really is true.

One of my favorite posts was from the Into the Woods theme in November 2013. I set myself a challenge of drawing a tree each day of our nine day summer road trip. Here are my "nine trees."

I really enjoy doing a daily challenge, but I definitely am most successful if I keep the time period relatively short. Nine days is totally doable!

Another thing I discovered that I really prefer... just black pen. I know lots of people use markers, water color paints, collage and all kinds of other materials. Since I really do only "sketch" in my sketch books, pen and ink is comfortable and adequate.

And lastly, another wonderful thing about sketchbooks is paging through them again and again. It's a wonderful way to remember ideas, events, places and possibilities. Just like paging through the archives of this blog. Goodness! So much inspiration! Even though we won't be posting, it will always be here as an incredible resource. I know I'll be checking back regularly. I hope you will too.

Good Memories

2014-12-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

Although only recently a contributor to the Sketchbook Blog I have joined in with the Challenge since it started in January 2011. I think we have all had a lot of fun and had our creativity stimulated by the themes over the years; for that a big thank you to Sue for starting the blog, and for all the people who have joined in here or on Flickr.

Here are a few of my favourite themes from past years all tied up with good memories of having fun creating.

If you are not sure where to go from here, don’t cry just get the Sketchbook Challenge Book out and follow along with some of the ideas and themes in there. Jackie.

all good things...

2014-12-01T01:00:00.000-05:00

Sue B here...

It's hard to believe that it's been four years already! I never imagined when I came up with the idea for the Sketchbook Challenge back in 2011 that it would last so long or touch as many people as it has. We've all had a great time but like all good things, it's time for the sketchbook challenge to end. This month will be the last theme we post and in keeping with the saying all good things must come to an end, our last theme is going to be...

All Good Things

Fill your sketchbook pages with good things - the things that make you smile, bring back a warm memory, the traditions and rituals that you begin and end your day with, connect you to the ones you love and want to preserve for generations to come. Fill it with the things that make you happy.

And even though this is our last challenge I do have some good news: this blog will stay up indefinitely so you'll have access to the last four years of themes and inspiration to inspire you for a long time to come!

Here's a few good things from my sketchbook from over the last few years ...

My very first sketch was for the challenges first theme "highly prized" :

My sketchbook pages have come a long way since then. At the time I wasn't really using my sketches as a springboard for my quilts but that changed pretty quickly once I realized the value of playing on paper first before cutting into any fabrics. Now three years later every quilt I create starts on the pages of my sketchbook first...

This sketch above was one of many that eventually resulted in this quilt:

I love to draw buildings, houses and dwellings in my sketchbooks, it's my favorite subject to work with.

and this one was a starting point for a quilt to celebrate my garden and the arrival of the hummingbirds each summer - definitely a good thing in my area because it signals the end of winter and the arrival of warmer weather

This sketch eventually became this quilt:

Another good thing you'll find in my sketchbook pages are sketches inspired by my dogs.

I wanted to create a dog quilt but I wasn't looking to create something realistic. I wanted something whimsical. So I started by sketching a lot of dogs...

I made quick rough sketches of a lot of dog faces...

and eventually all those sketches resulted in this quilt:

If it wasn't for the sketchbook challenge I may never had discovered the value of working on paper first. Now I can't imagine working any other way and that, for me is definitely a good thing!

Has participating in the sketchbook challenge changed the way you use your sketchbook?

Please share your images from this months theme in The Sketchbook Challenge Flickr Group, and don't forget to tag it with the code dec735 so it can be included in the end of month slide slow on this blog.

November slide show

2014-11-30T07:59:00.000-05:00

Leafing Through My Sketchbooks

2014-11-28T03:00:00.000-05:00

Jamie Fingal signing on. This week I actually cleaned out my Sketchbook shelf that was literally spilling over. It was time to see what was there and reorganize. This is my shelf of sketchbook that have substance in them. I admit it, I am a sketchbook hoarder, but my addicction was caught in time, and now mostly draw in a small Moleskin Journal, like the ones on the right. I found some treasured thoughts and drawings, that would be good for this months theme of leaves.

Leaves cascading through another scene of objects inspired by the West Elm catalog

From the backyard with the hummingbird feeder

A simple circle of leaves

Leaves behind windows

Leaves in a small mixed media book that I made out of a tall and narrow calendar

Shoe art. Not a sketchbook in a literal sense, but a sketch or doodle on a pair of high heels.

More leaves

and even more

and the not finished zen doodle shoes

and from 2011, when the Sketchbook Challenge started, some leaves from the theme of one of those months, with leaves and other fun stuff.

