Due to a minor injury I haven’t been in my studio/office much this week, but as long as I have a trolley of art goodies, some blank pages, a steady supply of coffee, and a comfy armchair, I’m still able to create. It’s hard not to.
These are uncomplicated pages, nothing that can’t be accomplished with fineliners or fountain pens and coloured pencils. The paper is only 80 gsm and the notebook was reasonably priced, but there are advantages to this. I find I have less hesitation because the notebook itself didn’t cost a king’s ransom. I don’t have a particular plan for this notebook except that to give it to my daughter because she loves these sorts of things and it’s a great way to communicate with her on the things that are important to me.
I don’t keep traditional diaries for a few reasons – my handwriting is unlovely, I don’t enjoy chronicling key moments of my life and I lack the discipline to maintain them since I already have enough projects. But I do love to art and I do think it’s important to do this as a shared experience with my daughter as a sort of conversation with her. This style of journal is a kind of compromise. I think the thing I love the most about this style of journal is there are no rules, and the urge to be a perfectionist is greatly reduced. As much as I try not to strive for perfectionism in my practice sketchbooks, I’m regularly frustrated that pages don’t come out looking like I’d envisaged. In this one I’m not troubled by the idea of perfect design and aesthetic. Of course I want the pages to be at least a little bit pleasing, but it’s the content and the act of creation that counts the most, those are the things I want to be important.
I’ve included a three photos of pages below.
Still adding my favourite books to this page
Gingamegs Art 