Leaves

2014-11-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Jackie here with more from my leaf sketchbook, we have a lot of these dotty leaves around at the moment, I really like the black spots although they are probably some sign of disease in the tree. Lots of inspiration from the lovely colours of autumn leaves as you can see from the previous posts and ways to use them in your sketchbooks.

I took a photograph and then used the background colours and the leaf shape made into a ‘brush’ on the computer.

I also used the ‘Glaze’ app on the ipad to work on the basic images and these were then printed out to make a concertina fold out in my sketchbook.

Earlier in the summer I placed fine muslin over fern leaves and rolled over them with black fabric paint. The leaves were then cut out and machined onto a background which I had patterned in a similar way by rolling paint over various textured surfaces.

So make the most of the leaves all around.

drawing leaves

2014-11-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Sue B here...

One of my favorite things about living in New England is watching the leaves turn from shades of green to shades of yellow, orange and red. We had a really bright vivid leaf changing season this year with really vibrant color on the trees.

This tree on the back of our property turned the most vivid shade of orange and red and whenever I looked out the kitchen window to look at it, it took my breath away. Suffice it to say there was no lack of inspiration for me to use for this months theme so I pulled out my colored pencil caddy and...

I like to draw leaves because their uneven shapes and rough edges mean that no matter how you draw them they look like a leaf.

Whenever I sit down with my colored pencils it reminds me of being a kid again and sitting down with a big box of crayons and a stack of construction paper. Go ahead and break out your colored pencils (or crayons) and draw some leaves!

Capturing Fall Colors

2014-11-07T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone, Desiree Here!! I love this months theme, thank you Leslie! This is also one of my favorite times of the year, FALL! The warm colors, the changing leaves, crisp night air all come together to remind us that the holidays are close at hand. Although I live in southern California, I planted trees that are known to color up in our area.

Here are some of the leaves I have collected during Fall.

I sketch and paint them onto fabric

I stitch them onto fabric

We get just enough of a cold snap to encourage the leaves to perform their magic. During this short magical time I take every opportunity to capture their transformation from green to their wonderful shades of Fall.

I sketch them and let the paint dance across the paper, running with color and water across the surface, trying to capture this blast of color that is so fleeting.

No two leaves are alike, much like us! Each uniquely different and yet beautiful!

A page in my sketchbook from a windy fall day. I remember driving down the street and seeing the leaves dancing across the street in a wild show of color. I thought up this poem as I watched them dance across the road in front of my car.

Keeping a sketchbook is like freezing a moment in time and recording it, I remember everything about that day because of my sketchbook page. I can't wait to see what wonderful leaves you will paint this Fall!

Rejoice, Fall is here!

Whimsical Leaves

2014-11-05T03:00:00.000-05:00

Jamie Fingal, checking in. Love this theme. One of my favorite things to draw in my sketchbook are leaves. Fun and whimsical. Being a constant doodler has led me down this path to create these leaves.

My imaginary leaves with polka dots and triangles

Vines of leaves in a two page spread inside by Moleskin Notebook

Detail of one page

In my 'Tag' sketchbook, a little watercolor drawing from Fall

Simple leaves on a vine. This is a stencil design that I created for StencilGirl Products for their June Stencil Club. It was fun to embroider the design on linen.

Other fun leaves and flowers

Flowers and Leaves stencil by StencilGirl Products, my design!

More leaves and flowers from an early sketchbook. I hope I have inspired you!

November Theme: "Fall Leaves"

2014-11-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

Leslie here. I grew up in the midwest where fall means gorgeous, glowing leaf color. I find that I miss all the splendor of fall with its colored leaves in my San Antonio location. This year I was able to get a "dose" of fall beauty in two places: Tuscany and Ohio.
I traveled to Italy in late September/early October and was just in time to see the grape leaves begin to turn brilliant red to bright yellow on the vines. Maple leaves seemed to glow along the Ohio highways.
Do you love fall colored leaves? What are your favorites? Please join me this month as we embrace this wonderful palette. I am looking forward to seeing your work!

here is a leaf I picked up and tucked into my sketchbook near Lucca, in Tuscany.

A quick sketch of the grape vines with fields of grapes and olive trees on the distant hills

I was taken with the unusual tint of the pomegranate fruit (and surprised that the leaves were so small!

We were allowed to pick some bay leaves from a large shrub on the

property of one of the vineyards we visited.

I tucked a bay leaf in my sketchbook, too!

and also some of her lavender. I loved to smell the

aroma of this as I opened the sketchbook!

Another small watercolor painting of the beautiful grape leaves and grapes of Italy.

Show me your leaves!

Please share your images from this months theme in The Sketchbook Challenge Flickr Group, and don't forget to tag it with the code nov852 so it can be included in the end of month slide slow on this blog.

October slide show

2014-10-31T07:57:00.000-04:00